Marriott has been looking to reduce costs for hotels providing breakfast and they think they’ve found it for their extended stay brands:
- Purchasing power, requiring standardization across four brands rather than just one gets them better unit pricing
- Fewer ingredients and options, reduce the number of things hotels have to buy
Marriott’s Residence Inn is their original extended stay brand, and has already boasted the highest operating margins of any of the chain’s 30 brands. TownePlace Suites is, surprisingly, their fastest-growing brand. Those two, along with Fairfield Inn and Springhill Suites, “are part of a four-brand initiative…to elevate the free breakfast experience with new, higher quality items.”
Industry analysts have cautioned against adding expensive brand standards during the recovery while individual owners are still significantly down financially.
But Eric Jacobs, senior vice president of select brands at Marriott, told Skift the purchasing power of elevating the free breakfast component — a crucial part of guest satisfaction surveys at this segment of the hotel industry — across four brands and 3,000 hotels instead of just one brand should result in a price reduction for owners during the recovery.
This is more than offering more than boxes of Cheerios to guests. The new rollout — which includes items like hearty breakfast sandwiches, crustless quiches, and build-your-own breakfast bowls — actually has about 40 fewer items an individual hotel would need to stock compared to the outgoing breakfast bar.
Marriott expects their new breakfast proposition to cost owners “as much as 20 percent” less in food cost.
We will see….
Probably because owners can eliminate paying one or two staff members to microwave eggs frozen sausages.
In other news Marriott has secured an exclusive contract for 100 billion tons of corn flakes
And this will be the only Elite breakfast offered going forward with powdered milk and pop tarts for pastry with their exceptional shelf life
This will extend to all brands and save the hotels boatloads of bucks too
Well played!
Bon Appetit!
Remember, there are almost no new full-service Marriott hotels in North America outside of soft brands like Autograph Collection. Most of Marriott’s new hotels are limited-service brands. This is an attempt by Marriott to continue growth and avoiding losing properties to even cheaper brand portfolios.
Hotel owners don’t want to open new full-service properties anymore.
When will these Marriott executives graduated from non Ivy League schools learn to read the market? Most clients only want an English muffin with American cheese and egg served from a small window for breakfast. Offer a scalding hot black water from reusing coffee grounds. Finish with a yellow chemical concoction extracted from the water removed from Brazilian oranges. A muffin from Costco to round the new menu.
Different brand and the hotel shall remain nameless, but I found a way to get back. The hotel was otherwise great! But for breakfast it offered Jimmy Dean brand sandwiches or bowls. The bowl was pretty bad. Second morning I had the sausage sandwich which was acceptable, so 3rd morning again with the sandwich but I had punched 9 minutes instead of 90 seconds and got distracted until I smelled the fire in my room’s microwave. It took awhile for the smoke and fire alarms to be turned off, the elevators turned on, and an inspection by the Firemen
@Bill n DC: Be carful. They may charge you for damage or cleaning to remove smoke smells.
The breakfast at limited service hotels (Marriott or otherwise) is already so off-putting to anyone looking for non-processed food that this is a non-event.
They will certainly be pre prepared institutional strength items. If anyone really thinks given that is /has happened to the various brands that we the customer will see something of real benefit well sadly mistaken especially with the new CEO of Marriott
I can cut my Marriott breakfast costs by 100%. It’s easy. I just stay elsewhere.
I’m old enough to remember when Marriott was a top-notch hotel chain. I earned a Black card the hard way. Breakfast at the lounge was a big factor in my hotel selection. Now I want the cheapest nice room, and I can get food anywhere. It could be that Marriott has customers like me in mind.
@ Gary — Slimebags doing slimy things.
Why create 30+ brands and then start making them all the same?
I would prefer a hot plate, microwave a mid size fridge in every room. Keep your crap breakfast. I’ll make my own mimosas and espresso.
As Billy Preston sang . . .
Nothin’ from nothin’ leaves nothin’
You gotta have somethin’ if you wanna be with me
I think @nsx may have the right of things. Marriott has gone amazingly far out of their way to treat customers – particularly engaged customers who they should be courting – like trash. I’m getting pretty tired of the nonstop abuse and condescension by Marriott while they make money from me. My expectations for them have been lowered constantly since the SPG merger but they still manage to underperform those increasingly meager expectations almost all the time. That’s sadly impressive.
There’s no doubt about it.
I may be Jewish – but I can agree with Christian.
Marriott is way worse than it used to be. I am also old enough to remember when it was a top flight chain. And I am not even 30 years old. I was merely privileged to grow up in a “mass affluent” household where we would take 1 to 2 vacations per year, staying at Marriott brand properties. They were a treat, and they were a pleasure.
No doubt some Marriott hotels today, notably those outside North America, are still a treat. But …
… this disease called “DATA DRIVEN” business has poisoned every company including Marriott.
The problem with data is that sometimes it’s unavailable. How do you quantify, let alone measure, such abstract concepts as customer loyalty, engagement, affinity? There is a douche bag at Wharton who preaches some nonsense about “Lifetime Value” but for the most part a data driven business culture means if it’s hard to measure, then we don’t care about it.
That’s why corporate stiffs who push cost cuts on top of cost cuts get promotions and we all suffer the sh*t quality of service that comes as a consequence, because sh*ttiness is not directly measurable whereas the dollar amount saved, is.
@Big Booty and others: The real problem is Marriott is NO LONGER A HOTEL COMPANY. While many people realize Marriott no longer owns hotels, most people still think Marriott manages every property. In reality, over 70% of Marriott’s properties are managed by a franchise owner or a third-party management company. You can’t control your brand when you don’t have operational control over more than 70% of your hotels. Period.
Ask Tommy Hilfiger and even Donald Trump (pre-presidency!) what happens when you license your name off and no longer have quality control.
I had the crustless quiche this morning at a Fairfield Inn in Plano, TX today. It didn’t look appealing, but I was pleasantly surprised. Staying here for 5 nights for a work trip & curious if it’ll be every day or if there will be some variety.
FNT Delta Diamond, just ask Halston, if he were alive.
The real problem is that this matters to all of you, which means you are still playing THEIR game. And, if you haven’t wised up and moved on, you deserve what you get.
Big Booty,
True indeed. And what doesn’t get measured, doesn’t get improved.
My concern is that there is:
1) so much market concentration in the industry and across related industries; and
2) so much alignment of interests within the industry and across related industries; and
3) so much convergence of how interests are set up or set up incentives across an industry and a market as a whole,
that the predictable outcomes are that:
A) there is a rat race to the bottom in level of customer service; and
B) consumers are left with getting a real decline in the value they get out of their money
when engaged in business with such companies taking advantage of Conditions 1+2+3 above. And those companies where management doesn’t become extremely exploitative — to the fullest extent allowed and/or generally tolerated under law — end up ultimately being the financial losers along with the consumers.
I work at a franchised Marriott…and they are trying to make the breakfast the same across the board for each specifically named hotel. So if you go to a Spring Hill in Az, then a different Spring Hill in Tx, or NC, the breakfast will be the same…
@VainityInc: There is nothing wrong with consistency. I mean 99% of McDonald’s and Starbucks offer the same food. The issue seems to be everything Marriott does to improve “consistency” is about cutting the expenses of their real customers (the franchisee owners and third-party hotel operators) at the expense of guests (the product sold to the real customer). I’m all for eliminating powdered eggs and microwaved sausage if the breakfast is a better quality.
Can’t believe the crap Americans will eat.
Europeans would laugh.
Marriott is not the company we all remember
I am lifetime titanium, like this matters anymore
Years past I looked forward to booking my reward travel.
Now as I try to book a spring trip availability is limited, points have been devalued as close to worthless and any premium property tacks on hundreds of dollars on top of the 100’s of thousands of points required for the stay.
As I enter retirement I was looking forward to using my 100’s of thousands of points for travel.
The value is so bad I would rather pay for my vacations and not stay at a Marriott property
Lifetime loyal customers should boycott all Marriott properties, period
This has rolled out at a number of locations. It’s dreadful. Two hot dishes at a TownePlace Suites last week – an egg sandwich, and eggs. Not kidding. Four kinds of cereal. But, 10 kids of toppings for the dry individual oatmeals – toppings not individually portioned, so you can watch a seven year old stick his hand in the chocolate chips.
They really need a meat/potato dish besides the dreadful reheated egg sandwiches.
@Roy Goldberg:
I am emptying my brand-related points accounts (airline, hotel, rental car, etc.) as fast as possible. There are no aspirational goals anymore, as all of the large travel suppliers are in a race to the bottom. I’ll keep the transferrable points (Amex, Capital One and Chase) and use them.
Regarding breakfast, my wife is correct: “We can always go to McDonalds, and often the quality is better.”
“If you want loyalty, get a dog. If you want loyalty and attention, get a smart dog.” — Grant Fairley
I’ve been staying at a Fairfield for the past 5 months. Since the first of the year, breakfast has been horrible. Microwaved burritos the make the gas station look like fine dining, jimmy Dean sandwiches that have almost your entire salt intake for the entire day, milk that expired yesterday. The list goes on, I’m close to ending my Titanium elite status.
@Reno Joe. You’ve made your point. ad nauseum.
You DO realize that these blogs are FOR people who are still interested in playing the game and constantly insulting us is getting a little old. Move on.
Won’t be staying at the Olathe Ks Marriott Residence inn Anymore after offering a so called “breakfast” of cereal, package muffins and coffee. Place was a filth octopod that!…Checked out the next day an checked in at the Hilton for the remainder part of the week where they apparently ty care about quality.
Marriott has taken a dive!… Hilton hereI come!!!!!
Being retired I too am only interested in burning through the million plus points. More important than traveling is the health concern until this pandemic is under control. Until then we will stay home. When we feel comfortable we will use points at Residence Inns usually with a microwave and near restaurants. If we want full service we will gladly pay for Ritz Carlton club level or similar hotel. Excess points we will donate. No more planning points accumulation for Marriott, airlines or anyone else. Cash back card is the only thing making sense.
The so called free breakfast provided by Marriott’s Residence Inn’s are nothing short of awful. Then again, I really don’t care as we stopped staying at Marriott Residence Inn’s some time ago for various reasons, breakfast had nothing to do with it.
I travel for work to the Residence Inn in Northern Ohio. Every morning the staff is in the breakfast area eating and standing around talking to each other. Maybe Marriott should look at themselves before constantly reducing guest benefits
As previously mentioned, Marriott cut personal reps for the Ambassador program but they have also farmed out the personalized service to China.
The new benefit to give Platinum Elite to a family member is only to mine data. If you ever speak with Customer Care ask where they are located-they will hesitate. The phones are answered in the states but the emails are all responded to by China. All emails from Marriott have email trackers. They will say respond to this email since it has a tracker. Paste, save and start a new email if you need to respond.
I am both frustrated and appalled at the changes in breakfasts in the Marriott program. I think being offered points vs. the breakfast is just typical hotel ploys to save money. But what is really bothers me the most, is the extended say hotels like Fairfield, Springhill suits, and Residence Inns have all lost the ability to offer simple breakfast options we have all become accustomed too over the years as Bonvoy elites. No moe toasters to heat up a beagle or to make toast. No more eggs or freshly made bacon/sausage. Now your given what I call the chemical muffin that has a shelf life of 5 years and is nothing short of fast food poison. They also are giving out pre packaged egg sandwiches with no ingredients on the package! This is criminal and they could get sued. I have peanut allergies and need to know the ingredients on all pre-packaged foods. No more waffle makers!!! The kids are devastated. The cost cutting during covid was expected, but if this continues into the future after covid, it is just cutting into the quality of a Bonvoy stay and Hilton is looking more promising. Your losing your most valuable and loyal customers. Stop feeding us junk!!!! I am Titanium and frustrated with the lack of quality and greed.
Just stayed at a Fairfield in san antonio. Breakfast was horrible!! I used to love their breakfast, kids could get waffles and bagels or toast, I could get some eggs and sausage even if they were microwaved, some fruits, make my self a sandwich, etc. Now your only choice is between two breakfast sandwiches in heated up inside toxic plastic bags. Neither tastes passable. Worst breakfast sandwiches I have very had, and I have had some rough food in my life. I have had better MREs. Breakfast was the only reason I stayed at marriot. Now I will just look for a room I can sleep in and get breakfast at a McDonald’s or jack in box.