When planning the hotels of the future — new builds and renovation projects alike — developers have the daunting task of predicting what guests four or so years down the road will want in a hotel. In that time frame, what they want from their breakfast options has shifted.
"The truth is, and this is whether you're staying in a hotel or not, people don't sit down for a full breakfast anymore," said Steve Palmer, founder, managing partner and chief vision officer at The Indigo Road Hospitality Group.
Guests want a juice bar, a to-go coffee and a few sandwich options, Palmer added, explaining that breakfast — and to some extent, lunch — happens on the go, so hotels need to be able to provide that option.
"Our development philosophy right now, in all of our hotels, is [to build] a very active, robust coffee bar," he said.
If done right, Palmer said, these coffee bars can activate the hotel lobby and become a place where guests — and even locals — go to socialize.
"If you're engaging your lobby in the right way in the mornings, it really does become a social hub, which can lead to further engagement from your local community, but we're a big fan of coffee bars Monday through Friday, then we will do a full-service brunch on Saturdays and Sundays," Palmer said.
The weekend brunch option, too, attracts locals and is another way to engage your community. Brunch service, usually, also comes with bigger checks since guests are likely to order alcoholic beverages, Palmer said.
The exception to the quick-breakfast trend, Palmer said, is resorts. Laura McKoy, chief creative officer at Omni Hotels & Resorts, agreed that resorts still need to offer a traditional breakfast dining option.
"We still want to provide a sit-down breakfast experience at all of our hotels, and the more that we've been planning, we realize that it's important for our brand as we move into even more of a luxury comp set," she said. "That experience is part of staying at a hotel, especially at a resort."
But McKoy said Omni is also investing in enhancing its coffee shops on property to provide guests an "in-between option."
What this looks like exactly varies by the property. At a few recently renovated resorts, McKoy said she's repositioned the coffee bar to be near the pool area. The high-traffic space makes it easier for guests to access, and the cafe can also serve ice cream to cater to afternoon crowds.
While hotel buffets seem to be less in demand by guests, McKoy said it's more of a matter of being strategic about what hotels have one and how to best optimize them.
For Omni's large conference hotels, the strategy is also to find the best visibility — such as putting the cafe on the side of the hotel by the convention center entrance — but also providing more substantial food options. McKoy said Omni has started to roll out an Amazon grab-and-go station where guests can self-checkout items, which, she added, has been received well so far.
"We're constantly trying to see guest behavior and how we can alter new design planning around what guests want," McKoy said.
Providing options is important, but Palmer said a mistake hotels can make is trying to be everything to everyone.
"The original sin in hotel food and beverage, which really sort of started making it mediocre, is this idea that we have to be all things to all people at all times," he said.
Hotel restaurants — no matter the meals they serve — should have a clear identity and not try to swap cuisines between service. And, Palmer said, that identity should be intentional across both the menu and the design.
Prioritizing quality is key for creating a successful coffee bar concept, Palmer said. Bringing in a local chef to create locally sourced and healthy dishes is as important at the coffee bar as it is in the hotel's main restaurant, he said. And while guests can have "on the go" food options, Palmer clarified that it won't look like the traditional grab-and-go hotel shop with prepackaged foods made offsite.
Adapting the wellness-focused mentality is also important at Omni's hotels, and this is something that's happening across age groups and demographics.
"I feel like there's a bigger push to take care of yourself and your body, and breakfast is important," McKoy said. "I think there was a time when people skipped breakfast and didn't feel like it was as important, but I think the mindset is shifting away from that, no matter what age group you are, you want a healthy option."