It is an undeniable fact that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. And for a hotel company, it's also the most significant meal.
I loathe the hotel breakfast buffet, and I don't care who knows -- congealed eggs and the relentless getting up and sitting down.
Hotel groups recognized the problem with breakfast.
It's the one research shows we really care about, a key decider if we'll come back.
We need to change our approach and our philosophy of how we provide the most important meal of the day to the guests.
Now, after two years of research, Hilton are [is] relaunching breakfast along with a planned revamp of the Hilton New York.
Guests are like, you don't need to tell us how to eat. We know how to eat. Just give us fresh, healthy food and we'll figure out what we want.
We all don't like the scrambled eggs sitting in the dish.
You tried to get rid of the smoked... of the scrambled eggs, right? (I tried.)
What happened when you tried to do that?
Ah, yeah, guests were not very happy with me.
Overall, Hilton has taken it back to basics -- less variety, better quality.
I then said to the hotels, step it up, provide something that's locally relevant. If you're in New York, you want salmon and a schmear.
Hyatt went further.
They handed almost total control to the hotel chefs and insisted on seasonal local produce and sustainable farming.
We've asked our chefs [to] talk to their local farmers and ranchers and find out what it is that they can source locally.
At the Wall Street Andaz, a luxury Hyatt brand, they've even opened up their own farmer's market.
Each chef at the Hyatts here in New York come here on Wednesdays and Thursdays and buy their produce from here.
We expected costs to go up. Ironically enough, we've seen costs are going down.
This revolution of breakfast isn't confined to the upmarket luxury sector. Mid-scale hotels, too, are also changing the morning meal.
We're actually talking about not the CEO in the corner office. We're talking about the vast majority of business travelers who stay in a mid-scale hotel.
A free breakfast is essential to budget travelers. Three quarters of hotels offer it.
And while the offerings remain perhaps simple, Choice [has] dramatically expanded the menu.
They wanted more hot items. Americans love their eggs and meat for breakfast. They also wanted some healthy items.
If you haven't time for a waffle and still want to eat, there's something for the business traveler on the go.
We made a little to-go bag for them. It's got a breakfast bar, a piece of fruit, a bottle of water and a napkin, so they can eat it and go.
Whether all this change is enough to make me love the breakfast buffet, I'm still to be convinced.
Either way, hotels are officially on notice: there's a revolution at breakfast.