Frankly, I thought the breakfast wars at the mid-scale hotel chains were over. In the US, waffle irons had become ubiquitous, we moved beyond the shrink-wrapped Little Debbies, and there was always the option of a bagel and cream cheese. It was a lot better than it was ten years ago.

(Though, frankly, those sticky buns are too over-the-top for my tastes, and some of those hockey-puck bagels — and the coffee — still really, really suck.)

But apparently, the breakfast wars are back, with the skirmishes spreading to international locations.

Holiday Inn Express properties in the United Kingdom and Ireland, for example, added scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, and warm pastries to their complimentary breakfast offerings in May. In June, Hampton Inn rolled out self-serve waffle makers as part of its free breakfast at properties in the United States, Canada and Latin America.

Accor’s ibis Mexico in Mexico City is focusing on Mexican-style breakfast offerings in its restaurants and breakfast buffets. All seven of the brand’s Mexican properties have followed suit, adapting their menu offerings to the local tastes of the market.
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Executives with Holiday Inn Express in the U.K. and Ireland learned from the U.S. breakfast expansion and adapted it to fit regional tastes, adding warm pastries, scrambled eggs and sausage or bacon (rotated daily).
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Meanwhile, Holiday Inn Express in the U.S. is testing pancakes at 20 of its hotels. It is too soon to say whether or not pancakes will be expanded to other locations, according to [Sue Morgan, VP of Franchise Food & Beverage at Holiday Inn Express]. “We take our due diligence very seriously as we look at changes,” she said.

The Mexican Ibis offerings — including chilaquiles! — sound pretty good… The pancakes?… color me skeptical. I’m not sure the pancake idea is going to work if they’re not giving customers a griddle and a ladle. Waffle irons are popular because the waffles are fresh. Pre-griddled pancakes don’t sound very enticing.

Of course, better breakfast doesn’t come free. While the breakfasts are commonly included in the base rate (albeit not at Ibis), the costs for the improvements will have to be paid somehow. You’ll probably see incremental increases in room rates as these better breakfasts are rolled out.

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