Background: One of Element’s lodging clients recognized the need to refresh and revamp its free breakfast area at one of its brands in order to stay competitive with changes that similar chains had recently made.

Business Question: What were hotel guests’ expectations for the items that would be at a mid-scale hotel’s breakfast area and, specifically, which items would make the breakfast most appealing to them and encourage them to stay at the hotel in the future?

Approach: Element conducted a quantitative online survey using a choice-based methodology with consumers who had recently stayed at the client’s hotel chain or a competitive set hotel.

Outcome: Our client was able to revise the mix of their breakfast offerings to ensure that as many guests’ needs were being met without having too many items from one category and not enough from another. The items were also selected with an eye towards making it most efficient and cost effective for their franchisees.