Improving the customer experience means generating satisfaction, positive reviews and, ultimately, recommendations that enhance your hotel's brand image and services. The aim: to retain your existing clientele and, above all, attract new ones.
Breakfast is a real challenge for your business, and if it's badly optimised it will also be badly perceived by your customers. And yet it is the last experience your customers have before they leave. It is one of the key factors influencing their level of satisfaction when they have to judge the quality of the services provided during their stay. So it's vital not to underestimate this service.
An important breakfast, but one that sometimes attracts few hotel guests
Today, there is a discrepancy between the importance given to breakfast by travellers when they are at home and the breakfast take-up rate in hotels (TCpdj). The latter fluctuates between 60% and 80%* depending on the number of nights spent and the type of hotel, and therefore appears to be fairly low.
There are several reasons for this. These include price and quality variables.
The price of breakfast depends greatly on the type of overnight stay and the range of services required. However, on stays that are sometimes very short and therefore less expensive, breakfast can significantly increase the cost of the stay.
The quality of your breakfast can be analysed and optimised in a number of ways to achieve a balance with the price you're charging! Don't forget that your customers will be looking for reasonable value for money before they are tempted by your offer..
The discrepancy between the hotel take-up rate and the importance of breakfast can therefore be explained by :
- On the one hand, hoteliers sometimes see this service as a constraint, and therefore do not give it all the attention it deserves;
- on the other hand, passengers expecting a particular quality of product at a price commensurate with the level of service on offer
What your customers are looking for at breakfast
The most important service, the last memory of their stay, the service that reflects the hotel's image... That's how guests talk about breakfast during their stay. As a result, the quality of the breakfast experience is of paramount importance to your hotel and its brand image.
Customers will therefore naturally look for products on your breakfast buffet that match their expectations.. For example, an international clientele will prefer to have access to a hot and cold buffet with savoury products, while a French clientele will prefer a 'continental' breakfast with viennoiseries.
But the criteria customers use to choose a breakfast can also be linked to
- allergies,
- preferences (organic, local, home-made)
- or dietary choices (vegetarian, vegan, etc.).
These criteria can even be real factors in making a choice when travelling. They must therefore be anticipated so that you can offer the same quality of breakfast as your hotel's other services.
However, if your buffet offers an experience that promises to be pleasurable for your customers thanks to an assortment of quality food and beverages, they still need to have access to all the services they need. the information you need to make your choice in the best possible conditions. What could be more frustrating than standing in front of a buffet and not knowing what it's made of?
Knowing what information you need to provide your customers so that they can make their choices is as essential as the product selection itself. By displaying clear information on your breakfast buffet, you can communicate transparently about your product range and enhance the choice you offer.
Make it easier for your customers to choose with clear information
Don't hesitate to offer your customers all the information they need. useful and important information about the products you offer, which go right to the heart of the matter:
- product name,
- composition,
- origin/provenance
Up to more precise information :
- translations if you have an international clientele,
- allergens,
- calories,
- nutritional values,
- preparation or cooking methods...
Customers tend to think that the restaurant offer in hotels is boring, uninspired and often not renewed. So don't hesitate to highlight the products that set you apart from your competitors ! The added value of your buffet is only important if your customers are aware of your efforts in terms of choice. Clearly indicate which of your products are new, vegan, local, homemade, organic, etc.
Relevant labelling helps to guide your customer's choice effectively. In this way, they avoid making a mistake and feeling the dissatisfaction and disappointment of having chosen a dish that did not meet their expectations or, on the contrary, of not having tasted a product for lack of information.
The customer's experience of the establishment is all the better for it, as they feel they have made the most of the opportunities on offer! Your breakfast is a driver of satisfaction and therefore of a successful customer experience.
Intercontinental Beijing breakfast buffetCase of use: InterContinental® Beijing
Since spring 2018, more than 300 special buffet labels in an ultra-refined matt black finish were created and printed for the breakfast buffet at the InterContinental Beijing hotel.
Each label clearly indicates the food category, allergens (represented by small pictograms) and also the names of the dishes in Chinese/English to satisfy both local and international customers. The clarity of the information provided enhances the customer experience in the hotel.
Read the use case