ADVICE: How to attract more customers to hotels for breakfast

Consumers today are leading busier lives than ever. We are all looking for ways to save time without compromising our routine. Hotels can be the gate keepers to our valued time off. Waking up in a comfortable bed and eating a breakfast prepared for you by a chef offering you a selection you’d rarely get back home. Yet there has been a marked decline in the number of customers choosing hotel breakfasts. Hotels are facing stiff competition from high end coffee chains and independent coffee shops, which pride themselves on their coffee selection and personalisation. At the same time, the rise of the foodie is creating a new group of culinary enthusiasts, more eager than ever to venture out and try ‘something new’. This provides an opportunity for hoteliers. As people begin to be more aware of what they eat, drink and how these pair together, hoteliers can jump in and provide menus filled with breakfast varieties that can be paired well with coffee. If you’re using Nespresso capsule machines like the Aguila 220, you can get outstanding coffee easily, quickly and with minimum fuss, delivering a consistent drink to customers time after time. The most important step is to select a good quality coffee to serve. After all, while trends may change, the desire for quality will always remain constant. To then elevate the experience, adding a personal touch to the breakfast service can go a long way. By introducing a range of coffee flavours alongside a great breakfast, it directly feeds into the consumer desire for choice and variation. Nespresso regularly introduces new coffee flavours to provide customers with different and fresh experiences. Nespresso recently introduced the Espresso Caramel and Espresso Vanilla flavours and stays tapped into consumer demands to uncover the next best flavours that will provide customers with that special coffee moment. Each Nespresso flavour has its own unique origin. The Ristretto Intenso is a blend found from South and Central America, which is flawless for any breakfast serving. Ristretto Origin India is the perfect combination of the finest Arabicas with a hint of Robusta from Southern India, also an ideal flavour for the morning meal. Hotel staff can go beyond serving the coffee by personalising the breakfast experience for their customers, which can make a difference when deciding whether to head outside for breakfast or enjoy the service in the hotel. Ian McDonald is Nespresso's UK B2B commercial manager