ORLANDO, Fla.- May 16, 2007 - Approximately one-half of hotel guests,
whether vacationing or on a business trip, expect a free breakfast as part
of their room rate, according to a new study data from YPB&R, an international
advertising agency specializing in serving travel and leisure clients.
As part of their hotel selection decision-making process, 49% percent
of leisure travelers and 53% of business travelers feel getting a free
breakfast is very or extremely influential.
Business travelers� attitudes toward free breakfast are even more pronounced
in measuring hotel pricing and value. More than three in five business
travelers (65%) surveyed find a hotel or motel that provides a complimentary
breakfast included with the hotel�s nightly room rate very or extremely
desirable.
The data, from the soon-to-be-released 2007 YPB&R/Yankelovich Partners
National Leisure Travel Monitor and its business counterpart, the YPB&R/Yankelovich
Partners National Business Travel Monitor, also indicate:
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Seven out of ten leisure travelers (71%) enjoy trying new dishes and
foods when they go out to lunch or dinner during a trip. Three-quarters
(74%) of business travelers, perhaps reflecting their ability to use an
expense account when dining out, say they enjoy trying new dishes and foods
during a business trip. �Leisure and business travelers are telling
us they are in a more experimental mood when it comes to dining out during
a trip,� said Dennis Marzella, executive vice president of strategic marketing
for YPB&R, the international advertising agency that collaborates in
the annual study. �Life enriching experiences like travel, good restaurants,
theater, and other activities rank high as an aspiration among both leisure
(64%) and business travelers (68%).�
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More than one-half (52%) of business travelers say they prefer to dine
in restaurants outside the hotel in which they are staying. �This suggests
an excellent opportunity for full-service lodging establishments to increase
their share of food & beverage spending by developing more imaginative
restaurant concepts. The need is clearly there � 54% of these travelers
report they want a diversity of restaurants on premise. Business travelers
are also likely to be responsive to more stylish, fast, casual restaurants
in mid-scale properties,� Marzella said.
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Confusion reigns about nutritional information available these days.
Leisure travelers (70%) and business travelers (64%) are in almost perfect
agreement in responding that they are confused about what one should or
should not eat. Still, 68% of business travelers and 66% of leisure travelers
expect to make more of an effort to eat better and live a healthier lifestyle
this year. �Expect traveling consumers to be receptive to more healthful,
upscale casual-dining establishments like the Seasons 52 restaurant concept
launched by Darden Restaurants in the past few years,� Marzella noted.
�Also, there is rising opportunity in `smaller box' upscale, fast, casual
versions of tasty, on-the-go cuisine that is good for you,� he said.
The 2007 YPB&R/Yankelovich Partners National Leisure Travel Monitor
and the YPB&R/Yankelovich National Business Travel Monitor are now
in their 15th and 12th year of publication, respectively. Each study, conducted
among a nationally representative audience, is regarded as an important
barometer in the measurement of attitudes and pre-dispositions of traveling
Americans.
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