Hotels striving to distinguish breakfast to attract more guests

The live dim sum corner at On The Plate buffet restaurant of Paradise Hotel Busan offers guests a chance to enjoy a variety of dim sum prepared by a chef onsite. Courtesy of Paradise Hotel Busan

By Jun Ji-hye

A premium breakfast is one of services guests look forward to when visiting luxury hotels, as it gives them a chance to enjoy a variety of gourmet menu items prepared by professional chefs.

According to a survey of 2,000 adults in Korea, released last month by online hotel reservation site HotelsCombined, an overwhelming 60.6 percent of respondents chose the complimentary breakfast as their most preferred hotel service, followed by the free access to swimming pools at 30.3 percent.

At a time when an increasing number of people have opted to spend their vacation at local hotels amid overseas travel restrictions caused by the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, hotels here have been enhancing their efforts to distinguish their breakfast menu and services to attract more guests.

The Paradise Hotel Busan has recently launched diverse breakfast menu items at its premium buffet restaurant, On The Plate, aimed at the so-called MZ generation ― those born between the 1980s and the early 2000s as a combination of millennials and Generation Z.

Diverse breakfast menu items at On The Plate of Paradise Hotel Busan / Courtesy of Paradise Hotel Busan

The new items include a vinegar beverage guaranteeing detoxification effects, and a drink made with fruit and vegetables.

The Eggs Benedict corner, which allows guests to select their own toppings, was designed to reflect characteristics of the MZ generation that tend to regard personal taste as important.

The live dim sum corner is an interactive kitchen that offers a variety of dim sum prepared by a Chinese chef onsite.

“As breakfast has become one of the most important considerations when people choose which hotel to stay in, we have consistently developed and released new menus to encompass diverse tastes,” an official from Paradise Hotel Busan said. “In particular, we have recently enhanced our breakfast menu for those in their 20s and 30s as these people have appeared not to hesitate in enjoying haute cuisine at luxury hotels.”

JW Marriott Hotel Seoul has brought a unique experience to its dinnerware as well as menu items, collaborating with Denby, a British manufacturer of premium tableware, to release the “Morning Delight in Bed” package.

The package offers an in-room breakfast composed of 10 menu items, including Belgian waffle and burrata cheese salad, on the Denby's signature Imperial Blue line. This enables guests to eat their breakfast in their room without intermingling with other guests amid concerns over the spread of COVID-19.

For its part, the Westin Chosun Seoul has released the “Exclusive Breakfast at Sushi Cho” package, which allows guests to enjoy traditional Japanese food as breakfast in a private room of Sushi Cho, the hotel's popular upscale Japanese restaurant located on the 20th floor.