The Continental Breakfast: What It Is And Why Hotel Chains Serve It

If you've ever stayed in a hotel in the United States, you've likely encountered some form of the continental breakfast. Typically offered gratis as part of your stay, this buffet-style spread generally includes food items like breads and pastries, fresh fruit, yogurt, and beverages like coffee, tea, and juice. The fare also frequently extends to include things like do-it-yourself waffle stations, cold cereal dispensers and accompanying containers of milk, and the fixings for instant oatmeal.

Some simple reasons hotels favor the continental breakfast is it's inexpensive and easy to execute. Minimal prep is needed — the food items can be delivered to the facility ready to go. It also doesn't take a full kitchen staff to set out shelf-stable goods like muffins, bagels, doughnuts, apples, and bananas; to stock a small refrigerator with things like prepackaged yogurts; and to monitor automatic juice and hot water dispensers, refilling each as needed.

It's always psychologically satisfying as a patron to know you're getting something for free (even if you did technically pay for it). Though relatively low-cost and low-maintenance for a hotel, it's an enticement to travelers as well as a goodwill gesture.

It's one of those phrases we tend to accept without questioning its meaning: continental breakfast. The term was coined in the late 1800s and early 1900s, deriving from the types of foods commonly consumed for breakfast on "the continent," meaning Europe. The heavy breakfast trappings typical in America, replete with fried dishes, were off-putting to Europeans who preferred a lighter morning meal. There is a science behind why bacon and eggs taste so good together, but the folks from Europe weren't digging it. To better appeal to the increasing number of travelers from that part of the world, hotels began offering the types of start-the-day sustenance they were accustomed to.

These days, hotels with higher price points will sometimes upgrade their offerings to a deluxe continental breakfast, adding heartier hot items like eggs, bacon, sausage, and potatoes to the lighter fare. A traveler may even find a made-to-order omelet station and dishes like biscuits and gravy. It's still largely do-it-yourself in terms of filling one's plate, but this approach provides a more substantial food lineup that is a definite attraction to sojourners and justifies charging guests a bit more for their stay.

If you're not clear on the best approach to use when partaking in a hotel's free morning meal, there is some essential etiquette for hotel breakfast buffets, such as always returning to self-serve stations with a clean, new plate and never used dishes or utensils. If the hotel offers a DIY waffle maker, there is also an etiquette mistake to avoid with the breakfast buffet's waffle irons.