Taking food from a hotel breakfast buffet- cheeky??

[Nannyogg134]

Was chatting with Brother and SIL about their upcoming holiday. They've got a long drive with 2 young DCs, so they've booked a chain hotel with free buffet breakfast part way along (to break up the drive.) DM said "Oh good, don't forget to make sandwiches for the drive later.".
This led to a whole family breakdown of what it is/isn't cheeky to do at a breakfast buffet 😂...

• DM would happily take tupperware with her and fill up because 'it's been paid for' (I don't think she does take tupperware, I think it was a figure of speech!)
• DH said he's too embarrassed to take anything more than a banana for later.
• DSIL confessed that she can't resist taking pots of jam

I just wondered what everyone thought- Is it unreasonable to take from the buffet breakfast for 'later'?

Tight and scruffy

Chill out. It's just a few crumpets and choc au pains 🤣

What a snob. Get over yourself. Maybe some people are struggling financially?

If all people have to worry about is someone taking a bit of cheese and deli meat in a bread bun (most of which would normally be thrown if not taken as it's not pre packaged), and a bit of fruit, then I feel sorry for you.
Yes most places let staff have some leftovers, but the people paying for their breakfast have just as much right to take a few leftovers, esp as very few people eat enough at a buffet to cover what they're actually charged.
I ate for free at the hotels I worked in, but it wasn't a right I had, and we'd go in near the end of service (breakfast and dinner) so that the paying guests got priority.

I think the food can only be left out for a 4 hour window in catering

If I’ve only paid for breakfast (like B&B) then no I wouldn’t take more than a piece of fruit but at All Inclusives or a recent cruise when we’ve paid for food literally all day then yes I might take snacks for the room / cabin later on. I don’t feel like it’s cheeky as there is food available all day. I just enjoy time on my balcony.

If someone is struggling financially to the extent that they can't feed themselves why would they be booking holidays in hotels in the first place?

Exactly that

I'm 2 with a little bit of 3. I could never be friends with a 4

I confess. When I was staying in a very nice hotel in Menorca I used to sneak extra tomato so I could feed the tortoises who roamed free in the grounds.

When we went to Disney we couldn't afford 3 meals a day for four people what we could afford was an evening meal and breakfast was paid before we went if taking a few extra crossiants that we have actually paid for meant we could have 5 days in Disney that's what where going to do. Have you ever been the food is ridiculously expensive everyone was taking breakfast for lunch but their was loads so nobody would of been left hungry and it would of saved on food wastage so win win.

@Differentstarts " Have you ever been the food is ridiculously expensive everyone was taking breakfast for lunch but their was loads so nobody would of been left hungry and it would of saved on food wastage so win win."

I have very little skin in the game so I can't profess to care overly if you take some food from the buffet for use later, but unless you got there close to closing time - unlikely as young DCs and visiting Disney - then it's a bit tenuous to say you're doing the hotel a favour by preventing food waste.

I don't know what hotels you go to but everyone iv been to have massive amounts of food whether you go at the start or the end

This thread take me back 20 years to my repping days of the prolific complainers of nothing that has anything to do with them. What a total divide this topic is.

I'd bet some of you on here were the kind that complained to me no end, when I passed on theme park tickets I was given to lovely families that I knew were struggling (often 7 day holiday makers got 14 days for the price of 7 so would give me their tickets on leaving to use at my discretion) and I bet a few of you were the kind that would have passed on the tickets to me.

Cheeky to make sandwiches but we've taken some fruit and mini muffins in the past when the DC were younger - it's not like they eat a lot of breakfast so taking a couple of extra snacks for later is fine I think.

Although I do remember going to London with DH when we were poor students and we did make ourselves a whole packed lunch from the breakfast buffet haha! I wouldn't do it now though!

Why is it down to the hotel to enable you to afford lunch while on holiday?

Why is it ok to take fruit and muffins (fruit that hasn't been chopped up is often reused) but it's not ok to take a bread roll, a bit of cheese and slice of deli meat? What's the difference? What makes your taking of fruit, muffins, croissant etc moral and not cheeky but bread, cheese and deli meat is different?

Also apparently "popping " an item in your bag makes it less heinous than lifting it. So "popping in" an apple or croissant or whatever is completely different and in no way comparable to taking a roll with ham and cheese in it.

I'm waiting for the "but breakfast items not lunch items" ignoring the fact that continental breakfast items exist for a reason... because they ARE breakfast foods in many European countries.

If it means people actually go then their making money. They also saved time throwing 4 less crossaints in the bin that day. I was not willing to spend £15 each on a baby and a 3 year old to take one bite of lunch and not eat anymore it was bad enough we was doing that at tea time.

Oh. You're doing them a favour then? I'm sure they will be able to get plenty of bookings from people who can actually afford the holiday without expecting the hotel to subsidise their lunch. If you were so sure that your actions were reasonable, you could have asked if you could take food away.

Everybody was taking food nobody was hiding it. Your in the parks all day so it's convient for eating on the go. Why would the staff care it's not like it's their personal food and the more that's gone it's less to clear at the end.