The breakfast buffet, as we knew it, cannot continue (at least not in the midst of a global pandemic)
If you have traveled in recent months after confinement, you will have seen some changes that have occurred in your hotel : Almost all paperwork has been removed from the rooms, there is a capacity limit in the pools, the gym is closed… and as if it were a panic attack, some establishments they have laminated the entire buffet to an unpleasant point : bits of cheese wrapped in plastic wrap, or a slice of ham in a cardboard and plastic box for breakfast.
Buffets are like playgrounds for travelers . The model we know (of eating without stopping) was the work of the Canadian businessman Herb McDonald , who opened the restaurant Buckaroo Buffet in Las Vegas in the 40's offering an authentic open bar. An announcement of the establishment of that time encouraged eating all varieties of hot and cold dishes for a single dollar . This formula was quickly replicated around the world for its appeal to customers.
While buffets are a huge waste of food for a consumer increasingly aware of the environment , in recent years some establishments have opted to be more sustainable promoting some changes, such as the replacement of single-use cutlery with metal . With the arrival of the virus and the warnings that we must avoid contact as much as possible, plastic is coming back and multiplying.
The solution of some establishments has been to individually plasticize the food
as it says Laura Villadiego , one of the founders of Carro de Combate, an independent investigative journalism project aimed at responsible consumers , before making any decision to change the presentation of the buffets, it is first necessary to analyze with data what is the real risk of being contaminated with Covid-19 through surfaces and food.
“Although during the first weeks it was thought that the risk could be high, there is now a good deal of consensus that, although it is not completely non-existent, it is quite low. The main risk is the air and not the food ", She says.
An international study published in November led by Tufts University in Massachusetts, United States, shows that the remains of the virus that may remain on hard surfaces, as would be the case of beverage machines or buffet bread utensils are not as contagious.
How to avoid excess plastic in hotel breakfasts
Previous studies have shown that the coronavirus can remain from several hours to several days on plastic or metal . But these investigations were based on depositing large amounts of virus on surfaces, without presenting scenarios equivalent to real life.
Bearing this in mind, the most important thing when it comes to serving meals and breakfasts in a hotel, is to reduce infections by aerosols, droplets and close contacts . That is, wearing masks, preventing customers from walking around the room without them, avoiding queues and crowds.
The posture of villadiego it is clear The most sustainable option regarding buffets is the simplest: just stop offering them . If you still want to keep, " can be assigned to staff serving customers But it probably wouldn't make much sense economically, because one of the main advantages of a buffet economically for a hotel is that it requires fewer workers,” she says.
These breakfasts will still be possible... but in a different way
Some hotels, such as those of the Gallery Hotels chain, have offered as alternative early breakfast buffets , with the aim of varying its pre-coronavirus offer as little as possible. In the check in customers are informed of the new system and given a breakfast menu sheet in buffet mode, per room and per day , so you can fill in the desired units of each product.
At night, these sheets are counted so that when the kitchen team arrives they can prepare the orders. . Times are also organized to cut sausages and cheeses at the moment. From the reception they take care of control the planning Y that no more than five tables meet every 15 minutes to provide better service and reduce waiting.
Elena Oliver, director of the Honucai Hotel , one of the Gallery Hotels accommodations located in Mallorca, comments on some of the objectives of this decision: “ maintain superior four star service , avoid the client having to wait to receive breakfast, have everything disinfected , prevent the client from moving around the room and not expand the staff in this time of uncertainty”.
With this system they have achieved a significant drop in stock of products and costs have dropped three and four points without removing service, argues.
Iberostar 'assisted' buffet: there are no plastics here, there are individual portions
In the chain Iberostar they were outstanding students in sustainability, since in 2018 they began a new stage by eliminating single-use plastics from all their rooms and in 2019 in the rest of the hotel areas (including buffets), after much dialogue with suppliers.
As it explains Soraya Romero, director of sustainability for the group in Europe, the Middle East and Africa , “in some products it has been more expensive than in others, such as in butter pods , which are finally being replaced by other in vegetable paper wrappers ”. In the case of yoghurts, it hasn't been easy either, because they come in many flavours. But they have adjusted the offer and are presented in bulk or in a glass container.
With the arrival of the coronavirus, Iberostar has opted for the service . has been exposed a staff assisted buffet working behind a security screen . Customers can take some sweets themselves, but some changes have been made: although before they were presented cut into small cake cubes, now they are served in individual portions in a small bowl, for example.
From the Eurostars Hotels chain, of the Hotusa Group, they indicate that they are also prioritizing the use of glass and glass containers with lids . As all breakfasts have to be attended and adapted to measures to access food individually to avoid the virus, they have incorporated a new recyclable material: single-use bamboo tongs.
Assisted buffet at Iberostar hotels
The use of plastic is going to be a challenge in the coming months. Julio Barea, responsible for waste at the environmental NGO Greenpeace , claims that the plastics industry is taking advantage of the situation to "do even more business" ', because it is not always safer for customers. Greenpeace has denounced it and recommends continuing to use reusable utensils and containers, as opposed to disposable items.
Villadiego adds that although the arrival of the coronavirus has been the perfect breeding ground to give wings to the use of plastic, there is still hope to change the context. “ This is likely to change over the next few years with new European legislation banning the use of single-use plastics and plastic taxes coming soon ”, concludes the activist.
How to avoid excess plastic in hotel breakfasts