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“Petit Déjeuner Compris” – Is It Really Free? Evidence from French and Italian Hotels*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 June 2012

George E. Johnson
George E. Johnson
Affiliation:
Department of Economics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109; email: [email protected].
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Abstract

Despite the old claim in economics that “there is no such thing as a free lunch,” some of the recent work in behavioral economics and in other fields of study implies the contrary. In this paper I study whether French and Italian hotels actually provide a “free” breakfast when, as is done by many hotels around the world, its provision is included in the room price. The data indicate, using both cross-sectional comparisons and hotel-specific changes in breakfast provision, that there is no such thing as a free breakfast. In France and Italy hotels that offer, respectively, “petit dejeuner compris” and “compresa la prima colazione” appear to raise their room prices by 10 to 15 percent.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Wine Economics , Volume 2 , Issue 1 , Spring 2007 , pp. 2 - 23
Copyright
Copyright © American Association of Wine Economists 2007

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