DUBAI, UAE – 31 October, 2013 – Le Meridien Hotels & Resorts has revealed the results of a newly commissioned survey on global coffee and travel habits as the Paris-born brand begins to roll-out Master Baristas at its hotels and resorts worldwide by end of year.
7,455 people from six countries were surveyed, including 1,100 from Dubai, UAE. The study revealed that above all if travellers had to give up a hotel item for the perfect cup of coffee, more than half would give up TV (55%) with 18% willing to give up the Internet.
To meet the growing demands of coffee lovers worldwide, Le Meridien has launched a new Master Barista initiative that will introduce a dedicated coffee expert to every hotel globally by the end of the year.
Derived from the Italian word for ‘bartender,’ the Le Meridien Master Barista will boast a technical skillset required beyond making basic coffee drinks and undergo an intensive training program, designed by Le Méridien and its global coffee partner illy, together with LM100 member and Master Barista Fritz Storm.
Le Meridien and Westin global brand leader Brian Povinelli added: “Coffee continues to be an increasingly important part of the travel experience, and to develop high impact programming for our Le Meridien guests, it was important that we had an understanding of global coffee trends.
The new Le Meridien Master Barista programme, derived from key findings from our study, will further bring to life a quintessential European cafe and breakfast culture at Le Meridien hotels and resorts around the world.”
The new global study of coffee drinkers and frequent travellers in six countries – the UAE, the US, France, China, Germany and India, uncovers how today’s ‘mega-travellers’ get their caffeine fix.
Travellers experience an emotional response to coffee, given that 69% of them say they generally miss the coffee experience they had while traveling. This is further reinforced by the fact that 60% of the respondents drink more coffee when traveling than at home.
Of the 1,100 respondents from Dubai, half said they reach for a cup of coffee first thing in the morning rather than their spouse (26%) or their pets (24%). A huge 99% said they have to have coffee when in long meetings with 80% drinking more coffee to be more sociable and 71% to be more creative.
