Holiday Inn Express has launched a limited-time Breakfast Pillow package across its Australia and New Zealand properties, running from 26 August to 30 November 2026, built around new IHG-commissioned research into travellers’ sleep habits.
Product ties into brand’s sleep-focused positioning
The Breakfast Pillow features built-in speakers playing four white noise tracks recorded from breakfast sounds at a Holiday Inn Express property, including coffee being poured and bacon sizzling. It follows last year’s Breakfast Alarm Clock and forms the latest addition to the brand’s Express Recharge program, which also covers bedding options, blackout blinds and power showers across its hotels.
The package includes accommodation, a Breakfast Pillow for the guest’s stay, and the brand’s included hot breakfast. It is available at all Holiday Inn Express properties in Australia and New Zealand, where the brand currently operates eight hotels, with a further property, Holiday Inn Express Perth Cockburn, set to open later this year.
For advisors and corporate bookers, the package gives Holiday Inn Express a point of difference to promote within IHG’s essentials tier, alongside the brand’s continued growth in the ANZ market.
Research points to sleep habits among travellers
The initiative is underpinned by research IHG commissioned from YouGov, surveying 1,016 Australian adults aged 18 and over who had travelled for at least one night in the previous 12 months. Fieldwork was conducted between 1 and 5 May 2026.
The research found 72 per cent of respondents said breakfast sounds were comforting or relaxing while travelling, while 80 per cent said familiar breakfast sounds helped them feel calm away from home. It also found 87 per cent of respondents relied on something to help them fall asleep in hotels, with 26 per cent turning to background noise specifically.
Dean Jones, IHG Hotels & Resorts vice president of commercial, East Asia & Pacific, said the pillow was designed around the idea that breakfast could support sleep as well as mornings. “A free hot breakfast has become one of Holiday Inn Express’ most recognisable brand experiences, making it the natural inspiration for the latest innovation by the brand,” Jones said.
