Shortly before 6 a.m., early risers stalk the cafeteria at the Hampton Inn & Suites in El Segundo, California, waiting for the breakfast buffet to open. At the appointed hour, proteins and starches spin out in combinations that change slightly but perceptibly from day to day. On a Tuesday in March, it’s egg white frittatas, Yukon gold potatoes and maple sausage; the next day, it’s scrambled eggs, red potatoes and chicken sausage. There are yogurts and hand fruit scattered about for the truly health-conscious, and a drawer of bite-size lemon scones for those who are merely playing at it. The key constant is the tub of Hampton’s malted vanilla waffle batter. In a now-familiar ritual, guests push a plastic tab to extrude the mix into a paper cup, drizzle it over a waffle iron, then flip the handle and watch the seconds tick down on a digital timer. As with almost everything at Hampton, the process has been rigorously engineered. Those little paper cups of batter are what peak hotel performance looks like.
