Tourist criticized for sneaking food from hotel breakfast to save on lunch

Nicola Lewis, a home organizer from Essex, England, regularly shares travel tips on saving on her Instagram, where she has 210,000 followers.

In a post from earlier this month, she suggested taking advantage of food at hotels' breakfast buffet, storing them, and using them for lunch to save on travel costs, Metro reported.

Nicola said she took bread, tuna, raw vegetables, and cucumbers to make sandwiches. She packed the food in plastic boxes, took it outside to the garden area of the hotel restaurant, and carried it with her.

Nicola described this as an "organized saving strategy" and recommended guests bring personal containers or ziplock bags to store food and keep it in their hotel room fridge, Daily Mail reported.

Although Nicola asked the hotel for permission before taking the food, her actions sparked controversy, generating over 45,000 likes and nearly 2,000 comments.

Some netizens criticized her actions as "greedy," "cheap," and "abusing the service," especially since the buffet was intended for breakfast only.

Other guests shared that their hotels had banned taking food out of the buffet area, with some even checking guests' bags afterward.

However, many defended Nicola's approach.

"I often do this when I go to the beach. It saves money and provides enough nutrition," one person commented.

Most hotels have a rule that guests are not allowed to take food from its buffet home to ensure food safety and hygiene.