Minibars...Why???

[wisepalladin]

I understand why hotels have minibars and charge unnaturally high prices for the products within...in any other region but Las Vegas, specifically Strip hotels with casinos. Alcohol is available 24 hours a day, either at the casino from a server, a gift shop, or through room service. The gift shops are usually open all night and sell snacks, candy, and other essentials. I don't understand why hotels put their stores inside my room.

At every hotel in Vegas I stayed at, there was a minibar with overpriced sodas, beers, liquors, and candy, all on sensors that are directly linked to the credit card assigned to my room. Move anything for a few seconds, and I bought it, even if I don't consume it. Upon arrival, I ask the front desk to lock the minibar, so in case of an earthquake, I can argue that I didn't take anything. Unfortunately, space on counters or tables is also reserved for a display of candy, wine, mixed nuts, condoms, and at Aria, gadgets, adapters, and iphone chargers. All have been on sensors. I've seen soap and shampoo in the bathroom at Hard Rock that I wasn't supposed to use if I didn't want to pay for it.

The entire trip I keep an eye on all of that, so that I don't have to pay for it if it gets moved or taken by someone. That doesn't seem fair, almost to the point of insult. I wouldn't be surprised if, in May, my room comes equipped with a puppy, a 4x4 meal from In 'n' Out, and Mila Kunis. If I pet the puppy, eat one french fry, or talk to Mila, my card will be charged $399.

Can anyone enlighten me on this a bit? I get that hotels want to maximize revenue per guest, but do lots of customers use the minibar, or the products laying out in the room? I'd like to ask a hotel in advance to not have any of those products in my room. A list of products and prices would suffice. I don't want to pay $7.50 for a box of candy or nuts that've been out in front of the 7 previous occupants. I especially don't want to pay because it got knocked down for a minute and was put back. I've never been charged for anything like that, but I would raise absolute hell if I did...even if the trip went great and I could easily afford whatever I was charged for.

[WT661]

Simply dont touch it. LOL. Is it that hard?

Its for those that have no self control and dont really think of the consequences.

And in a way, water and candy can be an emergency thing for somebody. Someone that is low on blood sugar and needs a quick fix of some candy or someone not feeling well and needs that bottled water at any cost. Thats the only way I would say its justified to spend more on those items. Other than that, dont touch it, dont even get close to it. LOL.

[laidback]

Those chocolate things with cocoa dust on them @ Encore are awesome. $8 is fine when you want something like that and don;t feel like driving for it. The liquor in the mini fridge is priced close to what you'd pay down at the bar, really.


It's not the minibar that is overpriced.. it's Vegas. Just how it is.

[wisepalladin]

Simply dont touch it. LOL. Is it that hard?

Its for those that have no self control and dont really think of the consequences.

And in a way, water and candy can be an emergency thing for somebody. Someone that is low on blood sugar and needs a quick fix of some candy or someone not feeling well and needs that bottled water at any cost. Thats the only way I would say its justified to spend more on those items. Other than that, dont touch it, dont even get close to it. LOL.

It's not that hard. I just find it annoying. When I pay for a hotel room, I expect everything inside of it to be paid for, except for what I specifically order. I understand the little mini fridge for some people. It's when there are three bottles of wine, kettle chips, and cheesy popcorn just out there, for anyone to just swipe or move. What if a housekeeper moves something? Not on purpose, but just knocks it off the sensor when cleaning the room. I always request the fridge to be locked but I shouldn't have that many more off limits places in my room...

[KAM]

Sometimes people don't mind paying for convenience. I've drank the $4 sprite at the Palms when I was far too hungover to even drag myself to the vending machine down the hall. There's times when that drink is worth whatever the over priced charge is. That trip my friend and I drank 2 sodas, but were charged for 4. I went to the front desk and they quickly reversed the charges for what we didn't actually consume. If the hotel has even decent customer service I can't imagine them giving you trouble about reversing the charges for items which you actually didn't consume. Most hotels also allow you to view your hotel room bill on the TV so you can keep an eye on charges. That's how I found out the they we're trying to charge me for a night which was supposed to be comped. Even when I don't use the minibars I really don't find them to be a huge inconvenience at all. I just don't open it or touch the items on the tray.

[ocralph714]

I'll be honest, over Christmas weekend we were pre partying in my room and drank all the booze we had, obviously when you're buzzin and in immediate need of booze you go for the first thing that is accessible si we drank some of the booze in the minibar. Luckily I had $100 resort credit to cover it all.