
The Rise and Fall of the Hotel Mini-Bar - ryan_j_naughton
http://priceonomics.com/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-hotel-mini-bar/
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mcphage
The hotels are losing money, because people aren't willing to pay 200% markup
on snacks. I wonder if people would actually use it if the markup wasn't such
a slap in the face? They might not lose as much money on it if they didn't
need to throw so much unpurchased merchandise out.

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Silhouette
I think the article has it pretty spot on. The mark-up is invariably absurd,
particularly in today's 24/7 culture where often you could just buy the same
product at a normal price from a store within a short walk of the hotel. On
top of that, the scary warnings and (clearly justified) fear of incorrect
charges probably keep a lot of guests from even opening the fridge door.

I don't even go near the area of the room where a mini-bar fridge is these
days, and I actively consider mini-bars a negative factor when choosing where
to stay. The "I obviously don't believe you but I can't be bothered to argue"
look from the reception staff when you entirely fairly and correctly point out
that you've been charged for something despite never even opening the fridge
is just a little too much for me when I'm already spending a small fortune on
staying somewhere "nice".

I did notice that the last place I stayed, the fridge was actually locked by
default, and (I'm told) you had to leave a special deposit with reception if
you wanted to unlock it. I guess that takes care of the never-opened-the-
fridge argument, at least. On the other hand, it did make a mockery of their
"generous" gift of a free bottle of water on arrival, since that bottle was
left in the fridge. Way to turn a tiny advantage into making a guest feel
robbed within five minutes of arrival...

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meric
One suggestion. Did you try call housekeeping and tell them to bring you more
one litre bottles of water? It's free and I tend to order 3-5 a night (as many
as my thirst called for). Make sure to call housekeeping and not room service.

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brc
In the hotel I stay at regularly, a fridge is present and running but has
nothing in it. I usually go to a store and purchase a couple of things - maybe
some beer and something simple for breakfast, like a couple of pieces of fruit
or yoghurt. Having a fridge is more of a benefit as a guest than having said
fridge stocked full of overpriced junk.

In some of the hotels with automated charge systems I have still used the
fridge just by sitting my stuff on top, and have never been charged. In
fridges with manual mini-bar I often take all the overpriced beer out, put it
in the cupboard, replace it with my own, then put it back in when I leave.
This only works on overnight stays as they check the fridge each day, but
works for me.

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greggman
Having grown up used to over priced mini-bars I was surprised when in Japan
the majority of hotels I've stayed at have vending machines either on the same
floor or usually on the first floor or basement where the price is exactly the
same as anywhere else, zero markup whatsoever.

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dhughes
Convenience is the key do you really want to go to the grocery store and pay
$1.69 the minibar at $3.00 or split the difference and try the vending machine
for $2.25?

A similar concept is in Vancouver, BC Canada where vending machines in condo
lobbies [http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/groceries-
fro...](http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/groceries-from-vending-
machines-coming-to-metro-vancouver-condos-soon-1.2884470)

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r00fus
I wonder how the price of the items in the minibar affected the update.

It's not clear if the prices of the items in the first mini-bars back in the
60's were 1300% inflated. If I were, for example, only paying 2-3x of the
cost, perhaps the volume might justify the convenience.

I'm surprised that a blog named pricenomics hasn't addressed this question.

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yitchelle
Now if the items in the minibar is free, that would be a revolution. The hotel
could just tell the guest that their fridge wont be restock during their stay,
but their mini-bar consumption would be free.

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seanmcdirmid
The Sofitel in Bangkok does that.

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mattlong
As does the NEXT Hotel in Brisbane. At first I didn't trust the sticker on the
fridge saying something along the lines of "stuff inside is free". I called
the front desk to confirm before partaking :)

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chrisbennet
The last mini bar I "used" was on a cruise ship. I put my own water bottle in
it but didn't take anything out. I got charged for "disturbing the mini bar"
or something like that.

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mikhailfranco
Empty fridge is much more useful than a stocked mini-bar.

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ianlee
some hotels actually offer free minibar services now. They figure it's a nice
addition to the customer experience as it differentiates themselves away from
the competitors so much.

I've experienced this in the Galaxy hotel, Macau

