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Mandalay Bay has a little sign on the minibar indicating that if you even pick something up, you're liable to get charged -- they claim to have weight sensors,

by floren 3y ago

Mandalay Bay has a little sign on the minibar indicating that if you even pick something up, you're liable to get charged -- they claim to have weight sensors, presumably so you can't drink a $15 bottle of water, then run down to CVS an hour later and buy a replacement. This might just be bullshitting, but I took great care not to even touch the damn thing... which is exactly what you want on your vacation, a little zone of the room that'll cost you money if you touch it.

Nextgrid 3y ago
They indeed have weight sensors - that’s how the mini fridge detects that something has been taken so it can charge you. The concept isn’t evil in itself, it’s just that the pricing applied to it is predatory. The warning is there for your convenience more than anything else and is often out of an abundance of caution. I’ve seen similar ones where you can pick up and put it back within a certain time and not be charged - I’m pretty sure all these machines have a grace period to avoid spurious charges in case it gets bumped/etc, so it is safe to pick up items and put them back within a reasonable timeframe. In practice feel free to pick up (and even replace items, if it’s literally the same and they won’t be able to tell) and just play dumb and contest the charges at the front desk, they’ll have to waive them if they can’t decisively prove you actually took any items.
- solardev 3y ago
  Won't be long until manufacturers start making different SKUs for different hotel chains, like they do for price matching retailers
- HWR_14 3y ago
  The "reasonable timeframe" listed last time I was in that situation was 6 seconds.
- justinclift 3y ago
  Wonder if the sensors are still able to send data if you pull the fridge's power plug first? eg battery backup or similar
silisili 3y ago
This is strange in that it -feels- illegal. Could you imagine if grocery stores did that? What if you just want to inspect it closer or look the back or something?

by floren 3y ago

Nextgrid 3y ago

They indeed have weight sensors - that’s how the mini fridge detects that something has been taken so it can charge you. The concept isn’t evil in itself, it’s just that the pricing applied to it is predatory. The warning is there for your convenience more than anything else and is often out of an abundance of caution. I’ve seen similar ones where you can pick up and put it back within a certain time and not be charged - I’m pretty sure all these machines have a grace period to avoid spurious charges in case it gets bumped/etc, so it is safe to pick up items and put them back within a reasonable timeframe. In practice feel free to pick up (and even replace items, if it’s literally the same and they won’t be able to tell) and just play dumb and contest the charges at the front desk, they’ll have to waive them if they can’t decisively prove you actually took any items.

solardev 3y ago
Won't be long until manufacturers start making different SKUs for different hotel chains, like they do for price matching retailers
HWR_14 3y ago
The "reasonable timeframe" listed last time I was in that situation was 6 seconds.
justinclift 3y ago
Wonder if the sensors are still able to send data if you pull the fridge's power plug first? eg battery backup or similar

silisili 3y ago

This is strange in that it -feels- illegal. Could you imagine if grocery stores did that? What if you just want to inspect it closer or look the back or something?