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> Yet if I had gone back to the room and merely pulled a single drink out of the minibar, I could have run up a $60 charge no problem! Is it the kind of miniba

> Yet if I had gone back to the room and merely pulled a single drink out of the minibar, I could have run up a $60 charge no problem! Is it the kind of minibar connected to the phone line, where every item presses down a dedicated knob thus touching the item releases the signal to the system? The only time I saw something like this was in a hotel in US of A and viciousness of it infuriated me.

mrguyorama 3y ago
It's usually done in a much more banal way, just charge you for what they restock.
- cowsup 3y ago
  Not really. Nowadays, Vegas hotel minibars frequently have sensors.[0] Before sensors, people would grab a $5 can of soda at 2am, drink it, swing by the convenience store in the morning and get a 12-pack for $6, and put a single can back in the minibar. On paper it's a 1:1 swap, so it's not really stealing, but hotels wanted their profits, so they invested in the sensors. I'm sure other hotels just check what gets restocked and charge you accordingly, but hotels that really want to juice you will get every dollar they can. [0] https://www.reviewjournal.com/local/local-las-vegas/minibars-in-las-vegas-changing-with-the-times/ https://www.reviewjournal.com/local/local-las-vegas/minibars...
  - wkat4242 3y ago
    > On paper it's a 1:1 swap, so it's not really stealing, but hotels wanted their profits, so they invested in the sensors. It's not stealing at all. I always stuff my own drinks into the minibar fridge between the hotel supplied ones, something like this would really piss me off.
    - cyanydeez 3y ago
      [flagged]
ghaff 3y ago
Minibars seem to have generally fallen out of favor in the US and been replaced with just in-room refrigerators. It probably partly a function of the hotels I frequent though and, while I travel to Vegas less these days, it's hands-down the worst offender of breathe on the minibar or snack tray and get charged a lot of money.
tkems 3y ago
I did some research after staying in a Vegas MGM property and the minibars [1] seem to use IR beams to detect if a product has been removed. They also can be hardwired via Ethernet or use wireless protocols like zigbee. It seemed that in my room it was wireless as the thermostat model supported zigbee. I also saw that the fridge could be locked remotely (!) on some models. [1] https://bartech.com/ https://bartech.com/
- TurkishPoptart 3y ago
  I wonder if there's any blog posts about covertly switching around beverages to fool the beams, Mission-Impossible-style.
  - 3np 3y ago
    Just use a straw like the rest of us.
- TylerE 3y ago
  The last bit makes a lot of sense. Many recovering alcholics request no mini-bar access, and locking it remotely is both easier and more secure than having someone from housekeeping physically go into the room and do. If virtual it can be automatically as part of the guest check in flow.
  - Nextgrid 3y ago
    On the other hand the sight of alcohol being so close, even if locked, could be unpleasant and very tempting.
    - TylerE 3y ago
      It's Vegas. Anyone THAT uncomfortable with alcohol has no business being in town, because it's EVERY where.
      - darkstar999 3y ago
psadauskas 3y ago
A few years ago I was staying in a hotel where the minibar fridge compressor was making a ton of noise in the middle of the night. I did some "percussive maintenance" to get it to quiet down (I couldn't get to the plug to just unplug it). On checkout, I had a huge bill for a bunch of things in the minibar. I guess I jostled the items enough that it tripped whatever switches or sensors they used. I complained to the front desk, and luckily they refunded all of it.

mrguyorama 3y ago

It's usually done in a much more banal way, just charge you for what they restock.

cowsup 3y ago
Not really. Nowadays, Vegas hotel minibars frequently have sensors.[0] Before sensors, people would grab a $5 can of soda at 2am, drink it, swing by the convenience store in the morning and get a 12-pack for $6, and put a single can back in the minibar. On paper it's a 1:1 swap, so it's not really stealing, but hotels wanted their profits, so they invested in the sensors. I'm sure other hotels just check what gets restocked and charge you accordingly, but hotels that really want to juice you will get every dollar they can. [0] https://www.reviewjournal.com/local/local-las-vegas/minibars-in-las-vegas-changing-with-the-times/ https://www.reviewjournal.com/local/local-las-vegas/minibars...
- wkat4242 3y ago
  > On paper it's a 1:1 swap, so it's not really stealing, but hotels wanted their profits, so they invested in the sensors. It's not stealing at all. I always stuff my own drinks into the minibar fridge between the hotel supplied ones, something like this would really piss me off.
  - cyanydeez 3y ago
    [flagged]

ghaff 3y ago

Minibars seem to have generally fallen out of favor in the US and been replaced with just in-room refrigerators. It probably partly a function of the hotels I frequent though and, while I travel to Vegas less these days, it's hands-down the worst offender of breathe on the minibar or snack tray and get charged a lot of money.

tkems 3y ago

I did some research after staying in a Vegas MGM property and the minibars [1] seem to use IR beams to detect if a product has been removed. They also can be hardwired via Ethernet or use wireless protocols like zigbee. It seemed that in my room it was wireless as the thermostat model supported zigbee. I also saw that the fridge could be locked remotely (!) on some models. [1] https://bartech.com/ https://bartech.com/

TurkishPoptart 3y ago
I wonder if there's any blog posts about covertly switching around beverages to fool the beams, Mission-Impossible-style.
- 3np 3y ago
  Just use a straw like the rest of us.
TylerE 3y ago
The last bit makes a lot of sense. Many recovering alcholics request no mini-bar access, and locking it remotely is both easier and more secure than having someone from housekeeping physically go into the room and do. If virtual it can be automatically as part of the guest check in flow.
- Nextgrid 3y ago
  On the other hand the sight of alcohol being so close, even if locked, could be unpleasant and very tempting.
  - TylerE 3y ago
    It's Vegas. Anyone THAT uncomfortable with alcohol has no business being in town, because it's EVERY where.
    - darkstar999 3y ago

psadauskas 3y ago

A few years ago I was staying in a hotel where the minibar fridge compressor was making a ton of noise in the middle of the night. I did some "percussive maintenance" to get it to quiet down (I couldn't get to the plug to just unplug it). On checkout, I had a huge bill for a bunch of things in the minibar. I guess I jostled the items enough that it tripped whatever switches or sensors they used. I complained to the front desk, and luckily they refunded all of it.