5 ms·

So for 15p I can go in, make my own four-or-five shot latte, spill the milk everywhere because I'm hurrying, stuff my mouth full of biscuits, and walk out again

So for 15p I can go in, make my own four-or-five shot latte, spill the milk everywhere because I'm hurrying, stuff my mouth full of biscuits, and walk out again? Do they expect profit..? Or is the rest of the service industry just gouging us silly? [edit: typo]

darklajid 13y ago
Yeah, and you can go to all-you-can-eat meals and skip eating a day before and after to get the most out of it. I agree that the business might seem risky in quite some ways, but .. exploits like yours are probably possible in a lot of places. I'm reasonably sure that I could go to a good number of hotels, check in for a number of days, have my breakfast/empty the minibar and leave. Going to a cafe and leaving without paying is usually trivial, only social norms stop you from doing that (or .. don't).
- zht 13y ago
  where in the world can you find a hotel where you are not charged for what you take from the minibar?
  - darklajid 13y ago
    Uhm.. - all hotels that I know of (and I traveled quite a lot. In fact I write this from a hotel in Bern, CH) charge you at the end of your stay. A good number of hotels don't check your ID/your personal information. My point above was to just leave early, with or without clearing the minibar. It's possible and not hard. - I know more than a handful of people that just go to the reception, pay for the room. 'Sir, did you take anything from the minibar?' - 'No'. Of course they did. Now the hotel certainly can (after the guest departed) find out that it was cheated. And now .. what? The guest was probably from another country. Are you going to send a bill and hope for them to pay after lying to you previously? For a beer or three? Turns out .. a lot of hotels don't do that and never reach out to you. (Disclaimer: I haven't done that myself, I'm too cheap to buy the minibar items. My minimbar, at right this moment, is filled with beer I bought at a supermarket and brought to my room. But I _have_ been part of these exploits over and over again, even standing next to people that declined the question of whether they used the minibar and I was in their room! There are usually no consequences. If there are, you can ignore it - or say 'Oh, yeah. My fault' and pay up without repercussions)
    - robdrimmie 13y ago
      It may be a regional thing. Many (I'd say most, but I don't know the actual percentage) hotels in North America require a credit card, even if you're paying by cash. They will just charge the card after you leave.
      - darklajid 13y ago
        That doesn't apply over here (see the less carefully crafted version of your statement/the sibling comment). That said: What happens if you _have_ a credit card that backs the room, but not the rest of the expenses? I usually travel with a CC (from my employer) backing the room. I never pay my room myself. That said, the hotel isn't allowed to charge minibar/massage/champagne at 3am by room service on the company card - and has no reliable information about me [1]. 1: Yes, obviously it's rather dumb to run off with a TV if my company reserved the room or something. But again, as stated elsewhere in this thread: I've seen a number of people getting away with minibar-theft, very easily.
        IvyMike 13y ago
        > That said, the hotel isn't allowed to charge minibar/massage/champagne at 3am by room service on the company card This is the part that nobody understands. This isn't how things would work in the US (and many other countries). And how is this enforced?
        darklajid 13y ago
        Replying here, since HN likes me to calm down or something and hides the direct reply link. First of all: Thanks a lot for taking me somewhat serious. :) This is enforced by the letter of my company that states "Our Employee is staying in your hotel. We will cover his room, breakfast, wifi, parking. Please charge the following CC". Everything else is my business. If I eat at the hotel's restaurant I can charge that to my room. When I check out, I have to pay up for the things that aren't cleared for the CC - i.e. still open. Even if I steal from the hotel and run off with the couch in this room: The company specifically offered their CC for a number of services, paying for me stealing furniture isn't part of that agreement. If I break something they cannot charge the company CC (but at a certain amount will certainly ask my company, which is on file and well-known, to relay a bill to me). Just having a CC number is not enough to charge it with random things.
appplemac 13y ago
Actually, the Ziferblat in Kyiv already is profitable.
mpeg 13y ago
Yeah and you can also go to starbucks, pay £1.50 for a coffee and pee outside of the toilet. I don't know, is your argument against this cafe that some people are cunts? Well, they are.
rwallace 13y ago
Why bother with a stunt like that when you could ignore the existence of the cafe and just bring coffee and biscuits from home for free?

darklajid 13y ago

Yeah, and you can go to all-you-can-eat meals and skip eating a day before and after to get the most out of it. I agree that the business might seem risky in quite some ways, but .. exploits like yours are probably possible in a lot of places. I'm reasonably sure that I could go to a good number of hotels, check in for a number of days, have my breakfast/empty the minibar and leave. Going to a cafe and leaving without paying is usually trivial, only social norms stop you from doing that (or .. don't).

zht 13y ago
where in the world can you find a hotel where you are not charged for what you take from the minibar?
- darklajid 13y ago
  Uhm.. - all hotels that I know of (and I traveled quite a lot. In fact I write this from a hotel in Bern, CH) charge you at the end of your stay. A good number of hotels don't check your ID/your personal information. My point above was to just leave early, with or without clearing the minibar. It's possible and not hard. - I know more than a handful of people that just go to the reception, pay for the room. 'Sir, did you take anything from the minibar?' - 'No'. Of course they did. Now the hotel certainly can (after the guest departed) find out that it was cheated. And now .. what? The guest was probably from another country. Are you going to send a bill and hope for them to pay after lying to you previously? For a beer or three? Turns out .. a lot of hotels don't do that and never reach out to you. (Disclaimer: I haven't done that myself, I'm too cheap to buy the minibar items. My minimbar, at right this moment, is filled with beer I bought at a supermarket and brought to my room. But I _have_ been part of these exploits over and over again, even standing next to people that declined the question of whether they used the minibar and I was in their room! There are usually no consequences. If there are, you can ignore it - or say 'Oh, yeah. My fault' and pay up without repercussions)
  - robdrimmie 13y ago
    It may be a regional thing. Many (I'd say most, but I don't know the actual percentage) hotels in North America require a credit card, even if you're paying by cash. They will just charge the card after you leave.
    - darklajid 13y ago
      That doesn't apply over here (see the less carefully crafted version of your statement/the sibling comment). That said: What happens if you _have_ a credit card that backs the room, but not the rest of the expenses? I usually travel with a CC (from my employer) backing the room. I never pay my room myself. That said, the hotel isn't allowed to charge minibar/massage/champagne at 3am by room service on the company card - and has no reliable information about me [1]. 1: Yes, obviously it's rather dumb to run off with a TV if my company reserved the room or something. But again, as stated elsewhere in this thread: I've seen a number of people getting away with minibar-theft, very easily.
      - IvyMike 13y ago
        > That said, the hotel isn't allowed to charge minibar/massage/champagne at 3am by room service on the company card This is the part that nobody understands. This isn't how things would work in the US (and many other countries). And how is this enforced?
      - darklajid 13y ago
        Replying here, since HN likes me to calm down or something and hides the direct reply link. First of all: Thanks a lot for taking me somewhat serious. :) This is enforced by the letter of my company that states "Our Employee is staying in your hotel. We will cover his room, breakfast, wifi, parking. Please charge the following CC". Everything else is my business. If I eat at the hotel's restaurant I can charge that to my room. When I check out, I have to pay up for the things that aren't cleared for the CC - i.e. still open. Even if I steal from the hotel and run off with the couch in this room: The company specifically offered their CC for a number of services, paying for me stealing furniture isn't part of that agreement. If I break something they cannot charge the company CC (but at a certain amount will certainly ask my company, which is on file and well-known, to relay a bill to me). Just having a CC number is not enough to charge it with random things.

appplemac 13y ago

Actually, the Ziferblat in Kyiv already is profitable.

mpeg 13y ago

Yeah and you can also go to starbucks, pay £1.50 for a coffee and pee outside of the toilet. I don't know, is your argument against this cafe that some people are cunts? Well, they are.

rwallace 13y ago

Why bother with a stunt like that when you could ignore the existence of the cafe and just bring coffee and biscuits from home for free?