Pi-Consulting

A TripAdvisor survey has revealed that most travelers think hotel mini-bars are a swindle. 86% of the worldwide sample of over 1,600 travelers said that prices for beers, sodas and little bottles of Johnnie Walker were just too expensive. 45% claimed to have been charged two to three times the amount they would normally pay for the goods offered. 94% said they would probably use the mini-bar more often if the prices were more reasonable. But the problem goes beyond a perception of predatory pricing. Mini-bar bills seem to be a major source of indignation for guests, with a quarter reporting disputes with hotels over mini-bar charges when they check out. The introduction of weight and motion sensors, which “ring up the till” at reception when you move a bottle or can, seems to have made a bad thing worse. 16% of respondents complained they had been charged for simply putting their own items in the mini-bar to keep them cold, or for moving things around without consuming them. But hotel chains seem committed. Some hotels are even diversifying their mini-bar offerings to include items like bottled oxygen, sex kits, condoms, caviar and branded fragrances. That should turn around all those negative attitudes, surely. Sources: TripAdvisor, Pi.