When you check in to a hotel, you normally see the refrigerator with drinks and chocolates. But beware because there is price to pay... and it's costly. Whenever we would stay in a hotel for our trips abroad, we are used to not touching those food and drinks in the refrigerator. What we do is to find a convenience store and buy drinks and goodies that we would stock in the hotel's refrigerator. Think of how much we have saved with that style.
A relatively easy way for hotels to make more money from their customers. Apparently the reason why the drinks and snacks in those mini fridges were so expensive is because they were too much hassle to maintain, checking to see if they need to be restocked etc. This is probably the reason why a number of hotels leave these mini-fridges empty nowadays.
In some hotels you have to be careful, if you take anything out to look at and then put it back you still get charged because it monitors items removed. Basically it's so you can't take something and then replace it. It happened to me in a Hilton and they refunded me, but told me that it is motion detected now. It also means there is less room to put your own items in if you want to, so don't be tempted to have a look at items as you can be charged, or you get more hassle getting it taken off your bill.
This experience is quiet funny because during my first time checking into a hotel with a bunch of friends years ago, we were all still ignorant of a lot of things that we never had any idea that the goodies inside the hotel fridge were not free at all. So when one of us opened it and saw lots of stuff neatly stocked inside, she was so delighted to see them that she immediately opened one drink. I too took one drink while the others felt wary wondering why there were drinks inside our hotel room fridge. Check out time came and we finally found out that we had to pay for what we thought were treats included in our room payment.
Yes, I feel this is an unsuspecting way for hotels to make money off unknowing customers. Although when we travel now I have yet to see a hotel fridge that comes stocked with goodies. I see the overpriced vending machines in the hallways with drink, chips and chocolate bars but no longer do they put the goodies in the room. It must be too hard to keep it stocked and perhaps customers complaints about having to pay for what they thought was complimentary treats. I always bring my own treats when we travel, drinks, snacks etc so we don't have to pay.
I've always been cautious about taking anything from the fridge in the hotel room but I wasn't aware they were motion detected now! I think in future I'll be more tempted to just buy food to eat in the hotel room that doesn't have to be refrigerated for fear of being charged for removing my own items that I'd put in there! I suppose people were able to get away with not paying by replacing the products before, but that doesn't seem as if it's possible any more that's for sure.
