How guests manage to skip the hotel minibar bill

SUCCUMBING to the temptations of the hotel minibar is hard to avoid. But some guests have figured out how to have it all — without paying a cent.

SNEAKING a late night drink from the hotel minibar is a tough temptation to avoid.

Unless you’re made of money, most guests try to steer clear as the cost of a drink or snack is often several times the standard price.

But some of those who indulge regularly try to wriggle out of the bill — and it turns out the hotel staff are often happy to assist, The Sun reports.

A hospitality expert has revealed huge numbers of people don’t pay for their minibar drinks if they deny consuming them when checking out.

Jacob Tomsky is author of Heads In Beds, a Reckless Memoir of Hotels, Hustles and So-Called Hospitality.

“Minibar charges are, without question, the most disputed charges on any bill. That is because the process for applying those charges is horribly inexact,” he told Mental Floss.

“Keystroke errors, delays in restocking, double stocking, and hundreds of other missteps make minibar charges the most voided item.”

Guests can often get out of the charges entirely if they dispute them, Mr Tomsky said.

“Even before guests can manage to get through half of the ‘I never had those items’ sentence, I have already removed the charges,” he said.

Even if you are happy to steal from hotels, you might want to steer clear of the minibar drinks though.

As Sun Online previously reported, bored guests often tamper with the drinks in the fridge during their stay.

One hotel worker on Reddit revealed that he often discovered bottles full of urine.

“We had guests open the minibar fridge, drink the beer, p*** in the empty bottle, screw the cap back on and go on their merry way,” the Reddit user wrote.

“The next client, who was an old gentleman with his daughter, took a swill of p*** that day.”

This article originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced with permission.