WARNING: Hyper-sensitive mini-bar at SFO GH
 

If you so much as move an item in the mini-bar, you are automatically charged for it - regardless of whether you actually consumed it.

Ergo, can't use the mini-bar fridge to chill your own stuff.

Not Hyatt-related, but I remember seing such fridges in basic rooms at the Tokyo Keio Plaza I-C, whereas the executive floor rooms had normal ones...

So this isn't just a matter of inventory control, but also of milking thirsty guests.

You could decline to get the key or, in some hotels, have the minibar locked out. I remember the Keio Plaza could lock the minibar out remotely from the front desk. The computer locks it and the door cannot be opened.

Another solution I've used several times, though not at GHSF, was to just call and ask for a fridge to be put in my room. I like to keep a lot of cold water. My companion thought I was nuts. But 5 out of 5 times in NYC it was brought within an hour; at the HRSF I got a "yes", as well as in one or two others.

A staffer at one hotel told me they keep them on staff for people with medical needs. If they're not being used, guests can request them, though I have a feeling they said "yes" to me because of frequency of stays or being a Diamond.

I had a similar experience there, Grand Hyatt SF, last December and they told me that they would provide a refrigerator at no charge upon request.

Charging for merchandise that was not actually opened or removed from the premises would be fraudulent. They would have a hard time collecting.

Absolutely. I realized the problem when I opened the fridge and the housekeeping staff left a note highlighting the automatic charge provision. I quickly called the front desk, who mentioned this "happens all the time", and immediately credited my account for the erroneous charges.