acysb87

That would be a Royal Flush as an RA

acysb87

Quite interesting following this thread. I will be at HAN,SIN and IST ICs in November and one of the RA benefits for me personally is the mini-bar.

In January this year,we were 3 travelling though BKK and the minibar was MT'd nightly. No issues to date.

A different perspective. How would the hotel know whether an overzealous employee may have helped MT the bar As opposed to the RA?

onlysuites

I have emailed the IC NYC to give me a run down of what exactly I took. They have yet to reply to me. I find that funny as when I email them before I would get a reply back within days and now I am having to send them reminders to reply back to me.

Shareholder

Considering the more than generous spread of food and booze offered in the Club lounge at the Expo -- which RAs have access to on their stays -- I see no issue in monitoring minibar usage and placing limitations on it. The rampant selling of RA status on eBay (and even here on CC) to locusts who drain the minibar on every stay are reasons the rest of us are paying the price of closer monitoring.

midnight

Absolutely right. You have hit the nail on the head.
People who buy their status have an interest in getting their money's worth.

turner32

I have earned my RA status and enjoy having a few from the mini-bar. I don't think its right for non/moderate drinkers to try to claim the moral high ground by stating how little they take. Having said that, let's get rid of these referral certificates, and let the people who spend the money, be the ones who benefit.

mnredfox

But the point is that if there is a limitation, what is it?

onlysuites

A few soft drinks and 2 Miniatures according to my recent stay.

AMDB7

Nonsense. The RA terms and conditions mention nothing about it, so why on earth should you think this is correct behaviour from the hotels? I don't condone excessive RA use of minibars whatsoever, but if useage is to be monitored and measured then it should be clearly set out in the t&c's, along with exactly what those quantities are. You can't just make it up as you go along!

3544quebec

Yeah - next thing you know they will be making it that the qualification criteria for RA status are obscure and difficult to get defined.

lsed

IC Han's minibar was quite lacking. Stayed in a deluxe suite but the Minibar had just 3 beers for alcoholic drinks.

IMH

I don't think that's what people have been saying -- just that it would seem surprising if there weren't enough light/moderate consumers to offset those who consume more, meaning that this should be a non-issue for IHG.

I'd see it as the same as early check-in: if everyone starts doing it, on every stay, then some ICs might run into problems. But that isn't going to happen -- although of course certain locations are asked to honour it more frequently than others based on flight arrival times.

Any IC that has a problem with things being taken out of their minibars and consumed by RAs shouldn't put those things in them in the first place. Full stop.

aussielori

I recently stayed with another RA (sep room) in FRA.
we arrived late and though we had 2 fridges each used only 1 water and a vodka out of each fridge.

on other occasions I have hit the mini bar a little more.
but only ever use mixers ad water.
it usually evens out.
I think they should get over it.

Jasper2009

I personally ifnd the whole idea of evaluating the consumption rate of RAs trouble-some. If a RA empties the entire minibar without leaving any empty bottles behind, sure, please go after him, but otherwise itīs quite ridiculous IMO.

When Iīm really thirsty, I may drink all the water, maybe 3-4 soft drinks, 1-2 miniatures of rum and maybe a (half)bottle of wine/champagne.

Except for the champagne which canīt be found in most minibars anyway, each drink costs the hotel $1-$2 max. in most parts of the world. Sure, a very few ICs may have to spend a bit more due to taxes/duties, but seriously, I doubt the average RA is such a significant financial burden.

Most RAs pay much more per night than many other guests staying at the same hotel as RAs generally avoid booking through third-party websites etc, so that should offset the costs by far.

ysolde

I have to say, this is ridiculous nickel and diming.

It was years ago, but when I was living out of a suitcase and staying in the same hotel in the same city for months on end, leaving on Fridays and returning on Sundays (granted, it was a FS), the GM realized really quickly what my preferences were, and that I was a cheap date. I therefore had all the bottled water and Diet Coke I could drink in the room, all the time, on the house. My favorite chocolate cake was on my room service tray each night, whether I ordered it or not, and it was complementary. In return, that hotel got my business every week, week after week, for months at a time, when I could choose any hotel in town. It was the little things that made the difference to me, and that GM knew it.