Fee to empty mini bar fridge
 

Did they misunderstand your request?

Some minibars have pressure sensors and charge you when you move things.

I have a 100% success rate getting those charges removed.

Since there is both a labor and an accounting cost, some fee is reasonable.

When a business charges a fee to do something out-of-the-ordinary, they have three basic options.

1. Charge a fee that just covers the cost of performing the task.
2. Charge a fee that produces a profit.
3. Charge an outrageous fee to discourage the customer from following through on the request.

Sounds as if this hotel is doing the second or third of the above options.

Ask for a bucket of ice to be brought up every few hours to keep your bottles cold, and I'll bet they will relent on the $50.00 charge.

I've had similar issues in Amsterdam, where they refuse to clear out the fridge and the pressure sensors go off with the slightest movement. I filled the recycling bin in the room with ice and it was better that way.

just carry or wheel the mini bar down to the front desk and tell them you don't need it emptied-you just do not want it in your room because you are a recovering alcoholic, on a diet, with an eating disorder.

//reminds me of when I was a little unhappy with a hotel in room safe. It was not anchored to the wall or furniture at all. The look on guests faces when I carried it in the elevator (locked) under my arm, and set it on the front desk asking if it was secure was priceless.

Of course in this context - because hotels are, theoretically at least, purveyors of hospitality - they could simply accommodate a guest's needs without any additional charge whatsoever and chalk it up to goodwill.

Does their website list a .'mini refrigerator' as a room feature? Uness they dsclosed the fee in advance, or at check in, Id refuse to pay it. Tell them to either bring up a fridge for your use as promised or waive the fee. (A mini-refrigerator is listed as an 'amenity'... they ADDITIONALLY list a mini bar "for a fee". You want the free fridge....)

They decline, empty it and contest the charge.

I wont let crap like this ruin my stay- allow them to decline the accommodation, then take action to correct their error. Deal with the $$ later.

I believe the St. Regis in DC also charges about $50 US to do this.

Within a few minutes of entering a hotel in Dubai, I remember saying to my wife not to touch the bottles in the Minibar as they would be automatically charged as soon as they were moved.....only to find her going through them as I turned around....