Hotels Become More Like Vacation Rentals by Losing Minibars
We frequently write about things that hotels do that set the pace for what vacation rentals will need to do. It is a pleasure to write that in at least one case, hotels are beginning to be more like vacation rentals. They are getting rid of their super expensive minibars and leaving a small refrigerator.
“The hotel minibar, repository of the $5 Coke and the $12 jar of nuts, has long been an object of scorn among value-conscious travelers. In a 2005 hotel guest-satisfaction study, the marketing information firm J.D. Power and Associates found that an in-room refrigerator ranked third among the desired amenities (after free continental breakfast and an in-room coffeemaker). And even as some lodgings spice up the standard drinks-and-snacks minibar fare (Kama Sutra products, anyone?), some hoteliers are heeding the message, particularly when it affects their bottom line�, reports the USATODAY in an article by Michael A. Schwarz.
The article points out that for many hotels it is a pure business decision, as hotels are finding that the costs of labor required to service the minibars were balanced against the revenue, the costs outweighed the revenue. Even though this makes hotels more like vacation rentals, we are happy to see the hotel industry bow to their guest preferences in this case.
