# pkbites gets ripped off \[edited title\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 6, 2010, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pkbites-gets-ripped-off-edited-title/563114 "2010-12-06T04:24:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2010, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pkbites-gets-ripped-off-edited-title/563114/21 "2010-12-06T16:43:16Z")
I prefer less expensive hotels for this very reason. I have no need to feel like my hotel is a status symbol, so I can stay at some budget place and feel just fine paying half or a third or a quarter of the prices the fancy places charge. And the rooms are often bigger, the staff friendlier, and the food options more diverse at those cheaper places, too. And if you need Sudafed at 3 in the morning, you can find a pharmacy. ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2010, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pkbites-gets-ripped-off-edited-title/563114/22 "2010-12-06T16:53:29Z")
I recently stayed at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare, and was warned that moving things in the minibar might cause me to be charged for them. Since I had already taken out a few bottles to see what they were (not that I intended to pay their outrageous rates, but I was curious about the size and type of “spirits” shown on the price listing on the door) I checked with the desk to make sure that they hadn’t been added to my bill. I was assured that they weren’t, and when I checked out I made sure of this. I was also annoyed to find out that the expected $9.95 daily charge for t-mobile access was not limited to my room, but also extended to the lobby. Apparently they decided that they didn’t want freeloaders spending their time cluttering up the lobby just to have wi-fi access. I’ve stayed at Hyatts in the past, but this was the first one I’ve seen that didn’t have free wi-fi in the lobby. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2010, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pkbites-gets-ripped-off-edited-title/563114/23 "2010-12-06T17:28:28Z")
> [@MsRobyn](#): > > A lot of those hotels can get away with those sorts of nickel-and-dime charges because they cater to business travelers who can expense them. I can’t expense that stuff and all I want is a clean bed and bathroom, so I tend to stay in the $75-a-night (or cheaper) hotels. Same here. I did notice that when we were in Germany and Amsterdam last summer, all the hotels we stayed in charged for internet except the CitizenM in Amsterdam. I am so used to cheap American motels giving away wifi it drove me nuts =( Next summer I am probably only traveling with the netbook and not the big laptop since I will be getting my wifi in internet cafes and not in my room =( ---
**Author:** ![lindsaybluth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/90db22/32.png) [@lindsaybluth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lindsaybluth)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2010, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pkbites-gets-ripped-off-edited-title/563114/24 "2010-12-06T19:01:49Z")
OP, did you get reimbursed for the Heinekens? This is absurd. I’ve stayed in high end places and the wifi is what kills me. And parking - wtf, charging more than $10/night for parking is bullshit. Haven’t experienced the minibar that charges you though. ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2010, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pkbites-gets-ripped-off-edited-title/563114/25 "2010-12-06T19:17:44Z")
I agree, that the \<100$ hotels are much better. The wifi is almost always free. The fridge is empty, so you can put leftovers in it, and the breakfast is just fine. Although I did stay at a Hilton that had free wifi and parking. I suppose that isn’t super upscale though. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2010, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pkbites-gets-ripped-off-edited-title/563114/26 "2010-12-06T19:28:43Z")
> [@Floater](#): > > Are you aware that you get billed automatically when you remove something from the mini-fridge (at least some of them work like that)? That’s what I said in the OP. I guess the days of the maid checking the fridge are over. > [@lindsaybluth](#): > > OP, did you get reimbursed for the Heinekens? Yeah, but I had to argue with them quite a bit.:mad: > [@jsgoddess](#): > > I prefer less expensive hotels for this very reason. I have no need to feel like my hotel is a status symbol, As far as I know there are no Super 8’s down on the Magnificent Mile. ---
**Author:** ![lindsaybluth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/90db22/32.png) [@lindsaybluth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lindsaybluth)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2010, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pkbites-gets-ripped-off-edited-title/563114/27 "2010-12-06T20:42:38Z")
I hope you’ve written a scathing review on Tripadvisor and other sites. I’m glad you got it taken off though. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2010, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pkbites-gets-ripped-off-edited-title/563114/28 "2010-12-06T23:55:23Z")
That’s typical for Chicago hotels. I worked in Chicago hotels for years. Those are not odd charges. Parking IS VERY expensive in Chicago, moreso in NYC or DC. We charged in our hotel to SHIP things to UPS FOR YOU. In other words if you came to our business center and said, “Can you ship this to UPS”? we’d charge $5.00 a box. Then we’d call UPS and they’d come and get it. As for the minibar, I hope you didn’t pay it. Just tell them, I didn’t take it, and I’m not paying for it. There are good reasons for limiting phone useage. The average hotel has about 1 trunk per 10 rooms. That means a hotel with 200 rooms has only about 20 telephone lines for guests in total. That means only 20 guest rooms can be on at once. Then you have additional trunks which can be auto routed. For instance at night when the sales dept is closed their lines can be used for guests too. So you want to keep your guest phone calls to be short. With cell phones so common this is no longer an issue most places. The markup on phone calls is enormous. At one high end hotel, we’d charge, the actual fee, plus tax, plus 250%. We’d even charge for 800 calls. Why? Because you were using a trunk out of the hotel that another guest might want to use. I’ve never seen a hotel that won’t let you use a luggage cart, unless it’s the only one left. Then they’ll ask you to wait till another is returned so, the bellman aren’t short. When I was revenue manager at a high end hotel in Chicago, we tried an experiment we’d mark the candy and much of it was being eaten and replaced. In other words, someone would eat a $4.00 Snicker’s bar and go to Walgreens the next day and replace it with one they bought there for $1.00. But we had marked it so we knew. Then the GM wanted to charge for it, but minibar charges are not worth the hassle as they lead to credit card disputes and that costs the hotel money. If the OP had been charged for a minibar then I strongly urge you to call Swissotel and tell them it’s incorrect and you just noticed it. Tell them if they dont’ remove it you’ll dispute the charge. It costs the hotel money to dispute the charge even if they win. For instance, in the hotel where I was the asst controller, the bank which handled our credit cards, Bank of America, charged $15.00 for every dispute, EVEN if we won. So it wasn’t worth the risk for an item less than $15.00 and with minibar charge we rarely won them. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2010, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pkbites-gets-ripped-off-edited-title/563114/29 "2010-12-07T00:09:02Z")
Ok **pkbites** , now you owe a $208 Complaint Fee. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2010, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pkbites-gets-ripped-off-edited-title/563114/30 "2010-12-07T00:27:19Z")
When I end up at a hotel like this I find my bed wetting condition starts to act up…:eek:😃 ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2010, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pkbites-gets-ripped-off-edited-title/563114/31 "2010-12-07T00:43:49Z")
On another site there is a hotel worker that complains about these fridges too. They constantly have people put stuff in them or move stuff and they have to deal with disputes at checkout time. It’s only corporate that thinks they are a good idea. Maybe they should just stick a vending machine in the room. ---
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2010, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pkbites-gets-ripped-off-edited-title/563114/32 "2010-12-07T00:48:50Z")
> [@Floater](#): > > Are you aware that you get billed automatically when you remove something from the mini-fridge (at least some of them work like that)? I don’t know if this was directed at me, but this is why everything that got taken out to make room for my pie, was replaced the next day for when they send around the mini bar stocker person. It was really inconvenient, which was kind of a surprise to unrefined me, who was under the mistaken idea that upscale hotels would fall over themselves catering to their guests every whim. > [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Some hotels will loan you a small refrigerator for free, if you need it for something like infant formula or medicine. Sometimes all you need to is just to ask for one, without needing it for medication or formula. Friends of my family always travel with their own food (picky eaters) so they claim that they need it for medication. Ah, my health food \*is \*my medicine. Good to know for future reference. I’m not sure this would work at the Biltmore Coral Gables, but not indicating medicinal need certainly didn’t work for me. All I indicated was that I needed to use the refrigerator, but their supplies that I had no intention of using were taking up all the space I needed. They informed me that they’d be happy to send someone up to clear out the fridge for a $30 fee, to which I replied “$30 to empty the fridge? Thanks, but no thanks.” “Very well. Let us know if there is anything else we can [not] do for you.” :mad: ---
**Author:** ![MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2010, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pkbites-gets-ripped-off-edited-title/563114/33 "2010-12-07T01:00:19Z")
> [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](#): > > I Ah, my health food \*is \*my medicine. Good to know for future reference. I’m not sure this would work at the Biltmore Coral Gables, but not indicating medicinal need certainly didn’t work for me. I am almost certain that if you request a fridge for “medical supplies” that they legally have to furnish your room with one, at no cost to the guest. (This is an ADA thing.) I don’t know for sure, but as far as their legal responsibility goes, the guest may have to make the request BEFORE arriving at the hotel, not just when you show up at the front desk. It probably depends on the specific hotel and on how busy they are at the time of the request. ---
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2010, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pkbites-gets-ripped-off-edited-title/563114/34 "2010-12-07T04:38:56Z")
> [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](#): > > I am almost certain that if you request a fridge for “medical supplies” that they legally have to furnish your room with one, at no cost to the guest. (This is an ADA thing.) I don’t know, but I’d be surprised that a Motel 8 could and would accommodate such a request. Presumably, both the Biltmore and Motel 8 are subject to the same ADA compliance requirements. ---
**Author:** ![MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2010, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pkbites-gets-ripped-off-edited-title/563114/35 "2010-12-07T04:49:25Z")
> [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](#): > > I don’t know, but I’d be surprised that a Motel 8 could and would accommodate such a request. Presumably, both the Biltmore and Motel 8 are subject to the same ADA compliance requirements. Unless the law has changed, the Super 8 has no choice in the matter—It is a law, not an amenity or a goodwill gesture upon the part of the hotel. As I stated earlier, I am unsure about the the details, and the fridge may need to be requested in advance to guarantee availability. (you do realise that a dorm-size refrigerator costs less than $100, right?) ---
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2010, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pkbites-gets-ripped-off-edited-title/563114/36 "2010-12-07T05:19:36Z")
> [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](#): > > Unless the law has changed, the Super 8 has no choice in the matter—It is a law, not an amenity or a goodwill gesture upon the part of the hotel. > > As I stated earlier, I am unsure about the the details, and the fridge may need to be requested in advance to guarantee availability. (you do realise that a dorm-size refrigerator costs less than $100, right?) Oh, I really don’t know. You may be right. Still, I don’t know if it’s just about cost but about storage and personnel resources to accommodate such a request. Seems like Motel 8 would just tell you where the ice machine is. ---
**Author:** ![Hakuna\_Matata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e4f/32.png) [@Hakuna\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hakuna_Matata)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2010, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pkbites-gets-ripped-off-edited-title/563114/37 "2010-12-07T05:45:51Z")
I just completed an ADA review on a hotel a couple of weeks ago. There are no requirements for a Ref that I recall. But it was a couple of weeks ago but that would have stood out to me I think. The room requirements are pretty simple. ‘x’ percentage of the keys have to be ADA accessible (depends on the number of rooms), of those ADA accessible rooms ‘y’ have to have roll in showers. ‘x’ percentage of the ADA rooms have to have visual strobes, etc. Then the rooms have to be diversified, in other words spread across the type of rooms and not located in the worst conditions. There are a few other overall issues that need to be addressed but that is pretty much it. Now if a Ref is provided as a general amenity then the ones in the ADA rooms would need to meet certain requirements. But as far as I can recall there isn’t a specific requirement that a hotel has to provide a Ref. Now a hotel might provide one as a courtesy (keeping customers happy is always a priority in a hotel) but I don’t believe there is any ADA requirement. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2010, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pkbites-gets-ripped-off-edited-title/563114/38 "2010-12-07T11:55:31Z")
> [@Hakuna\_Matata](#): > > I just completed an ADA review on a hotel a couple of weeks ago. There are no requirements for a Ref that I recall. But it was a couple of weeks ago but that would have stood out to me I think. > > The room requirements are pretty simple. ‘x’ percentage of the keys have to be ADA accessible (depends on the number of rooms), of those ADA accessible rooms ‘y’ have to have roll in showers. ‘x’ percentage of the ADA rooms have to have visual strobes, etc. Then the rooms have to be diversified, in other words spread across the type of rooms and not located in the worst conditions. > > There are a few other overall issues that need to be addressed but that is pretty much it. Now if a Ref is provided as a general amenity then the ones in the ADA rooms would need to meet certain requirements. But as far as I can recall there isn’t a specific requirement that a hotel has to provide a Ref. > > Now a hotel might provide one as a courtesy (keeping customers happy is always a priority in a hotel) but I don’t believe there is any ADA requirement. I have a small collapsing cooler bag. I also travel with a few sandwich sized zippy bags. My insulin goes into the little cooler bag and ice goes into a zippy bag. THat way it also stays cool on the road. I usually have very little issue also getting ice for the zippy bag at fast food places at lunch time. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2010, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pkbites-gets-ripped-off-edited-title/563114/39 "2010-12-07T15:45:25Z")
> [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](#): > > If you add small, heavy items to the fridge, like fishing weights or pennies, can you get the hotel to pay you? If you don’t swap them out fast enough, a giant round boulder will come rolling down the hall toward you. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2010, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pkbites-gets-ripped-off-edited-title/563114/40 "2010-12-07T17:08:26Z")
The very expensive hotels operate on a mindset that if you’re dumb or heedless enough to pay their exorbitant room rates, you won’t mind getting whacked with ludicrous charges for the “extras”. Even if I’m going to a convention held in one of these places, I’ll stay a few miles away at a reasonably-priced motel and forego the “convenience” of getting massively ripped off. And if parking is that hard to come by inexpensively in a certain city, I’ll attend a meeting somewhere else. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pkbites-gets-ripped-off-edited-title/563114.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pkbites-gets-ripped-off-edited-title/563114.md?page=3)