# Why do hotels have ice machines? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 7, 2019, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hotels-have-ice-machines/830665 "2019-03-07T00:59:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2019, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hotels-have-ice-machines/830665/1 "2019-03-07T00:59:03Z")
An ice machine on every floor. I’ve stayed in a lot of hotels over the years, and I’ve never used one. Come to think of it, I’ve never even witnessed a person getting ice from one. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2019, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hotels-have-ice-machines/830665/2 "2019-03-07T01:06:55Z")
I use the ice machine practically every time I stay in a hotel. Keeps the beer cold, ya know? ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2019, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hotels-have-ice-machines/830665/3 "2019-03-07T01:08:48Z")
You must not be alcoholic then. The kind that brings your own booze and mixers to the room to mix your own cocktails. And to keep all the kidneys you harvest fresh. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2019, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hotels-have-ice-machines/830665/4 "2019-03-07T01:12:27Z")
I use the ice machine a heck of a lot more than I use the ironing board… ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2019, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hotels-have-ice-machines/830665/5 "2019-03-07T01:17:22Z")
Every time I’ve been to a science fiction convention, the ice machines are empty by the first night. And where do you find hotels with ice machines on every floor? They’re on every other floor at best these days. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2019, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hotels-have-ice-machines/830665/6 "2019-03-07T01:18:39Z")
Since the factual answer is “because some people use them,” let’s move this over to IMHO so people can give their personal opinions. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![sisu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@sisu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sisu)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2019, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hotels-have-ice-machines/830665/7 "2019-03-07T01:23:30Z")
Yep I use the ice machine from time to time. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2019, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hotels-have-ice-machines/830665/8 "2019-03-07T01:24:56Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > I use the ice machine a heck of a lot more than I use the ironing board… Heh - I’ve used the hotel ironing board…once. But yeah, I’m not mixing cocktails when I travel in hotels (or ever, really, I’m not much of a boozer.) I always figured their primary purpose was for people who raid those tiny bottles of booze in the minibar. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2019, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hotels-have-ice-machines/830665/9 "2019-03-07T01:54:31Z")
I make my own better and cheaper at home. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2019, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hotels-have-ice-machines/830665/10 "2019-03-07T01:55:51Z")
> [@AncientHumanoid](#): > > I make my own better and cheaper at home. > :smack: You make ice machines? Why not just get some ice cube trays? ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2019, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hotels-have-ice-machines/830665/11 "2019-03-07T01:56:49Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > You make ice machines? > Why not just get some ice cube trays? Reported! ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2019, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hotels-have-ice-machines/830665/12 "2019-03-07T01:57:46Z")
I can safely say that 80% of the time I stay at a hotel, I use both the ice machine and the iron. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2019, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hotels-have-ice-machines/830665/13 "2019-03-07T01:57:57Z")
😛 ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2019, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hotels-have-ice-machines/830665/14 "2019-03-07T02:01:41Z")
When I was a kid and traveling with my parents, they’d bring a cooler of food, and we used the hotel ice maker to replace the melted ice. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2019, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hotels-have-ice-machines/830665/15 "2019-03-07T02:02:54Z")
It’s one of the first things I get after I check in. I use it to chill down soda (we bring it instead of getting it from a machine). I also like to drink ice water. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2019, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hotels-have-ice-machines/830665/16 "2019-03-07T02:04:35Z")
When we road tripped with our kids I kept an icechest in the car for drinks. So I’d ice up the chest for the trip out of the ice machine. One Podunk hotel in Laredo, Texas, the woman at the desk saw me doing it and sent a maintenance guy to stop me. Rude. But it was the only place that ever did that. It wasn’t like the hotel was packed with travellers. I think there were 3 cars in the parking lot. They were also ass-y about extra towels. Bad review from me was a given. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2019, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hotels-have-ice-machines/830665/17 "2019-03-07T02:07:55Z")
Always use them. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2019, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hotels-have-ice-machines/830665/18 "2019-03-07T02:10:31Z")
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen a sign that says “Do not fill coolers!”. Never stopped me, but I don’t fill up the whole cooler, just a plastic container that I put in the middle of the cooler to keep the core cold. I figure the ice is included in the room charge. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2019, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hotels-have-ice-machines/830665/19 "2019-03-07T02:12:29Z")
Some rules are made to be broken. I always say. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2019, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hotels-have-ice-machines/830665/20 "2019-03-07T02:13:38Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > It’s one of the first things I get after I check in. I use it to chill down soda (we bring it instead of getting it from a machine). I also like to drink ice water. This is my practice, too, to chill down sparkling water. To which I [DEL]frequently[/DEL] sometimes add a splash of whisky. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hotels-have-ice-machines/830665.md?page=2)