Not To Gross You Out, But They Found Pee In Hotel Minibars
Not only have people been filling empty mini-bottles in their hotel rooms with pee, but enough people have done it that there’s a news story about it.
By nowproducerdave on September 12, 2018
That’s not whiskey! Ok, I’m sure this is mostly an isolated incident, but then again if it’s been found “multiple times” at one hotel, um, yeah. I suddenly don’t want that mixed drink I’ve been thinking about since my boss said “hello” to me this morning. Did I say that out loud? Oops.
Let’s back up a little bit. What’s a minibar? You know that – it’s the little literal mini-bar in hotel rooms. Some have them, a lot don’t. The hotel checks the inventory after you check out, and charge the bottles you drank to your card. It’s a great money-maker for hotels, much the same way that $8 bottle of whiskey or vodka the airline sells to you, happily. Are minibars required? Nope, they’re “optional services.” They’re rarely (never) free.
Anyway, this story isn’t about regulation of minibars, this is about pee in the bottles. According to this article, 1-in-3 British people admit that they’ve filled empty bottles with various liquids like water, and yes, even pee. Why someone would do that is beyond me, but maybe the color matches? Anyway, hotels aren’t stupid, the bottles have seal breaks, and the staff knows to check. Luckily, at least from what they say, they’ve “always detected” the tampering, but truthfully, I’m never drinking hotel bottles again. Always check the seals on bottles at least, and that goes for anything – soda, water, alcohol, pickles, olives – everything.
Now, due to these recent events, hotels are doing away with minibars. Most hotels have a vending machine in the hall, and a “store” behind the desk. They’ll sell you bottles there, and charge them straight to your room as you ask for them. Really, only the “finest” hotels will have a minibar these days, and those are probably going away next. Have you ever used a hotel minibar? Did you try to hide that fact by refilling the bottle with something?
