One of the things that I love about traveling as much as I’ve been fortunate enough to do is that you gain experience. You learn how to haggle, you learn how to cut corners, and you learn to be thrifty. All in all, I’d argue that traveling allows you to learn “street smarts” the quickest way possible. Sure, learning usually involves getting ripped off a few times, but in the end you’re better because of it.
Over the years I’ve learned a few different “travel hacks,” but today I was reminded of one that I thought was worth sharing. I thought it was worth sharing mostly because of how obscene it was and how easy it was to complete.
The Hotel-Mini Bar Problem
It’s no secret that hotel mini-bar prices are outrageous. So, one of my favorite “travel hacks” to save a few dollars is to simply stock the mini-bar yourself. Let me explain.
I’m currently staying a Novotel in Da Nang Vietnam. The hotel is lovely and I couldn’t be happier with my stay. However, I noticed when I got to the room that the mini-bar prices seemed… a bit steep. Specifically, the water in the mini-bar seemed expensive. See, you really aren’t supposed to drink the tap water in Vietnam. I’m sure some do and are fine, but I tend to avoid it if possible. So, when staying at a hotel your only real option is to drink bottled water.
When I arrived to my room in Da Nang it was just before midnight and I desperately wanted to go to sleep. I was also quite thirsty. So, I popped open the mini-bar and drank one of the bottles of water. The next morning I woke up and did the same. Typically I would have avoided cracking open the mini-bar, but I was desperate. On neither occasion did I want to find my own water so popping open the mini-bar was the easiest solution, but it was also the costliest!
Hotel Mini-Bar Arbitrage
See, the bottled water prices at this particular hotel are obscene. They are especially obscene when you consider that those bottles of water are really your only option unless you want to go for a walk around town since you can’t drink the tap water. Below, you’ll find a photo of the mini-bar prices. If you look down to item 10 you’ll notice that the “mineral water” in the mini-bar (500ml of Dasani water) costs VND 65,000.
For reference that’s about $2.80 USD. So we’re not breaking the bank either way, but just keep that number in mind. In total I drank the two waters pictured below which cost about $5.60 in total.
However, the morning after drinking both waters I decided to take a walk around the neighborhood where I found a VinMart convenience store. Inside I found two identical bottles of water for a price that was much, much cheaper than those found in the room. In fact, the prices were so cheap that I ended up getting a third bottle to drink on my walk.
In total I paid VND 12,600 for the three identical bottles of water. Yes, that’s right, in total I paid just $0.54 for THREE bottles of water ($0.18 each) compared to the $2.80 for a single bottle charged by the hotel. That means the hotel is charging 1,556% more for a bottle of water than the store just a few blocks away!
Final Thoughts
Now, I realize we’re not talking about $100’s of savings, but still, this example serves a reminder on how to avoid paying outrageous prices for mini-bar items. If you hope to repeat this type of travel hack there are really just three simple rules to follow.
First, you have to make sure to exactly replace the items in question. You have to make sure the brand and size are the same. In my case I needed to buy two 500ml Dasani bottles. This was tricky considering the hotel also provided two 350ml bottles for free and the convenience store sold both.
Second, you have to restock the mini-bar prior to housekeeping enters. Avoiding this is easy, I usually hand the ‘do not disturb’ sign during my entire visit, but if not, you need to make sure to do this early the next day. If housekeeping comes and restocks the items, you will be charged!
Finally, you have to make sure that the mini-bar isn’t weight sensitive. If the mini-bar uses weight sensors to charge you then you have to manually reverse the charges before checking out. Not impossible, but just an added step which makes the whole process a bit more difficult. When dealing with a weight sensitive mini-bar I usually just tell them that I needed fridge space to store old food, not a great excuse, but it works.
