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Hotel minibars are evolving into ministores as innkeepers find more creative ways to generate in-room revenue. Minibars have "gone beyond traditional food and peanuts and liquor," said John Fox, a senior vice president of PKF Consulting, all in a continuing search for "anything to make a dollar."
The 20 W hotels sell the typical drinks, nuts, candy and chips in its "munchie box," as well as more unusual items, such as an "intimacy kit" (condoms and lubricant) for $11, computer cord ($8), W teddy bear ($16), baseball cap, T-shirt and CD. Come back in six months and the selection will have changed. "It's constantly evolving based on feedback from guests," said Toni Stoeckl, the chain's senior manager for operating supplies and equipment, noting that repeat visitors want new goods while on the road or souvenirs to take home. The munchie box is the same worldwide, but W is adding a signature piece in each locale. In San Diego, guests get a beach ball. Travelers in the Mexico City W get a jug of tequila. Sven Wiedenhaupt, director of food and beverage at the Four Seasons New York, said he's upgrading the in-room grocery store to focus on healthier items "so guests don't have to feel guilty about indulging." He's looking at bottled green teas for Asian visitors, organic snacks, and foods in offbeat packaging, such as popcorn drizzled with milk chocolate that comes in a brown paper bag. He's also considering adding maps, disposable cameras, a "little black book on Manhattan" and Chap Stick lip balm. The 63 suites may get little martini shakers -- which for a price can also be take-home souvenirs. Some moderately priced hotels are swapping refrigerators and microwaves for minibars and adding "grab and go" marketplaces in lobbies where guests can buy microwaveable foods, soups, salads and snacks and bring them to their rooms, said Warren Feldman, senior vice president of Jonathan Nehmer Associates, an architectural and project management firm in Rockville, Md. Source: HustonCronicle.com |
