A mini-bar is a small, private snack and beverage bar A bar is an establishment that serves drinks, especially alcoholic beverages such as beer, liquor, and cocktails, for consumption on the premises often found in upscale Western-style hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms and air conditioning or climate control rooms.
Typically, a mini-bar comes in the form of a counter and small refrigerator A refrigerator is a cooling apparatus. The common household appliance comprises a thermally insulated compartment and a heat pump—chemical or mechanical means—to transfer heat from it to the external environment (i.e., the room in which it is located), cooling the contents to a temperature below ambient. Cooling is a popular food storage stocked with a precise inventory. The room's guests can take a beverage A drink, or beverage, is a liquid which is specifically prepared for human consumption. In addition to filling a basic human need, beverages form part of the culture of human society or snack Traditionally snacks were prepared from ingredients commonly available in the home, often leftovers, sandwiches made from cold cuts, nuts, fruit, and the like. The Dagwood sandwich was originally the humorous result of a cartoon character's desire for large snacks. Beverages are not considered real snacks, especially coffee. The only instance in at any time during their stay. The bar is commonly stocked with small bottles of alcoholic beverages An alcoholic beverage is a drink containing ethanol . Alcoholic beverages are divided into three general classes: beers, wines, and spirits, juice Juice is the liquid that is naturally contained in fruit or vegetable tissue. Juice is prepared by mechanically squeezing or macerating fresh fruits or vegetables flesh without the application of heat or solvents. For example, orange juice is the liquid extract of the fruit of the orange tree. Juice may be prepared in the home from fresh fruits, and soft drinks A soft drink is a non-alcoholic beverage typically containing water and a flavoring agent. Many are carbonated and sweetened, and may contain additional ingredients such as fruit juice. Small amounts of alcohol may be present, but the level would generally remain under 0.5% of the total volume for the drink to be considered non-alcoholic. Soft as well as candy Candy, specifically sugar candy, is a confection made from a concentrated solution of sugar in water, to which flavorings and colorants are added. Candies come in numerous colors and varieties and have a long history in popular culture (sweets), cookies In the United States and Canada, a cookie is a small, flat-baked treat, usually containing fat, flour, eggs and sugar. In most English-speaking countries outside North America, the most common word for this is biscuit; in many regions both terms are used, while in others the two words have different meanings—a cookie is a plain bun in Scotland, (sweet biscuits), crackers A cracker is a type of thin or flat baked good commonly made from unleavened grain flour dough and typically made in quantity in various hand-sized or smaller shapes. Flavorings or seasonings such as salt, herbs, seeds, or cheese may be added to the dough or sprinkled on top before baking. Crackers are a nutritious and ready to eat way to use a (savoury biscuits) and other small snacks. Prices are generally very high relative to similar items purchased in a store, since the guest is paying for the convenience of the items and upkeep of the bar. Many hotels have progressed further to offer non-food items, such as socks A sock is an item of clothing worn on the feet. The foot is among the heaviest producers of sweat in the body, able to produce over a pint of perspiration per day. Socks help to absorb this sweat and draw it to areas where air can evaporate the perspiration. In cold environments, socks decrease the risk of frostbite. Its name is derived from the, toiletries Personal care or toiletries is the industry which manufactures consumer products used for beautification and in personal hygiene, and condoms. Some even use infrared or other high-tech methods of automatically recording purchases.
History
The German A region named Germania, inhabited by several Germanic peoples, has been known and documented before AD 100. Beginning in the 10th century, German territories formed a central part of the Holy Roman Empire, which lasted until 1806. During the 16th century, northern Germany became the centre of the Protestant Reformation. As a modern nation-state, company Siegas introduced the first refrigerated mini-bar in the early 1960s. Earlier mini-bars did not have refrigerators, so the idea likely stretches back at least to the early 1950s.
Although Siegas introduced the first mini refrigerator in the early 1950s, it was not until Robert Arnold who as Director of Food and Beverage and his team of hotel executives, including Joe Wu, EAM Ian Duncan and Senior Vice President and General Manager of Hilton International Hilton Worldwide , a subsidiary of the Blackstone Group, is a global hospitality company. As of January 2009 Hilton brands encompass 3,200 hotels with 545,000 rooms in 77 countries. Hilton is ranked as the 43rd largest private company in the United States by Forbes Ken Moss that the Hong Kong Hilton in 1974 first experimented with the idea of introducing honesty mini bars to the Hotel industry.
Robert Arnold then came across the miniature liquor bottles when flying from Bangkok Bangkok is the capital, largest urban area and primary city of Thailand. Known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon (Thai: กรุงเทพมหานคร, pronounced [krūŋ tʰêːp máhǎː nákʰɔ̄ːn]), or กรุงเทพฯ Krung Thep ( [listen]) (help·info), meaning "city of angels" for short, it was a small trading to Hong Kong Hong Kong[note 3] is one of two special administrative regions (SAR) of the People's Republic of China; the other is Macau. Situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour. With a land mass of 1,104 km2 (426 sq mi) and a population of seven on Thai International in 1974. On arrival in Hong Kong Hong Kong[note 3] is one of two special administrative regions (SAR) of the People's Republic of China; the other is Macau. Situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour. With a land mass of 1,104 km2 (426 sq mi) and a population of seven, Arnold arranged for samples of all miniatures to be sent to him. The miniatures were too expensive to use in the daily operation of the bars and then other ideas were thrown around for other uses.
The Hong Kong Hilton Hong Kong Hilton was a hotel in Central, Hong Kong, Built in 1961, the 26 storey hotel was initially the only 5-star hotel on the island side of the territory. It closed in May 1995, and was demolished soon thereafter to make way for a commercial development, the Cheung Kong Centre at that time had 840 rooms and suites and ran at an occupancy of 97% year round and was the most profitable hotel within Hilton International Hilton Worldwide , a subsidiary of the Blackstone Group, is a global hospitality company. As of January 2009 Hilton brands encompass 3,200 hotels with 545,000 rooms in 77 countries. Hilton is ranked as the 43rd largest private company in the United States by Forbes at that period. The hotel had small refrigerators in every room in which soft drinks and mineral water were given away to the guests. This cost of free drinks was costing the hotel a considerable amount of money and gaining no revenue benefits.
The F&B team headed up by Arnold came up with the idea of a small shelf to hold 2 of each type of Spirit and place these mini shelves into the rooms and fill the refrigerators with beer, wine, champagne, mixes and soft drinks, which would be sold to the guests on an honesty usage factor.
One floor was initially installed with the mini bars concept after considerable research was done as to how the bars could be both controlled for sales and costs. The team by this time had expanded to also include the Executive House keeper, the Front Office Manager and the Bell Captain.
As part of the control system a mini bar operator was trained to refill all bars on a daily basis, (new for used) and fill out a master form of usage. The bill was placed adjacent to each bar in which the guest would fill out their usage. This bill was collected by the mini bar operator and taken to the Front Office for collating into the guest's bill portfolio.
It took the team almost three months to get the system working with minimal losses and was shown to generate excellent drinks revenue for the rooms. Drinks sales improved by 500% over normal room service sales. The General Manager then agreed to install all 840 rooms and suites with the system. Arnold arranged with the beverage suppliers to do the initial fill of the mini refrigerators on a complimentary basis as they all saw the enormous potential sales of their products.
At the end of the first full months of operations, losses amounted to only 5% of costs against a very high revenue factor. The General Manager in his monthly report to corporate headquarters in New York New York City, the most populous city in the United States, is known for its status as a financial, cultural, transportation, and manufacturing center, and for its history as a gateway for immigration to the United States. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, it is also a destination of choice for many foreign visitors. Both state and announced the introduction of the mini bars and the profit revenue it achieved in the first month and predicted that this profit would increase the bottom line of the hotel by nearly another 5%. New York New York City, the most populous city in the United States, is known for its status as a financial, cultural, transportation, and manufacturing center, and for its history as a gateway for immigration to the United States. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, it is also a destination of choice for many foreign visitors. Both state and obviously saw this potential and introduced this honesty system to all its hotels worldwide, which was then copied by all the other international chains.
Now most 4 and 5 star hotels in the world have implemented minibars.
The Automatic Revolution
Bartech Automatic System installed the first automatic system in 1988 at the Hilton Geneva in Switzerland. The concept of an automatic system is to generate significantly more profit for the hotel's operation as each item removed from the minibar is recorded in a sophisticated management software. The software offers consumption reports that indicates to the staff which rooms should be refilled and what products should they enter the room with. Huge savings in labor costs are associated with automatic minibars. Other benefits such as a decrease in front desk minibar charges disputes and improvement in guest satisfaction have clearly been established[citation needed]. Top of the line companies such as Bartech Automatic System also offer energy savings functions, detailed management tools, Web-based software, large variety of data communications, variety of product detection system and minibar sizes and many more...
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Categories: Hotel terminology
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Wed, 16 Jun 2010 23:32:27 GMT+00:00
Stuff.co.nz (blog) on receipt from staff of Phil Goff, 2008 * " Minibar charges, $12 on cashews!!!" - on receipt from staff of Pete Hodgson, 2005 * "$500 a night at the ...
