People are being ripped off by more than just slot machines.
A Las Vegas hotel is receiving harsh criticism online after charging nearly $30 for a bottle of water from room minibars. The travel blog A View From the Wing shared photos and a fan submission that revealed the apparent H20 highway robberies.
The unidentified guest was reportedly staying at the Aria Resort & Casino, one of more than 30 MGM resorts, with room rates starting at $280 per night.
According to the post, an employee was replenishing and cleaning out their room’s minibar, which the visitor saw had “food crammed in the fridge from two guests ago.”
According to the poster, the worker told the visitor that water costs $26, but only after the guest had finished a full bottle. According to a screenshot of the invoice, this accounted for more than 10% of the person’s total bill of $259.
To make matters worse, the same water is reportedly only $7.45 at the Starbucks downstairs.
While hotel minibars are notorious for having exorbitant markups, some Aria guests reported that the other items in the fridge were not nearly as expensive.
, shared a photo of a hotel minibar menu featuring a Coca-Cola Deluxe for $13.75, nearly half the price of the Fiji Water, which costs $24.75.
“Do you think it’s fair to pay for convenience, or is this price gouging?” the passenger exclaimed in the caption.
Commenters were equally perplexed by the price tags, with one writing, “Was just there.” “I was floored.”
“Vegas is dying, so they have to charge a buttload to survive,” said another, referring to the gambling mecca’s declining tourist numbers.
“They depend on the drunk visitors that don’t care about their prices at 2 a.m. when they get back to their room,” a third individual said.
A View From the Wing contributor Gary Leff accused Aria of disregarding Adam Smith’s “diamonds-water paradox,” which states that water is necessary but inexpensive, whereas diamonds are useless for survival but expensive due to scarcity.
“Aria in Las Vegas proves there really was no paradox after all,” quips Leff. “Water in the desert is crucial to survival and incredibly expensive for guests staying there!”
He claimed that Sin City had “clearly given up on any idea of hospitality.”
“I would think, however, that a $36.28 per night resort fee (including tax) would be high enough to include a single bottle of water. “I suppose not!” Leff complained.
“This is an excellent example of the type of out-of-pocket expense that makes people feel cheated on a Las Vegas trip, leaving customers with a bad taste in their mouth. And that is dangerous as we enter a Las Vegas downturn.”
