Those Mini-Bar Prices Are Really Getting Ridiculous

I work in a hotel. I am standing around the front desk, doing my usual things around checkout time, when a guy comes up to me, dressed in shorts and a T-shirt, super cheerful and easy-going.

Guest: “I’d like to check out.”

I get all the details from him to confirm his room. We chit-chat a bit, so my attention is slightly off. I habitually just print the folio out, and I always go through the line items from the printout. The printer spits out the folio, and I grab it and put it on the counter.

Me: “So, the total for your stay is… $2.4 million?!”

The dude doesn’t even bat an eye.

Guest: “Yeah, that sounds about right.”

And he hands me his black AmEx card.

It turns out that we have to do three transactions since $999,999 is the most I can key in for one transaction. The guy doesn’t even look at the slips and just signs all three of them. As is standard, I ask him:

Me: “Do you need any assistance with transportation anywhere?”

Guest: “Yeah. If you could get me a cab, that would be awesome. Thanks!”

So, the question on everybody’s mind: what did he consume? Well, it turned out that corporate had held a fundraiser the night before, and a last-minute decision was made to be able to charge the charity auction items to the rooms. This gentleman had purchased a lovely piece of jewelry in addition to the 300-dollar room charge.

After I got him his cab, I Googled his name, and yeah, he was the CEO of a major global bank. Fun money for him, I guess.