How often are items purchased from hotel minibars?

We don't mess with them. All of the things that Stacy Jean noted in her answer to the question (Stacy Jean's answer ), we noticed years and years ago.

Don't assume that everything that shows up in a hotel is a 'profit center' simply because it comes at a price. Sometimes, it's simply there for guest convenience. (Indeed, many people miss many of the things that, over the years, have been eliminated because it neither can be provided at a good enough profit for the hotel to be much of a 'profit center', nor can the hotel give it out as a free amenity; and in either case, can be provided at the cost of more bother than it's worth. See Michael Forrest Jones' answer to What features of restaurants and hotels have almost completely vanished? .)

Long-distance telephone is one modern-day example: the 'profit' from it is negligible, unless you price it so high that the guest feels like she's been gouged when the call shows up on her bill. Indeed, even Red Roof Inns offer it as a free amenity. (And Red Roof is an economy chain: one of the things that go with successfully running an economy property is aggressively watching the bottom line - and watching it with the free amenities, especially those that you can't limit a guest's use of.)

Do most hotels use a specific POS system at the front desk or a larger computer system?

Eighty to eighty-five percent of the hotel POS systems out there are either 

• so exorbitantly priced that the only reason anyone will buy it and put up with the astronomical monthly support costs is because it's a franchise organization's required purchase (Micros-Opera), or
• such an absolute piece of crap that the only reason anyone will put up with it, period, is because it's some franchise organization's required purchase (ChoiceAdvantage, HSS in its day)

The only reason the percentage isn't higher is because

• I have no experience with Marriott's FOSSE and don't expect to (Beechmont isn't a Marriott developer and does not aspire to become one, and FOSSE is Marriott's proprietary system: only Marriott-branded hotels have it.) For all I know, it may be a good system (Marriott owns, or at least itself manages, a lot of their hotels so, like me, they'd have limited patience with such a disease such as Choice Hotels' ChoiceAdvantage, and Marriott would have the size and the clout to insist on the best, and be sure they're getting it); and
• Most Best Western member hotels - whose owners actually have a choice as to which one to go with - use a good one (Visual Matrix) that I actually like.

Someone got me started on hotel property management systems a few months back (What are the best property management systems for small hotels? ), so I evaluated several systems and called out what I like to see in them.



Get the franchise organizations out of it, and hotel POS systems will get better overnight: the free market and competition would do its power and magic. (I'm going to repost this under 'law' and 'anti-trust law' categories, hoping some ambitious young lawyer who's into anti-trust and mass tort law will get ideas . . . :-) ) Until that day comes, however, hotel POS systems remain in the Ma Bell era. 

If a hotel closes, gets sold, but is overtaken by squatters before the new owner has started business, what is the protocol for getting them out?

If I make an offer on a hotel, and it has been closed, I'm going to require that it be delivered at closing completely vacant; and if they cannot or will not deliver that, or the building is occupied by anyone other than people who are there for a reason that I am okay with, the deal's off. I’m also going to demand as part of the deal that it be — other than that which I might agree to in advance — unencumbered by franchise, unencumbered by management, unencumbered by any tenancy or leasehold interest, unencumbered period — free of any liens, free of any claims, nothing to get in the way of my absolute say in who’s allowed to be there, who’s allowed to set foot on the property and who isn’t; or how it is to be managed or what I can or can’t do with it, or who has the right to claim any of my return, revenue or rent from the use of it.

Former Heart of Durham Hotel, Durham, N. C. (Indyweek)

If squatters have so overrun the building that they've, legally, established "residency”, then running them out of there -- if they can be driven away -- is the seller's problem. Or should be. If he's not fully in possession of it, then he can't really claim that he owns it, and therefore has no right to try and sell it to anyone. And your wisdom, intelligence, and business sense is somewhat open to question if you buy it.

If I work the front desk at a hotel and someone has been told not to trespass, can I remove them with reasonable force? (This is in Oklahoma, by the way.).

Legally, you probably can, but it's not a good idea. I'd call the cops and let them handle it. It's a nuisance call, but many cops would rather handle it than respond to a larger disturbance, clean up after a fight, or bring an ambulance along for an injury.



If you use force at all (or even put your hands on the trespasser) you risk provoking an altercation, or give him the 'ammo' he needs for an accusation against you of assault.  The police can get it done much of the time without using force, and any force they do use will not nearly as likely be second-guessed.

Originally appeared on Quora

Why do you have to be of a certain age to rent a hotel room?

No contract with you is legally enforceable unless you have capacity to form a binding contract -- which you generally lack prior to age eighteen -- but there is a little more.

I've seen 16-year-olds that are quite capable of renting a room, and behaving themselves in it as a guest who would always be welcome back: just relax in the evening, not have a bunch of people in there throwing a party and trashing it, not making excessive noise, not doing anything illegal (whether drugs, underage drinking, or underage sex), and not doing any damage. I've seen people in their 50's that it's not safe to rent a room to.



But if you rent to people under 21, experience and observation over time will show that most of your problems will come from the 21-and-under category. Any age limit is arbitrary, but it's easier to just impose one than to personally get to know every 18-to-21-year-old who shows up and make a more fair and objective assessment regarding the likelihood of those problems.