‘That’s So Sketchy And Gross’: Man Goes To San Antonio Hotel. Then He Gets To His Room—And Realizes They Pulled A Sneaky Trick

Staying at a hotel isn’t cheap.

In fact, the average rate for a hotel room in the United States is almost $200 per night. During busy seasons, that number increases to over $300.

Previously, these high costs came with a variety of complimentary amenities. Now, many enter their hotel room and discover a trove of goods and snacks. Later, they learn that these items come with a significant price tag. In some cases, even moving the items in the room can result in a charge.

A user on TikTok recently called out this practice after observing something strange in his hotel room. Viewers aren’t too happy about it.

What’s Wrong With This Hotel?

In a video with over 89,000 views, TikTok user Jaden Warren (@jadenllc) explains that he and his wife are currently staying at the Thompson San Antonio–Riverwalk by Hyatt.

Upon entering the room, they noticed a variety of bath accessories resting upon the counter.

“We were super excited about all these amenities they have,” he starts. “They were offering a shower steamer, a bubble mask and eye mask, a second scent of shower steamer.”

However, when he looked more closely at the amenities, he noticed that a mini-bar menu was tucked behind them. Inside the mini-bar menu was a price list for all these items.

“Now, this is misleading for a few reasons,” Warren starts. “First, a lot of hotels just include amenities like this to begin with, so you wouldn’t expect these to be charged. Second, the rest of the mini bar is in a different room, and that one has other random accessories like phone chargers, so you would expect that the entirety of the mini bar is in a single location.”

“Third, the mini bar menu is covered up by one of the shower steamers, so you don’t notice that the items might possibly be part of the mini bar unless you move that item on the left,” he continues. “If you were to just grab from the items on the right, you would use one without knowing it was charged.”

A ‘Dark Pattern’ Emerges

This practice is what Warren calls the “dark pattern of hidden fees.”

“Something has a deceptively low entry price, but then you’re unwittingly hit with additional fees or costs that you weren’t aware of once you’re deeper into the transaction process,” he says.

“In this case, a user could very easily and unwittingly use some of these bath products without knowing that they were chargeable and extremely marked up,” he continues. “This fits into the broader pattern of business behavior known as ‘dark patterns,’ where businesses try to extract additional revenue from customers by misleading them or tricking them into spending money they didn’t intend to.”

Is This True?

Whether Thompson Hotels was knowingly engaging in a “dark pattern” cannot be confirmed. However, the phenomenon Warren describes is real. And this Thompson hotel room is a good example of it.

The term “dark pattern” is a bit nebulous. The Federal Trade Commission defines the phrase generally as “manipulative design practices” used to “get consumers to part with their money or data.” It would seem that this hotel room meets this standard.

Warren isn’t alone in complaining about it, either. The Thompson Hotels website notes that a “full minibar, 2 robes, L’AVANT Hand soap and Lotion, D.S. & Durga shower amenities” are all available for purchase in the room. Still, several visitors have complained about the practice.

For example, one guest on Reddit stated that “the whole room felt like an upsell, with various things you can buy sprinkled around the room.” Others claimed that they were charged for minibar items they did not use.

It’s Becoming More Common

In an Instagram direct message exchange, Warren told BroBible he did not use any of the products and was thus not charged. However, he noted that practices like these are, in his view, becoming more common.

“I’ve definitely noticed an expansion of ‘micro charges’ at hotels. Little things like resort fees chargeable at the hotel increasing the total room costs, absurd rates for overnight parking ($60+ at both hotels I stayed this weekend), or experience credit not covering taxes or tips at certain places can add uncertainty to your final bill,” he wrote.

Why are businesses adding these small fees instead of simply increasing the price? The reason, Warren says, is partly psychological.

“If you see the full cost of the stay up front, it’s harder to swallow,” he explained. “It’s the same reason concert ticket companies used to hide fees until the final checkout screen. That helps explain the ‘guaranteed costs’ like resort fees tacked on regardless of the stay, and ‘highly likely’ fees like parking.”

“Stratification of experience helps explain the optional costs,” he continued. “By offering so many add-ons, companies can offer a premium experience to those that want it, while giving a more affordable experience to those that don’t. Think of it like airline fees; they’re annoying, but give more affordable transit to those that don’t need checked bags, seat select, etc. Add-on pricing needs to be transparent, though. Hiding a menu behind the toiletries isn’t the right way to do it!”

Commenters Hate It

In the comments section, users expressed their distaste for this practice.

“Having the menu behind everything seems wildly unethical. I’m sure they’re way more expensive than they should be,” said a commenter. “Every single part of our lives is trying to extract everything possible from us and it’s exhausting.”

“I travel almost weekly for work and frequently for personal travel. I would have absolutely assumed the bath products were free,” stated another.

Others shared their own stories from hotels with similar policies.

“We stayed at the Lennox Hotel in Miami. There was a hotel branded ball cap on a shelf. We moved the hat to use the shelf. We were charged $30 for moving the hat and they refused to remove the charge when we called to ask. They said it was ‘clearly printed on the room menu.’ It wasn’t,” wrote a user. “I liked my stay there but would never go back for that reason alone.”

“I stayed at a Marriott in SF last week,” shared a second. “They are now charging for the coffee pods in the room.”

BroBible reached out to Thompson San Antonio–Riverwalk by Hyatt via email as well as to Hyatt via media contact form.