Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Wikipedia
A mini-fridge-bar is a small private snack and beverage bar, that is defined as a fridge with a capacity of less than , often found in high-priced Western-style hotel rooms. Typically, a minibar comes in the form of a counter and small absorption refrigerator stocked with a precise inventory. The room's guests can take a beverage or snack at any time during their stay.
The bar is commonly stocked with small bottles of alcoholic beverages, juice, and soft drinks. It may also include candy, cookies, crackers, and other small snacks. Some hotels offer non-food items, such as socks, toiletries, and condoms. Prices are generally very high compared to similar items purchased from a store, because the guest is paying for the convenience of immediate access and also the upkeep of the bar. Prices vary, but it is not uncommon for one can of non-alcoholic beverage to cost between $4–$10.
Some mini-bars use infrared or other automated methods of recording purchases. These detect the removal of items, even if the items are not consumed. This is done to prevent loss of product, theft and lost revenue.
The world's first mini-bar was introduced at the Hong Kong Hilton Hotel by manager Robert Arnold in 1974 In the months following its introduction in-room drink sales skyrocketed 500%, and the Hong Kong Hilton's overall annual revenue was boosted by 5%. The following year (1975) The Hilton group rolled out the mini-bar concept across all its hotels.
Usage examples of "mini-bar".
Now, that fridge is called a mini-bar, and here's what you use it for: In the morning, when they wheel in the continental breakfast, they bring a pitcher of hot milk for some strange reason and you just take that pitcher and stick it in the mini-bar so later you can have a glass of milk.
The muffle furnace was in a corner and looked rather much like a small beige ceramic crematorium, the size of a hotel mini-bar, to be exact, that could heat up to as much as twenty-five-hundred degrees Fahrenheit.