And forget replacing a minibar's high-priced sodas with your own snacks.

WSJ: Cracking Open the Hotel Minibar

The most curious of the items sold were a handful of minibar-sized bottles of Smirnoff, Bombay and Grand Marnier.

FORBES: Bernie Madoff's Wine Collection Brings In Double The Estimate At Auction

Hotels and minibar manufacturers say these can cut labor costs since employees only have to check the roughly 25%-30% of rooms that use the minibar on a given day.

WSJ: Cracking Open the Hotel Minibar

Go to the minibar and open a beer.

FORBES: E-Commerce Stinks

Your hosts can also open doors to hard-to-visit wineries, custom-stock your already well-stuffed (and free) minibar, book a chef to prepare dinner in your room, or--in my case--badger a rental car company into swapping out a lemon and delivering the replacement.

FORBES: Lifestyle Feature

Drinking plenty of water and using oxygen (you may even find a can of it in your hotel minibar) can help you feel better.

FORBES: Six High-Altitude Vacations To Take While You Can

The Soho Hotel in London has a great staff and bar, unbeatable location and the minibar has nice Italian wine.

FORBES: On The Hunt For America's Best Sandwich, Travel Channel's Adam Richman Talks Favorite Hotels

During a business trip to Chicago a couple of years ago, Douglas MacKenzie bumped into the minibar at his hotel.

WSJ: Cracking Open the Hotel Minibar

In my room, a sign indicating the direction of prayer was posted over the nonalcoholic minibar.

NEWYORKER: The Sanctuary