Hotel · minibar · half bottles
Wine for the minibar: two half bottles, a margin that holds, stock that turns over
The minibar is the smallest and most expensive shelf in the hotel. What it needs in wine is simple: a half bottle of red, one of white, from Bordeaux, at a purchase price that leaves the margin guests are willing to pay in their room. The rest is management: rotation, dates, and what disappears without being charged.
The format: 37.5 cl, on request
A 75 cl bottle in a minibar is a bottle nobody opens: too much for one person, too expensive as a single item, too big for the shelf. The 37.5 cl half bottle is the only format that sells in a room, for a glass or two before going out or on coming back. Not every château bottles it, and not every vintage: half bottles can be found, but they take looking for. Transvins supplies them on request, in red Bordeaux and dry white; availability by wine and by vintage is stated in the quote, never promised beforehand.
The margin, with figures
| Line | Cost excl. VAT | Minibar price incl. VAT | Mark-up | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Red Bordeaux 37.5 cl | €5–7 | €18–24 | 3 to 4 | Supple, fruity, no tannin: it drinks without food. |
| Dry white Bordeaux 37.5 cl | €5–7 | €18–24 | 3 to 4 | Keeps two years in a temperate minibar. Check the date. |
| Champagne 37.5 cl | €14–18 | €45–60 | 3 | The line that sells at weekends. Slow rotation during the week. |
2026 ranges, orders of magnitude. The mark-up calculator does the count on your prices, losses included: in a minibar, the loss is not the opened bottle, it is the bottle that left without being recorded.
Rotation, dates, theft
- Rotation. A minibar sells one bottle of wine per room per month in a business hotel, more in a leisure hotel. For 60 rooms, allow 4 to 8 cases of 12 half bottles a month, restocked every six weeks.
- Dates. White and champagne in half bottles should be drunk within two years; red keeps for three. A minibar at 18 °C ages wine faster than a cellar: write the date received on the case and rotate the floor stock before opening a new case.
- Theft. The half bottle that goes into the suitcase without going on the bill is the hidden cost of the minibar. A sensor minibar solves it; otherwise, a daily check by housekeeping and a price that absorbs 5% of disappearances.
- The welcome bottle. For the regular guest or the suite, a 75 cl bottle placed on the table with a card does more than the minibar: it is a gift, not a sale. The VIP in-room bottle page works out the cost per VIP per month.
How we work with a hotel
Transvins has been a Bordeaux wine merchant (négociant) since 1986. For the minibar: a quote within 48 working hours with the half bottles available, vintages and price per case, shipping specified; samples on request; delivery by parcel within a week, to the hotel, with someone present at goods reception; a scheduled restock every six weeks if you wish. No exclusivity: your other regions and your spirits stay with your suppliers. Unopened cases are not taken back, hence the point of ordering six weeks at a time rather than six months. The bar, room service and banqueting are covered on the wine for hotels page.
Tell us the number of rooms. Reply within 48 working hours.
Which wine format for a hotel minibar?
The 37.5 cl half bottle, exclusively. The 75 cl bottle doesn't sell in a room, and the 18.7 cl quarter bottle doesn't exist in quality Bordeaux. Two wines are enough, a red and a white, plus a half bottle of champagne in leisure hotels.
What margin on minibar wine?
A mark-up of 3 to 4 on the purchase price excl. VAT: a half bottle bought at €6 sells for €18–24 incl. VAT. Above that, guests don't open it and the bottle ages on the shelf; below it, the price doesn't cover what disappears.
How long does a half bottle keep in a minibar?
Two years for white and champagne, three for red, provided the minibar is temperate and not heated by the compressor. Write down the date received and rotate the floor stock before starting a new case.
Are half bottles always available?
No, they depend on what the châteaux bottled in that format and what is left in stock. The quote says what is available that month, by vintage; we don't promise a permanent listing.