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For holidaymakers staying in hotels, storing items in the minibar is sometimes the only way to keep items cool.

However, guests may find they are now charged for doing so - after a traveller found a sign warning that putting her own items in the fridge in her room would cost her an extra $50 (£30).

Keri Anderson, from Washington, was staying at the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas when she was almost hit by the fee.

Keri Anderson's photo of a sign in her Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino room warning of the extra charge

The Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino is owned by MGM Resorts International

Rooms at the luxury hotel can cost up to $595 (£363) a night - but she was told that items placed in the fridge would cost her extra. 

'I had never encountered these sorts of charges before,' Ms Anderson told MailOnline Travel.

The co-founder of travel blog HeelsFirstTravel.com had stored some wine overnight on top of the drinks in the minibar at the four-star hotel.

She said she didn't think twice as she had never been charged before for placing her own items in her room fridge.

A chance conversation with fellow delegates at a conference she was attending the next morning was ample warning for Ms Anderson, whose two-day stay at the property was her first there.

Ms Anderson has stayed in a variety of properties all across the world and never encountered such a charge

Money, money, money:  Fees are set to earn hotels £1.4bn in revenue add-ons, a 6% increase from 2013

She rushed back to her room to remove the wine from the fridge.

'I was almost embarrassed that – even with all the experience I had – I was surprised by, and almost charged for, the mini-bar,' Ms Anderson continued.

'I've stayed in a bunch of hotels from a small boutique hotel on Easter Island, to a luxury suite overlooking the Bangkok skyline, to a two-bedroom villa on Koh Samui, and never come across this kind of fee.

'I thought my big problem was accidentally locking the minibar when trying to open it. But when I mentioned my issue to fellow conference attendees, their first response was, "You didn't put the wine in the minibar did you? They might charge you for putting personal items in there".'

Small print: 'It was mentioned again in the little rate card, which I hadn't seen,' Ms Anderson said

'Horrified, I ran back to my room. I had shoved the wine on top of the soda cans late at night as an afterthought, totally missing the little tag on one of the water bottles, since I wasn't planning on consuming anything.

'And it was mentioned again in the little rate card, which I hadn't seen since I wasn't eating anything.' 

She added: 'Mandalay Bay didn't actually charge me and though I find it rather annoying, and even a trifle sneaky, it doesn't seem significantly different than the way other Las Vegas hotels are operating. 

'That said, I'll never open another hotel fridge without reading every piece of paper in the room first!'

Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino: A study conducted by New York University's hospitality school has found that hidden hotel fees add an extra 2% in hotel revenue, the majority of which is pure profit 

MailOnline Travel has contacted MGM Resorts International, who own Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino, for a comment.

Last month it was revealed that hidden fees were set to earn hotels £1.4bn in revenue add-ons, a six per cent increase from 2013.

A study by Bjorn Hanson, a professor at New York University's hospitality school, noted that although these fees only add an extra two per cent in revenue, the majority of that money is pure profit.