A Texas woman staying at the Houston Hyatt Regency hotel is shocked to find that her room doesn’t come with a microwave. Are community microwaves in hotels normal?
TikTok creator Juliana (@julianat_fit) is a personal trainer based in Austin, Texas. She and a friend stayed at the Hyatt Regency in Downtown Houston last week, and she posted a video about their difficulty finding a microwave.
“OK, has anyone ever been to a hotel where you have to rent a microwave?” she asks to start the video. “Because we have.”
Why Doesn’t the Houston Hyatt Regency Have Microwaves?
Juliana explains that she and her friend bought food at the grocery store H-E-B that they hoped to microwave. The only problem was that when they got back to their room at the Hyatt Regency, they realized their room didn’t have a microwave.
“So we go downstairs, and he tells us they’re all out of microwaves to rent,” Juliana says. “But there’s one community one we can use, so we’re going to bring our H-E-B food downstairs to microwave it.”
The video cuts to the duo at the aforementioned microwave. “We have found the community microwave that we’re allowed to use because we couldn’t get one in our room,” she says in triumph.
Viewers React to the Houston Hyatt Regency’s Community Microwave
In the comments section of the video, viewers reacted to the Hyatt Regency’s microwave policy.
One person said, “They tried to make me rent a mini fridge for my hotel.”
“LOL, that’s a new one,” said a second person.
“Yes! The higher end ones always have one in the lobby,” said a third person.
Are Community Microwaves Common at Hotels?
It appears that microwaves are increasingly disappearing from the modern hotel room. Instead, they are being replaced with community or rental options. Some experts recommend calling the front desk and asking to have one sent up.
A traveler posted to TripAdvisor about being asked to pay $25 to rent a microwave at the Hyatt Regency in San Diego. The Hyatt Regency Maui Resort notes that microwaves are available upon request for an additional fee.
A Reddit user posted to r/AskSF 10 months ago asking for advice on how to find a hotel with a personal microwave and fridge. Several users recommended Airbnb and extended-stay motels. “Many hotels have microwaves ‘on request’ and do have a limited number available,” wrote one commenter. “I’ve also just bought a portable oven and used that instead of a microwave pretty successfully in the past.”
AllHipHop contacted Juliana via TikTok comment and direct message for comment. We also contacted Hyatt Regency via email for comment. We will update this story if either party responds.
@julianat_fit Hyatt why did I have no microwave in my room? #hotel #hotelroom #hyattregency #microwave #confused ♬ original sound – Juliana | Personal Trainer