Hudson’s semi-automatic.

Seems it was only yesterday we were reporting on the arrival of the Semi-Automatic, the Hudson hotel’s cool vending machine. You may recall it as the one stocked with gold-plated handcuffs, Haute Hippie sequin miniskirts and Ouiji boards instead of Doritos and M & Ms.

But today when we visited the Hudson to check out Hudson Common, the newish beer and burger court, we got a shock. Strolling over to the Semi-Automatic to see if it was still selling Equinox Derringer bikes (for $2,300) or, more realistically, toothbrushes, we discovered it was gone. Had it been moved?

Try removed. Its demise occurred about a month ago, a desk attendant said. Turns out the machine wasn’t as efficient as a human when it came to successfully dispatching objects and collecting money. “It seemed with very other purchase there was a problem,” the attendant said. (more…)

Hudson's semi-automatic.

Semi-automatic? It’s a vending machine, not a weapon, and you can see this big, oddly futuristic contraption in the lobby at the Hudson here in New York as well as at the Mondrian South Beach and the Sanderson in London.

As anyone knows who’s ever craved a midnight Coke, vending machines are nothing new at hotels. But the semi-automatic, with its singular appearance and attention-grabbing offerings – 24-karat gold handcuffs, anyone? – is different. We road tested – and blogged about — the Hudson’s semi-automatic a while back, but eager to know more, we spoke with Kim Walker, senior vice-president for marketing at Morgans Hotel Group.

(more…)