Tipping Hotel Staff

[Wanzo]

Do you tip hotel housekeepers?  I'm pretty good about tipping in general, but this one I've never really got in the habit of doing.  This article is thought provoking.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/30/business/hotel-housekeeper-tipping.html

 

[billchao]

32 minutes ago, Wanzo said:

Do you tip hotel housekeepers?  I'm pretty good about tipping in general, but this one I've never really got in the habit of doing.  This article is thought provoking.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/30/business/hotel-housekeeper-tipping.html

 

Yea. I usually leave a few bucks ($3-5) on the pillow.

[iacas]

Sometimes. And I always put the Do Not Disturb thing up on my door when I'm staying, and will not even get new towels unless I'm there for more than a few days.

And my room is pretty clean when I leave. The towels are in one place, the bed is half made, and everything else is where it should be (trash is in the trash, desks and chairs are orderly, etc.).

[billchao]

5 minutes ago, iacas said:

Sometimes. And I always put the Do Not Disturb thing up on my door when I'm staying, and will not even get new towels unless I'm there for more than a few days.

And my room is pretty clean when I leave. The towels are in one place, the bed is half made, and everything else is where it should be (trash is in the trash, desks and chairs are orderly, etc.).

Same here. There's no reason for me to get my room tidied up every day, so I don't. I leave the tip when I check out for them to collect when they turn the room over.

I'm a Disney Vacation Club member and when we stay at the DVC resorts, housekeeping is every 4th day. I'll leave a tip when I know they will come around and another when I check out.

[Club Rat]

Yes under most circumstances, unless the service is poor.
$5 per day is usually gratuitous for most stays unless it's a Ritz or other upper class hotels.

[nevets88]

8 minutes ago, billchao said:

Yea. I usually leave a few bucks ($3-5) on the pillow.

I usually leave it on the dresser/desk/night table, wherever the brochures are. Also if 1+ day stay, try and leave something everyday because not same people all the time. Not uncommon that I see housekeeping though, as opposed to what NYT piece says.

 

[Wanzo]

32 minutes ago, iacas said:

And I always put the Do Not Disturb thing up on my door when I'm staying, and will not even get new towels unless I'm there for more than a few days.

Good idea.  I am usually with my family when in a hotel so with 4 kids we are usually calling for extra towels most days .

 

33 minutes ago, iacas said:

And my room is pretty clean when I leave. The towels are in one place, the bed is half made, and everything else is where it should be (trash is in the trash, desks and chairs are orderly, etc.).

Totally agree here, i feel bad about leaving a mess.

 

25 minutes ago, Club Rat said:

$5 per day is usually gratuitous for most stays unless it's a Ritz or other upper class hotels.

I thought the gratuity guide linked in the article was somewhat helpful:

https://www.ahla.com/sites/default/files/guestGratuityGuide.pdf

 

This is a little off topic but it does seem like more places are starting to ask for tips when you pay.  When you slide your card to pay, the system will ask you if you want to tip.  The places i have noticed it at:

Panera: This one i don't understand.  You walk to the register, order, go pick up your own food, eat, clean up your dishes and leave.  What are you tipping?

Sports Clips: Makes sense, i'm going to tip anyways so makes sense for the system to ask.

 

 

[GolfLug]

I usually always carry a bit of cash for this. I think lot of folks don't tip because they do not carry the petty cash which has happened to me a few times. 

I will leave $3-$8 for most overnight or 2 night stays. $10 for 3 nights or more. Family vacation stays of 4 nights or more where we get additional towels couple of days in get $20.  

I think the gentle nudge of the envelope is a good thing. I have an unproven theory that says that even modest tipping improves accountability on both ends.

I do not tip fast food (Panera etc. where they mostly assemble pre-cooked food) but do for 'cooked to order' where it is mostly homemade even if they are self serve joints since cooks have a bit more to do and they are serving better, fresher, less processed food. 

Edited November 6, 2017 by GolfLug

[Club Rat]

14 minutes ago, Wanzo said:

This is a little off topic but it does seem like more places are starting to ask for tips when you pay. 

True, mostly due to the fact these workers are in a minimum wage occupation and could use the occasional tips.
I'm not opposed to it on occasions.

[amishboy51]

5 hours ago, nevets88 said:

I usually leave it on the dresser/desk/night table, wherever the brochures are. Also if 1+ day stay, try and leave something everyday because not same people all the time. Not uncommon that I see housekeeping though, as opposed to what NYT piece says.

 

I usually leave about $2/day (maybe more if it’s a suite, rather than just a “studio” room), but never thought of tipping each day.

[Yukari]

I always put $3-$5 each day by the TV.  I hear you are not suppose to put the tip on or near the bed or the bedstand as it has bad connotation.

[Buckeyebowman]

5 hours ago, GolfLug said:

I usually always carry a bit of cash for this. I think lot of folks don't tip because they do not carry the petty cash which has happened to me a few times. 

I will leave $3-$8 for most overnight or 2 night stays. $10 for 3 nights or more. Family vacation stays of 4 nights or more where we get additional towels couple of days in get $20.  

I think the gentle nudge of the envelope is a good thing. I have an unproven theory that says that even modest tipping improves accountability on both ends.

I do not tip fast food (Panera etc. where they mostly assemble pre-cooked food) but do for 'cooked to order' where it is mostly homemade even if they are self serve joints since cooks have a bit more to do and they are serving better, fresher, less processed food. 

This is a good "tip". No pun intended! I've started doing this at restaurants lately. I submit my card and sign only for the amount on the receipt, but I leave the tip in cash! That way the server can put it in their pocket immediately. They like that, and once they recognize me I get better service.

And I have heard of leaving a tip for the housekeeping staff on the pillow as well.

[Ernest Jones]

I'm an above average tipper in general. I used to leave $5 for them, but now I travel a ton for work and that adds up when you're staying a hotel multiple days a week. So now I do like @iacas and just leave the Do Not Disturb up for my stay. I just swing by the desk if I need new towels or coffee. I'll still leave a fiver when I leave though. 

[Wanzo]

18 hours ago, GolfLug said:

I think lot of folks don't tip because they do not carry the petty cash which has happened to me a few times.

absolutely, i try to make sure i get some cash before traveling because I tend to not use it in general.

18 hours ago, GolfLug said:

I think the gentle nudge of the envelope is a good thing

I agree, it would help me remember, but it seems enough people complain or get offended by this that companies choose to not do it

[Papa Steve 55]

USA Today had a survey a couple years ago that said only 40% of travelers tip house keeping. I asked at the hotel I was in, a HIEX, the housekeeper with 10 years in said 90% do not tip. According to this thread, 100% of Sandtrap posters tip.

Somebody's fibbing.

[iacas]

5 hours ago, Papa Steve 55 said:

USA Today had a survey a couple years ago that said only 40% of travelers tip house keeping. I asked at the hotel I was in, a HIEX, the housekeeper with 10 years in said 90% do not tip. According to this thread, 100% of Sandtrap posters tip.

Somebody's fibbing.

I said I tip only "sometimes."

They're paid to do a job. I often prevent them from even doing the small stuff - the daily cycling out of towels, making the bed, etc. And when they have to turn the room over when I leave, it's clean: the towels and washcloths are in one spot, the bed is not a mess. The pillows are in the right spot. The furniture, notepads, pens, coffee, etc. are all where they should be (and I don't drink the coffee, etc.). The remote isn't lost. Etc. They have very little work to do.

I turn the keys in too. Keys can be re-used, so after I'm sure I won't need to get back into my room, I turn the keys back in.

My grandma was a hotel maid until late in her life. She said even a $5 tip was not enough to make up for some of the hotels she's had to clean, and she'd take a pretty clean room that didn't take much work over a tip any day of the week. They're paid by how many rooms they clean, not by how long they're working. She'd rather turn a room over in five minutes than have to take twenty with a $5 tip. (Given her hourly rate that's actually not quite the best strategy, but it's how she felt, and how the other maids felt too. Oh, and a maid still gets credit for a room that has the DND on the door.)

[nevets88]

5 minutes ago, iacas said:

I said I tip only "sometimes."

They're paid to do a job. I often prevent them from even doing the small stuff - the daily cycling out of towels, making the bed, etc. And when they have to turn the room over when I leave, it's clean: the towels and washcloths are in one spot, the bed is not a mess. The pillows are in the right spot. The furniture, notepads, pens, coffee, etc. are all where they should be (and I don't drink the coffee, etc.). The remote isn't lost. Etc. They have very little work to do.

I turn the keys in too. Keys can be re-used, so after I'm sure I won't need to get back into my room, I turn the keys back in.

My grandma was a hotel maid until late in her life. She said even a $5 tip was not enough to make up for some of the hotels she's had to clean, and she'd take a pretty clean room that didn't take much work over a tip any day of the week. They're paid by how many rooms they clean, not by how long they're working. She'd rather turn a room over in five minutes than have to take twenty with a $5 tip. (Given her hourly rate that's actually not quite the best strategy, but it's how she felt, and how the other maids felt too. Oh, and a maid still gets credit for a room that has the DND on the door.)

Hypothetical. Would she consider it a bonus if you kept the room in pretty much perfect condition, no DND, and left a tip?

[iacas]

5 minutes ago, nevets88 said:

Hypothetical. Would she consider it a bonus if you kept the room in pretty much perfect condition, no DND, and left a tip?

Sure. But she also said she liked rooms she didn't have to clean, too. She still got credit for "doing" the room.

But I'm weird about tipping. I tip near 20% when dining, in part because they actually make less than minimum wage, and I used to tip my barber (though his haircuts were $8, and he learned enough about me to remember how I liked things), and outside of that… I generally don't tip. I don't think people should be tipped for doing their jobs. I believe they should be tipped for exceptional jobs. I don't tip the oil change guy, but I have when he noted that the rims were a bit dirty and took an extra ten minutes to clean them up (they looked nice). Stuff like that.

I keep my clubs clean, and generally don't tip the guy who wants to clean them at the end. He's not doing anything for me except possibly leaving my clubs wet.