s/o poll on hotel housekeeping and tips

[QueenCat]

Can't wait to hear what you all think!

[Arcadia]

My parents have always tip the bellboy/porter who carries the luggage to our rooms regardless of country. They have also tip the housekeeping staff on the last day if they get the same staff everyday of their stay.

 

Whether it is customary in U.S. , we don't know.

 

ETA:

We are the kind of travelers who leave the room for breakfast at 6am and aren't back usually until after sunset so we rarely see the housekeeping staff. We usually pick Holiday Inn or Marriott for road trips and stay at Hyatt for business conferences (because of the conference being held there).

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

Now I'm dying for a cupcake. Might be time to have some lunch! :lol:

[LucyStoner]

I used to clean rooms at bed and breakfasts. Tips were customary and much appreciated.

 

I always tip. I tip everyday so that it doesn't all go to whoever happened to clean the room after we checked out.

 

It's a physically demanding, hard job with some pretty shockingly common workplace hazards. I definitely tip.

[Guest]

We have never vomited all over a hotel room but even if tipping wasn't customary (I really don't believes it is anymore) I'd still be personally tipping the maid for that one!

[Jane in NC]

I had left a nominal housekeeping tip in the past but increased the amount after reading a thread on this subject last year.  There were comments from those who had worked in housekeeping about how physically demanding the job is and how much time pressure the staff can be under.

 

It is now my policy to leave a daily tip with a note of thanks.  I also tip the person overseeing the "free" breakfast bar if the facility has one.

 

I suspect that many people employed in these situations are not earning much over minimum wage and would appreciate a little extra jingle in their pocket.

 

 

[creekland]

Count me among the "always tippers" and we often include a bag of Lindt Truffles along with our tip.  We tip daily if service is daily.

 

I admire those who are doing these jobs for a living and want them to have a good wage (and a splurge) for their time.  After all, I'm on vacation enjoying my time.

 

We do the same for restaurant staff - tipping VERY well most of the time (no Truffles though).

 

Needless to say, we get great service when we go places we've been before or stay at them for more than one night.  I don't tip for that reason though.  I want these folks to earn a decent amount of $$.  Not everyone can get a college (or trade) education and earn big bucks from that.

[QueenCat]

Now I'm dying for a cupcake. Might be time to have some lunch! :lol:

 

Cupcakes make for a good lunch.

[Luanne]

I always tip.  Having had a job where I was the housekeeper at a hotel, it is rude not to.  Those people do not get paid very much and believe me, they work harder than almost everyone on the planet.

[SKL]

Well this is a big pet peeve of mine.  Why do so many people tip the bellboys and not tip the maids?  I think it's because maids are female.  They get paid a very low wage and deserve a tip as much as any other service person.  Maybe more.

 

That said, I don't always remember to tip them.  :(  But I think we should do so if we think of it.  (I don't always tip the bellboys either, but that is for other reasons.  You can't really forget to tip them because they don't let you forget.)

[edelweiss]

We always tip housekeeping daily.  I leave a little note of thanks with some money, so they know that the money is definitely for them.  

 

I don't think that most people in the U.S. tip housekeeping though.

[idnib]

I always leave $5.00 on the pillow each morning when we leave the hotel, and a thank you note (just on the room's notepad or a scrap of paper, not a card) when we leave. I would leave more if we made it really messy, but that's never happened. We tend to be there just for sleep.

 

I don't think most people in the U.S. tip for this.

[PinkInTheBlue]

Nobody had ever told me about tipping housekeeping and, honestly, I just overlooked it. I tipped valet and bellboys but...brainless. I don't remember how it came up for me but about 6 years ago somebody said something about it and I felt like a dunce.

 

If the room was NOT clean , I wouldn't tip. However, I've never had that happen. I tip everyday in all types of hotels with a thank you note with it.

 

Honestly, I don't THINK most people in the U.S. know.

[MeghansMom]

I tip five dollars a day for my daughter, my husband, and myself. I keep the room picked up myself and bring my own wipes and cleaner, etc. I do appreciate the fresh towels, vacuuming, beds made and general wiping down of the bathroom and replenishment of toiletries, tea/coffee supplies, etc. I tip extra at times.

 

I worked in housekeeping one summer with a friend at a hotel on Panama City Beach and boy do those ladies work! Quite often our tips paid for our lunches and snacks, even gas. It was much appreciated. We did not get a lot of tips though, maybe ten to fifteen dollars a day.

[Carrie12345]

You know, I consider myself a good, frequent tipper, but I've definitely forgotten about housekeeping more than not. 

 

I'm rarely in a hotel room more than 1 night at a time. So it's kind of weird if I think about it.  Am I tipping the person who provided me with a clean (or not so clean) room, or am I tipping the person who has zero extra cleaning (aside from the obvious) to do for the NEXT person to enjoy the room?  I don't know, it seems kind of crazy to me.  Housekeeping staff should be paid appropriately, regardless.

[SparklyUnicorn]

I always refuse assistance with my bags because I don't want to tip. I hate to be so cheap, but I just don't have the money to do it. 

[foxbridgeacademy]

I'll tip if we make an unexpected mess (and I can't take care of it myself) or I have some huge issue and the cleaning staff were able to solve it.  My reasoning is I can't afford more then a couple $'s and I take care of everything while I'm there. I change the sheets, I clean everything (if it's long term I do the vacuuming).  When we leave I pile all the sheets and towels by the door (to make sure they get changed for the next person), bag the trash and wipe everything down.  I do this to make it easier for them to come in and do what they have to do, that's my tip, I usually can't afford the monetary kind.  As for customary? Not really, not like tipping a waiter is customary, but in some areas and at a certain level I'm sure it's more expected then not.

[Annie G]

I always refuse assistance with my bags because I don't want to tip. I hate to be so cheap, but I just don't have the money to do it. 

 

Yeah, I manage to get the bags to my car and into the hotel, so I can probably manage to get them to my room.

 

 We just stayed at a hotel in New Orleans where the baggage carts were only for the staff to use. That really annoyed me. Cheap rooms all over the place provide those carts so people can take their stuff to and from their rooms. But it was a tourist location and they kind of force you to use their staff and tip them. The guy just dumped our stuff right inside our room- *I* could have done that. Well, if they had let me, that is. 

 

Actually I couldn't have taken our bags even though I wanted to. They had no onsite parking so we used their valet parking (and had no idea where in the city the car was while we were there). So we unloaded our stuff, they took off with the car, and we found out they were 'not ready' for us to check in so we came back after dinner.  When we checked in I told them we'd take our bags ourselves but they said no, they would be brought up.  

 

It just feels like the tipping culture is out of hand. 

[Susan in TN]

I don't think we have ever stayed at a hotel with a bellhop. 

 

We have only tipped housekeeping if we stay at the hotel for more than one night, and that is very rare.  Usually we sleep and leave the next morning.  We tipped housekeeping when we stayed at a beachfront motel in FL for a few days -  I think we left about $5/day (an envelope with the housekeeper's name was left on the table to remind us.)

 

Another time we stayed near Philadelphia for a couple of nights during hurricane Irene, and we gave them a tip.  We spent a lot of time in the rooms and the housekeepers did such a nice job picking up after us and "tucking in" dds' stuffed animals and dolls.  It was very sweet.

[Katy]

Only at five star places unless we had special requests that we felt were particularly demanding.  Not at a standard business hotel.

[Arcadia]

Why do so many people tip the bellboys and not tip the maids? I think it's because maids are female.

I had housekeeping staff that is male a few times The reason we didn't tip the housekeeping staff is because we get two or three cleaning up the rooms at checkout time. Tipping all three is a little costly since my parents would give a minimum of $5 each. That is regardless of country we are at.

When we have a housekeeper assigned to our hotel room, then we give $5/day or more when we checkout to the housekeeping staff.

 

We are usually out of the rooms before sunrise and come back after sunset/supper. So our contact with the daytime housekeeping staff is minimal and we ask for our rooms not to be cleaned during our stay.

[AMJ]

I always tip housekeeping.  Always.

 

As for whether I THINK it's usual and customary -- I answered other.  I think it's a good practice and one I encourage, but I know it isn't universally practiced in the U.S. and some people never even thought about it.

 

At one guest ranch I worked at management suggested that guests add a gratuity of their choice to the bill at the end of their stay.  The gratuities were staff tips, and the entire staff shared in them because we all did whatever we could to make sure the guests had a wonderful time.  Management did NOT take a share of the tips, and carefully kept track of all tip moneys and kept them in a savings account for the staff so the tips would accrue more.  Each staff member got their share of tips at the end of their agreed upon work time.

 

At another guest ranch I worked at the owners ran the place.  Their "tip system" was to rattle a labeled jar at guests when they paid their bill at the end of the stay and suggest the change be left for the staff.  In addition to staff getting an equal split at the end of the summer (whether they worked the whole summer or not) the management each took 1/2 share and declared their youngest kids would also get 1/2 share each "for entertaining the guests' kids" (playing with them).  Since the money accrued in a jar over the summer it was not accruing interest, and was all to vulnerable to pilfering.

 

Despite the short-comings of the second ranch's tip system it was still better than cleaning rooms for a hotel chain.  I detailed the realities of that situation in another thread and won't go into it here.  Suffice to say tips for standard hotel housekeeping staff are a rare treat, and not enough to make working as a hotel housekeeper a viable primary income.

 

 

[umsami]

While we always tip 20% at restaurants, I've rarely tipped housekeeping--unless room was very messy or other issues.  My understanding is that they would at least make minimum wage, where at least where I've lived, waitstaff have made roughly $3.00/hour.   Used to tip bellboys in the old days of non-roller suitcases, but I haven't used one in ages. I do think that's wrong, though.... to tip them or valet parking (I mean, how hard is it to get a car) vs. housekeeping.  Need to rethink, I guess, but I'd feel bad that we could probably only afford $1-$2/day.

 

I stayed at a resort recently where every thing you signed had a space to add a tip...anywhere you were.  It was really annoying and off-putting, actually.

 

I'd much rather pay a higher room fee and know the staff is treated well, then feel like I have to tip.

 

I seem to remember reading that something like 25-35% of people tip housekeeping at hotels.  Not sure if that's true or not.

[AmandaVT]

I didn't know that some people didn't tip! We typically leave $5/night for housekeeping and I put it under a "thank you!" note. 

 

In real life, I've never met anyone that didn't tip housekeeping. 

[Shellydon]

Nope. I never tip housekeeping. 

[Annie G]

Now that I think about it, I wonder why there's no option to tip housekeeping when you check out and pay via your credit card.  That might get more results.  In the rush to check out, I'm sure lots of people just forget. 

 

 

[creekland]

I didn't know that some people didn't tip! We typically leave $5/night for housekeeping and I put it under a "thank you!" note. 

 

In real life, I've never met anyone that didn't tip housekeeping. 

 

Same here.  It's very much a custom in my circles - even when we travel with broader groups than just my IRL circle.  We often compare tips to make sure we standardize it when in a group, though I often "forget" to tell that we tend to leave the bag of Truffles in addition to the cash.  It's not really a tip.  It's a splurge that they can enjoy (and probably can't afford or justify buying on their own).  We saw a housekeeping group once sharing the bag.  It was a nice sight to see.

[BigMamaBird]

I have never tipped at a hotel.  I didn't know this was a thing.

[Ellie]

Yes, it's customary, but my own tipping is haphazard at best.

[gardenmom5]

Well this is a big pet peeve of mine. Why do so many people tip the bellboys and not tip the maids? I think it's because maids are female. They get paid a very low wage and deserve a tip as much as any other service person. Maybe more.

 

That said, I don't always remember to tip them. :( But I think we should do so if we think of it. (I don't always tip the bellboys either, but that is for other reasons. You can't really forget to tip them because they don't let you forget.)

The bellboys stand there with their hand on your luggage and you don't see the maid.

[gardenmom5]

Dp

[Mandylubug]

nope. Voted no on both. I will admit to never staying in anything nicer than a Hilton hotel and have never used room service or required extra services. If someone went above and beyong, of course I would tip.

[Farrar]

I sometimes tip. I'm so rarely in hotels...

 

I hate tipping culture though. This is one of those that no one told me until I was well into adulthood. I had no clue one was even supposed to tip until sometime after my kids were born, I think. I'd much rather pay a little more to the hotel and have them pay their staff a better wage. The whole thing is awkward to me.

[Murphy101]

I voted no, however....

 

For regular just in and out no special treatment and probably never even see the staff - no. Don't even give it a thought.

 

However, my dh has had some years where he spent 60-80% of his nights in hotels for business travel. And he said he would get to know the staff at various hotels in various cities. Some really went out of their way for him and made being there enjoyable. Like letting him host a football game party for his fellow road warriors and use their kitchen for free to cook the food for it.m Making sure to put the family with loud kids a couple rooms down from him instead of right above him. He would do things for staff like leave a 6 pack of imported beer in his frig for them when he checked out or pass on company tickets to sporting or concert events that he wasn't going to be in town for. He rarely left cash bc frankly he didn't have much to spare. But he always tried to let them know he appreciated their friendliness.

[chocolatechip]

I sometimes tip. I'm so rarely in hotels...

 

I hate tipping culture though. This is one of those that no one told me until I was well into adulthood. I had no clue one was even supposed to tip until sometime after my kids were born, I think. I'd much rather pay a little more to the hotel and have them pay their staff a better wage. The whole thing is awkward to me.

I'm with you on the tipping culture. And now with so many places going to iPad or other tablet "registers" in small shops, it's more awkward than ever. Before, the tip jar was just kind of there, but now you have to physically select, "No tip" if you don't want to tip. And I don't want to tip the person ringing up my coffee! They aren't providing me with any special service, they're just running the register. I'd totally rather pay a few extra cents per drink than feel strange about tipping.

[Momling]

I try to avoid tipping when possible. We don't really have housekeeping clean during our stay. We just put the "do not disturb" sign out.

[LibraryLover]

I don't like folks cleaning my room. I put out the Do Not Disturb  sign .  (My dh and I disagree here. I say leave my room alone, and he says clean sheets! lol)  But we always leave about 3-5$/day. We know those folks who give us clean towels and shampoo and crisp sheets are not the richest of the rich.

[LaxMom]

I was hoping for everyone's best tips for housekeeping. I'm a lousy housekeeper.

 

I tip the cleaners in hotels, though.

[Tsuga]

I tip for the good guys and gals who do their work. Screw the bad ones. I won't let them ruin it for me.

[Tsuga]

 I will admit to never staying in anything nicer than a Hilton hotel 

 

I have never stayed at the Hilton. I am not sure what this has to do with it. Am I missing something? I tip at America's Best Budget Inn. God knows they work just as hard and need it just as much if not more... why tip only at fancy places?

[Tsuga]

Now that I think about it, I wonder why there's no option to tip housekeeping when you check out and pay via your credit card.  That might get more results.  In the rush to check out, I'm sure lots of people just forget. 

 

My third post. Because I can't multi quote, I guess.

 

You can do this, and I do. Before I check out, I ask them to add $X to the bill for the tip. Then I put it in a little envelope for housekeeping. I travel a lot and rarely carry cash.

[Mama Geek]

We always tip, we have a dog and a kid we travel with.  We have spent tons of time in hotels due to dh's job and we like to vacation.  We usually stay in places that cost less than $130 a night and we try to keep it under $100 a night but in the last year or two that hasn't always been easy.

[creekland]

I was hoping for everyone's best tips for housekeeping. I'm a lousy housekeeper.

 

I tip the cleaners in hotels, though.

 

I've given up any hope of being a better housekeeper.  I hate the job and it shows. 

 

I think this is probably why I tip decently.  I sympathize with others who HAVE to do the job and for such little pay.

 

I have never stayed at the Hilton. I am not sure what this has to do with it. Am I missing something? I tip at America's Best Budget Inn. God knows they work just as hard and need it just as much if not more... why tip only at fancy places?

 

I don't get the reason here either.  We often stay at low budget places as they stretch our travel dollars much more and these places are often good for a night or two as one is traveling.  I tip housekeeping the same at either place.  They're essentially doing the same job.

 

We tend to tip our servers at restaurants the same too (rather than basing it off the bill).  At really expensive places we don't do this as I won't leave less than 15%, but we don't eat at really expensive places often.  At really inexpensive places our tip will be far, far more than 20% though.  Again, the servers do the same amount of work (more or less), so why base how much they get on the bill?  We have minimum set amounts we go by and increase if we choose to based upon terrific service.

[WinsomeCreek]

I put other because I tip when it is deserved. I'm a generous tipper. On the other hand I'm often unimpressed with the cleaning at hotels. It helps to know who did the work. I appreciate when cards with names of cleaning staff are left in the room. It's also easier to tip the right people over the course of a longer stay. Interesting poll. Off to look for the thread that inspired it.

[MyThreeSons]

Add me to the list of folks who simply never thought of it. The only time I've ever tipped for housekeeping was the one time dh and I went on a short cruise, and we were pretty much told what the expected tip was. 

 

I do tend to tip well at restaurants. 

 

Dh once had a job as a security guard at a hotel, working the 11 pm to 7am shift. One of his duties was to drive the shuttle bus to the airport, primarily for airline employees. They had an agreement with one of the airlines that supposedly included a stipulation that he would be tipped a certain amount (something like $2) per person per trip. He was tipped less than half the time by them, and almost never by regular hotel guests. What was promised to be a rather substantial income turned out to be very little, and a pain in the neck to keep track of for income reporting purposes. 

[LibraryLover]

lol I already posted.

 

[pehp]

I always tip! I don't know if it is customary here or not, but I tip no matter where I stay.  

[Mandylubug]

I have never stayed at the Hilton. I am not sure what this has to do with it. Am I missing something? I tip at America's Best Budget Inn. God knows they work just as hard and need it just as much if not more... why tip only at fancy places?

 

Oh, well. Color me confused. I always assumed people tipped at more privately owned, more expensive hotels. I've never known, other than cruises, all inclusive resorts, and the like that tips were expected or common.

[QueenCat]

I was hoping for everyone's best tips for housekeeping. I'm a lousy housekeeper.

 

 

 

Sorry............. should have made the title clearer.

[QueenCat]

Changed the subject line to alleviate confusion :confused1: