BigMamaBird Posted April 4, 2016 Share Posted April 4, 2016 Hi all, I'm taking my Dh to Philadelphia next week for a surprise 40th Birthday trip. Just the two of us. I am super excited! We're staying in a very nice hotel which we never do. It's always the budget no tell motels for us. I know tipping is the norm at these places but I'm not sure who to tip, how much and when. We'll be using the valet for four night's parking, there's usually a guy who carries your bags up, we'll probably get room service one night, all sorts of other folks too. I sure would appreciate some advice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted April 4, 2016 Share Posted April 4, 2016 I am not sure of the going rates, but please include the maids. They probably do the most work for the least reward, and are least often remembered in the tipping. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KatieJ Posted April 4, 2016 Share Posted April 4, 2016 Valet, DH usually gives 3 or 4 dollars. Porters , 1.00 per bag. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SquirrellyMama Posted April 4, 2016 Share Posted April 4, 2016 I always thought it was like tipping a waiter, so we were doing 20% of the stay. I just read somewhere it is more like $5/night, add a couple more dollars for higher end hotels. I'll admit that I've only ever tipped maids. I don't think we've ever stayed anywhere with a valet and porter. Kelly 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TechWife Posted April 4, 2016 Share Posted April 4, 2016 Valet - $5 each trip (parking fees do not go to the valets) Bellhops (porter) - $1-$2 per bag (when bags are delivered) Housekeeping - $5 per night (leave in the room on last day before checkout). Tip more if you requested more frequent replacement of towels, extra towels or anything that required them to make extra trips to your room. If the hotel provides a "turn down" service, I up the tip by a dollar or two, depending on the swankiness of the hotel and if they managed to do it discreetly when I was out of the room. Room Service - 15-20% of bill (you can add it to the bill when it is delivered and it will be added to your hotel bill) Concierge - usually no tip if you are asking basic directions or a quick restaurant recommendation, but if they make reservations or get show tickets for you $5-10 is good. If they do something like arrange a special delivery for you (order flowers or wine from an outside vendor, for example), $15-20 is more in line. Tip when the service is received, if done immediately or requested, if they have to plan it for you (the same concierge isn't always on duty). Really swanky hotels may have tips that are automatically added on to your bill. If that is the case, feel free to add to that amount, but you are not required to do so. Ask at check in if you aren't sure if tips are included (it usually shows as a "service charge" or something like that). Things that might make your stay go more smoothly: Call ahead to let the valet know you need your car brought around (there is a number for this on your receipt) when you leave the hotel Don't give the valet all of your keys, just give the car key/fob Don't loose your valet receipt/ticket stub - remember they may have five or ten cars matching the description of your vehicle. It could take over an hour for them to find your car if you don't have your stub. Put your trash in the trashcans (sounds obvious, but in hotels many people take advantage of staff) Follow instructions on what to do with linens you want replaced (they are posted in the bathroom). If there are no instructions, assume that towels will be replaced daily and sheets every three days (in the US). I hope you have a great trip! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigMamaBird Posted April 5, 2016 Author Share Posted April 5, 2016 Valet - $5 each trip (parking fees do not go to the valets) Bellhops (porter) - $1-$2 per bag (when bags are delivered) Housekeeping - $5 per night (leave in the room on last day before checkout). Tip more if you requested more frequent replacement of towels, extra towels or anything that required them to make extra trips to your room. If the hotel provides a "turn down" service, I up the tip by a dollar or two, depending on the swankiness of the hotel and if they managed to do it discreetly when I was out of the room. Room Service - 15-20% of bill (you can add it to the bill when it is delivered and it will be added to your hotel bill) Concierge - usually no tip if you are asking basic directions or a quick restaurant recommendation, but if they make reservations or get show tickets for you $5-10 is good. If they do something like arrange a special delivery for you (order flowers or wine from an outside vendor, for example), $15-20 is more in line. Tip when the service is received, if done immediately or requested, if they have to plan it for you (the same concierge isn't always on duty). Really swanky hotels may have tips that are automatically added on to your bill. If that is the case, feel free to add to that amount, but you are not required to do so. Ask at check in if you aren't sure if tips are included (it usually shows as a "service charge" or something like that). Things that might make your stay go more smoothly: Call ahead to let the valet know you need your car brought around (there is a number for this on your receipt) when you leave the hotel Don't give the valet all of your keys, just give the car key/fob Don't loose your valet receipt/ticket stub - remember they may have five or ten cars matching the description of your vehicle. It could take over an hour for them to find your car if you don't have your stub. Put your trash in the trashcans (sounds obvious, but in hotels many people take advantage of staff) Follow instructions on what to do with linens you want replaced (they are posted in the bathroom). If there are no instructions, assume that towels will be replaced daily and sheets every three days (in the US). I hope you have a great trip! Oh wow! Thank you for that. This place is so out of my league and I want to make sure I don't stiff anyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corraleno Posted April 5, 2016 Share Posted April 5, 2016 A note about room service — every hotel I've stayed at in the last 4-5 years has automatically added both a tip/"service charge" (usually 20%) AND a "delivery charge" (usually around $5) to the bill, and then on top of that there is a line on the bill for the customer to add an additional tip, and the person who delivers the food usually stands there looking like they expect a few bucks too. I usually give the delivery guy a few dollars anyway, but it really bugs me when I'm paying $30 for a lousy hamburger, salad, and two bottles of water, and they've automatically added a $6 tip and a $5 delivery charge, and then they try to trick me into adding another 20% to the $41 total, plus tipping the delivery guy on top of the "delivery charge." So be sure to read your bill carefully! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barb_ Posted April 5, 2016 Share Posted April 5, 2016 Disagree about leaving the housekeeping tip on the last day. I like to leave cash each day so that a. the housekeeper knows I'm not stiffing her and b. the actual housekeeper who is doing the work receives the trip. It's not always the same housekeeper each day. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joker Posted April 5, 2016 Share Posted April 5, 2016 I think it should be pointed out that the housekeeping tip should only be included if you get it daily. We always ask for no housekeeping service. I do not like people in and out of our hotel rooms. So, we've started tipping if we ask for towels or something, but otherwise they are not doing anything in our rooms until we leave. Even then, we leave towels in one pile, linens in another, and all trash is in one bag. We leave our rooms clean. I would plan on tipping valet every time you use it, the porter for taking your bags in and out, any room service, and if you use housekeeping. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted April 5, 2016 Share Posted April 5, 2016 I think it should be pointed out that the housekeeping tip should only be included if you get it daily. We always ask for no housekeeping service. I do not like people in and out of our hotel rooms. So, we've started tipping if we ask for towels or something, but otherwise they are not doing anything in our rooms until we leave. Even then, we leave towels in one pile, linens in another, and all trash is in one bag. We leave our rooms clean. I would plan on tipping valet every time you use it, the porter for taking your bags in and out, any room service, and if you use housekeeping. I disagree with this. Housekeeping staff typically work their tails off and are paid a pittance. I always tip. We don't stay at swanky places. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joker Posted April 5, 2016 Share Posted April 5, 2016 I disagree with this. Housekeeping staff typically work their tails off and are paid a pittance. I always tip. We don't stay at swanky places. Sorry. I didn't mean to not include it at all. I meant not to include it daily when coming up with the budget for the trip. I don't tip housekeeping daily, as others have stated they do, because we don't use their services daily. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartlikealion Posted April 5, 2016 Share Posted April 5, 2016 I've heard that you might have different maids so leaving a tip at the end of the stay may mean stiffing someone else. /shrug. Eek, these tipping rates seem high to me. I'd be like no thanks, don't need valet LOL! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TechWife Posted April 5, 2016 Share Posted April 5, 2016 I've heard that you might have different maids so leaving a tip at the end of the stay may mean stiffing someone else. /shrug. Eek, these tipping rates seem high to me. I'd be like no thanks, don't need valet LOL! We rarely use a bellhop, ourselves! We also avoid valet parking if we can. Thanks to the Internet, we can do our own research and planning, so the concierge isn't a factor for us, either. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChocolateReignRemix Posted April 5, 2016 Share Posted April 5, 2016 Disagree about leaving the housekeeping tip on the last day. I like to leave cash each day so that a. the housekeeper knows I'm not stiffing her and b. the actual housekeeper who is doing the work receives the trip. It's not always the same housekeeper each day. This is correct. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChocolateReignRemix Posted April 5, 2016 Share Posted April 5, 2016 I think it should be pointed out that the housekeeping tip should only be included if you get it daily. We always ask for no housekeeping service. I do not like people in and out of our hotel rooms. So, we've started tipping if we ask for towels or something, but otherwise they are not doing anything in our rooms until we leave. Even then, we leave towels in one pile, linens in another, and all trash is in one bag. We leave our rooms clean. I would plan on tipping valet every time you use it, the porter for taking your bags in and out, any room service, and if you use housekeeping. If they come in once at the end, then you only need to tip once. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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