Tipping

[Sue J]

My father-in-law was in the hotel business. Tipping the housekeeping staff has been around a long time.

The first time DH and I stayed in a hotel he insisted that we leave a tip for the staff. I had never heard of that! His whole family has always been generous tippers.

The last time we stayed in a hotel in 2018 we opted for the minimal service, maybe we replaced the towels once. I noticed an envelope on the desk labeled for leaving a tip.

 

[pacergal]

My mother is 92 and I remember her leaving a tip for housekeeping when I was a teen. I’m 64 so this was probably early 70’s.
I suspect the practice of tipping housekeepers has been around a very long time.

My parents did the same.
I think people are more aware of it now, as hotels are often leaving "tipping envelopes" out. That bugs me, as now it is an implied expectation, even though I have left tips since I was on my honeymoon, many moons ago!

 

[GenXguy]

I haven't stayed in a hotel for over 10 years now. Never heard of anyone leaving a tip back in those days. I didn't watch Seinfeld, either. lol

 

[Aerides]

I didn't watch Seinfeld, either. lol

That's it, you have to change your user name now.

 

[Buckeye]

Isn't that the issue with tipping in any situation? I think (not 100% sure) that restaurant owners do not have to pay SS taxes on tips their employees receive (unless the tips are mandatory gratuities in the bill - someone correct me if I'm wrong.) So, yes, we are paying part of the establishment's operating expenses when we tip.

I've long since talked myself out of the expectation that tipping is for "good service." That helped my attitude when I tip for poor service. One time, one time I was with a group where the service was offensive and horrible, and I argued we should not tip at all, and I was overruled. Since then, I do as others and tip what the customary tip is and try to just look at it as part of the price. I hold the line, so far, at tipping for takeout. And I don't deal with food deliveries partly because I don't want to pay the extra price (tip.)

Not tipping during our trip to Paris was disorienting and amazing!

 

[copyright1997reloaded]

I have perhaps 1500 nights or so under my belt, mostly from being on the road every other week for almost 10 years.

I regularly tip the hotel room cleaner, even if staying only one night. I will confess that it used to be less than $5/night (e.g. 2 or 3 per night), but recently have been upping it a bit.

Most of my stays these days are at lower end but still decent quality places -e.g. Fairfield Inn, Courtyard, Hilton Garden Inn, Hampton Inn's, etc. I also give a tip to the person attending to the free "breakfast" as I rarely see them being tipped by the masses. At properties where I get club access (e.g. Marriott's as I am lifetime platinum), I always tip the person working in the club regardless of what I get there. In the old days where I was travelling to that hotel repeatedly, this approach usually resulted in "nicer" treatment from the staff.

 

[explanade]

I used to but kind of stopped doing it, not sure why.

On TripAdvisor you will see some people haranguing Americans for spreading tip culture around.

For instance, last trip was Australia and I didn't tip. Service fees are included in hotel and restaurant prices. On holidays they have surcharges.

As it turned out, I never took out any Australian currency, did everything by contactless credit card.

But many restaurants, cafes and small take out places had big tip jars, so it appears to be catching on over there to an extent.

 

[athena53]

I rarely leave a tip, as I never have small bill cash in my wallet. I use my credit card for essentially all purposes, and if I do get smaller bills in my wallet I immediately take them out to minimize the size of my wallet.

Typically I carry around a few 20s, so I'm in the same position. I just spent last night (Christmas Eve) with my granddaughters in an Embassy Suites. They LOVE the pool, riding up and down the elevators, etc. I was feeling Christmas-y so I changed a $20 at the front desk and left $5 for the maid, for the person who poured me a glass of wine at the reception last night and for the person who made my omelet at breakfast this morning. Usually I just tip the maid $3-$5 if I have it.

I also share others' concern about who actually gets it. One funny/unfortunate experience I had was in India where we were asked to leave tips in an envelope at the front desk on checkout to be distributed (how and among whom, I don't know). I left the room to check out and forgot the envelope full of rupees. I realized it immediately and asked to be let back into the room.

The envelope was gone.

 

[karen1972]

Most the places I stayed with had no housekeeping while we stayed, they were all under 4 days. If you wanted new towels they asked you come to the front desk to get them... so no tip except the last day. My sister use to clean rooms and they were paid per room..I have no idea how they do it these days.

 

[Sunset]

My parents did the same.
I think people are more aware of it now, as hotels are often leaving "tipping envelopes" out. That bugs me, as now it is an implied expectation, even though I have left tips since I was on my honeymoon, many moons ago!

The good thing about tipping envelopes, is at least it's clear to the staff what is a tip and what is not.

It must be pretty ambiguous when coming into a multi-day stay room and there is $5 or $10 or more sitting on the dresser and nothing else.

 

[Sunset]

We were in Canada at a hotel, I didn't even think about tipping for the room, as the minimum wage is $15.50 and when I worked minimum wage jobs, I never got a tip. Actually I can't remember ever getting a tip

 

[Montecfo]

Tipping is not about wage levels. Tipping is traditional and longstanding.

But the tip jars and such not so much.

As others have mentioned, these days sometimes you get no "services" during your stay. Get new towels at front desk.

In such cases I usually would not tip even for a multi-night stay. The reason is that there is not a personal service involved. They are simply cleaning the room for the next occupant.

 

[aaronc879]

Tipping is not about wage levels. Tipping is traditional and longstanding.

But the tip jars and such not so much.

As others have mentioned, these days sometimes you get no "services" during your stay. Get new towels at front desk.

In such cases I usually would not tip even for a multi-night stay. The reason is that there is not a personal service involved. They are simply cleaning the room for the next occupant.

I somewhat disagree with that. I won't tip the UPS guy making $100K+ but I will tip the Domino's Driver making minimum wage plus tips.

 

[Music Lover]

IMO not tipping sends no message to anyone other than the maid. Does anyone really think that stiffing a poor, hardworking, low wage worker will actually help anybody? "Oh no! Someone in 308 didn't tip! Let's change our pay scale and increase everybody's pay"

Yes, I've lived in Europe and Asia where there is no tipping and I agree that tipping is a poor way to do it, whether maids, wait staff or doormen, but that’s what we do here. When in Rome...

Poor service is different from principle here, but if the service was adequate, I find it unconscionable.

"It not the money, it's the principle!" yeah, sure.

Tipping threads come up almost every week on this site. People in the US seemingly like to tip almost every job or profession that exists, even well paid contractors earning $100 or more an hour.

I don't know what maids earn, or the kitchen staff, or the maintenance worker, or the person at the front desk. It's not my job to find out what they make so that I can subsidize their wages if I think they are not being paid enough.

 

[dmpi]

Since the pandemic our rooms seem to be randomly clean on some days and other day's they're not. I usually leave a tip at the end of our trip but now I think I'll tip daily on the bathroom counter with a note as others have suggested.

 

[marko]

I don't know what maids earn, or the kitchen staff, or the maintenance worker, or the person at the front desk. It's not my job to find out what they make so that I can subsidize their wages if I think they are not being paid enough.

Well, you're right. It is not your job to find out what a chambermaid makes.

Respectfully, it IS your job to understand the customs and practices of where you might be visiting. Like the Ugly American who's often horrified--and outspoken--at how people live/eat when visiting third world countries, it is preferable to understand "how it is done there" and to respect that. (Someone pulling teeth on a sidewalk in China comes to mind)

As noted, I've lived in countries where tipping is only not expected, it is sometimes considered an insult. But that is how they do it there and a practice I very much like.

But in the US, it is an unspoken and (mostly) understood custom and practice. I don't like it, you may not like it, but it is 'just how it is' and I try to participate in the 'way it's done' wherever in the world I might be.

In the end $5 bucks means a heckuva lot more to some people than it does to me; I'm happy to share. Raging against the system serves no one. IMO YMMV

 

[DoDive]

Yes, I tip the room cleaners. Here’s what happens sometimes when you check out (leave the room):
-the housekeeping supervisor performs a cursory inspection of each room
-if there is a tip left by the customer, most of the time it is picked up by the supervisor
-when I leave a tip, I want the person doing the work, not the supervisor to receive the tip
-So I wet the bill(s) and stick them inside the bath tub where the cleaner will at least have a chance to receive the tip

 

[athena53]

-when I leave a tip, I want the person doing the work, not the supervisor to receive the tip
-So I wet the bill(s) and stick them inside the bath tub where the cleaner will at least have a chance to receive the tip

Ooh, I like it! And they find it only if they do a thorough job.

Now I need to figure out where to put the bills if it's a shower only with no tub. Maybe the underside of a soap dish.

 

[cyber888]

Yes, when we stay at our timeshare for a few days, we tip like $5.
Last week, a really great staffer gave us an excellent panoramic Oceanfront suite (front desk staff), and I sent her an Amazon gift card for $30 for Christmas.

 

[marko]

Yes, I tip the room cleaners. Here’s what happens sometimes when you check out (leave the room):
-the housekeeping supervisor performs a cursory inspection of each room
-if there is a tip left by the customer, most of the time it is picked up by the supervisor
-when I leave a tip, I want the person doing the work, not the supervisor to receive the tip
-So I wet the bill(s) and stick them inside the bath tub where the cleaner will at least have a chance to receive the tip

Sounds like a lot of work.
Unless it's something like a Motel 6, I'd imagine that a decent supervisor would check the tub and shower as well. But the supervisor would inspect AFTER the cleaner left--not before--, so I'm not sure how that would work.

 

[Montecfo]

I somewhat disagree with that. I won't tip the UPS guy making $100K+ but I will tip the Domino's Driver making minimum wage plus tips.

Everyone is free to develop their own tipping strategy. But it does not typically require you to guess pay levels. It is not about pay levels. It is about tradition and personal service.

In your scenario, i would not tip the UPS driver, as she is not performing a personal service. And package delivery in that setting is not usually tipped.

Food delivery is traditionally a tipped service.

Would you tip the owner of the pizza franchise if he is delivering?

It gets complicated when you try to make it a type of charity.

 

[MarieIG]

Yes, I tip the room cleaners. Here’s what happens sometimes when you check out (leave the room):
-the housekeeping supervisor performs a cursory inspection of each room
-if there is a tip left by the customer, most of the time it is picked up by the supervisor
-when I leave a tip, I want the person doing the work, not the supervisor to receive the tip
-So I wet the bill(s) and stick them inside the bath tub where the cleaner will at least have a chance to receive the tip

I typically don't check out all that early and can find the maid by spotting the cleaning cart in the hallway.

 

[jollystomper]

For me this is a "it depends" situation:

- I don't tip for a single night stay, I have an expectation that the room will be clean and stocked as part of my reservation. There have been rare occasions when I have. FOr example, arriving just after noon for a 3pm check in, intending to just drop my bags off, and them getting a room ready for me to check in early at no extra charge.

- Where we have to request maid service, or do some of it ourselves (e.g. get fresh towels at the front desk), no tip. We tend to keep the room clean so will not tip unless we do something that really requires maid service.

- We will tip for a multi-night stay with room service. If we leave a tip, we right a note (every hotel still leaves a pen and notepad in the room) "FOR HOUSEKEEPING - THANK YOU" so that there is no question what it is for. We have found that, in "nicer" hotels, leaving a tip early in our stay has gotten us better service for subsequent days. Also, DW likes to chat up people, including the houskeeping staff... and being multi-lingual, has had conversations with them in various languages that many are surprised that she speaks (e.g. Chinese, French, Russian), and they become very friendly and even more helpful. In those situations I know I better leave a very good tip .

 

[check6]

If we're staying for only one night, we don't tip. But, if we're somewhere for longer than one night, we never have our room serviced when we're staying in it. Don't want someone in our space, I guess, so we put the "Do Not Disturb" sign out when we first get there. But, we always tip at the end of our stay, $5 per day, so the maid who services our room at the end of our stay is also the recipient of the tip.

+1

 

[freedom2022]

I tip the maid.
A lot of works need to be done in short time. We see it when we walk along the corridor, during cleaning hours.

I was in Denver for a business convention.
The maid came all the way to thank me for the tip, when she saw me walking out of my room to the elevator.
She saw me checking out and expressed her appreciation again and wished me coming back in the future.