how much do you leave maid?

[nbandfour]

We tip @ $5 per bedroom, and usually have two bedrooms as we have 4 children. We leave the money under a note that says "for housekeeping" and includes any requests we might have-- usually for more towels, blankets, or to replace a lightbulb.

NB

 

[foxtrotter]

We stayed 5 nights onsite in December. I left $4 a night for the first three nights. Yet the mousekeeper must have spent all of 30 seconds in our room. It wasn't vacuumed or swept and no new toiletries were left all three days. The bed was made and fresh towels were left and that was it. So I just didn't leave tips the last two nights and the service was exactly the same, sub-par. I don't mind leaving a tip if you get a little bit of extra/superior care, but not when they're doing the absolute bare minimum. From now on I'll wait to leave a tip until after the first night to be sure it's deserved.

 

[jcsbama]

If I leave a tip and mousekeeping missed something, i.e. fresh towels, cups or whatever. Am I expected to tip again to the person that actually performed the job properly? My only question is why do I leave a tip for a service that has yet to be performed. When I tip my hair stylist, bellman, waiter etc., the tip comes AFTER the service. When I tip, it is always approx 15% of the bill regardless of bad service and then the better the service, the better the tip. This tipping for mousekeeping before hand makes no sense to me because they already have the $, so why should they put forth the extra effort for an incentive? Please help me understand the logistics.

 

[mycropht]

This was the first year I tipped Mousekeeping. Other years I just didn't even know it was expected. Granted, I was much younger then. This year we tipped an average of $3/day. (There were days we left a $5, days we didn't have cash and didn't leave anything.)

However, I must say that I don't think tipping should be an "understood must-do" as it is now. That kind of gripes me. I work in a service profession, and I make it a point to charge what I need to charge for the work I do. There are countless service professions (think CRO, Front Desk, Travel Agents--all of which I've done in the past) where you have a VERY thankless job, and don't have any face-and-hand time to even get a tip. Those positions are actually paid less in many cases than housekeeping.

However, it seems that in the last 10 years or so it has become an understood rule that we are supposed to tip ANYONE who does anything. It bothers me because a tip is supposed to be a gratuity but it has gradually turned into a poll tax. Just my opinion.

Also, I'm maybe a tiny bit disgruntled that my $3/day for 2 very neat adults didn't even get me one towel animal!

 

[twoksmom]

We make up envelopes and leave a dollar per person per day.There are 4 of us. We try to be neat but we do ask for extra towels almost everyday.Between the pools and long hair for 3 of us, we go through a lot of towels.April

 

[mshrm]

I think tipping has become "expected" wether you get service that is above average or not.

If these "animal towels" appear or something out of what I should expect for the price I already paid, I will probably leave a little something. But if the room is just basically cleaned as it should be and included in the $100 a night fee then no tip from me. I might need that $5 for an ice cream!

 

[WDW LifeLong Fan]

Usually we do a flat $5.00 daily.

We will provide additional gratuity directly to a "mousekeeper" if we get exceptional service and can identify that they are the providers of this service.

 

[Debby7]

deleted by poster

 

[sdlovesdisney]

Our last 2 visits, we left $4 a day ($1 per person). We used the envelopes with "Mousekeeping" written on them first, and when we returned to the room they were still there. Then we didn't use the envelopes and just laid the money on the nightstand. Still there. We have used the gold Sacagawea (sp?) dollars. Still there. No one ever took our tips our entire stays. What's up with that?

 

[tiggersmom2]

we never tip (for regular cleaning -- we would tip if there was a big mess or something) either. quite frankly, i'd never heard of tipping maids at hotels for ordinary service before coming here to the dis.

i'm sure i will be flamed now, but i just wanted to let you know, you are not alone.

we still always have a clean room and we have even gotten towel animals.

You are not alone. We have never tipped either and never will.

 

[epcotfan]

We tip between 3-5 dollars a day. However the tips stop if we get lousy housekeeping.

 

[disneygoof]

O.K., let the flames begin.

Why should they? You're as entitled to your opinion and practices as any non-tipper.

We tip $10 a day. We do. I work in the service industry and feel like I'm spreading a little pixie dust. On our last stay the Mousekeeper went WAY out of her way to thank me. We have kids so I also think dirty diapers, cheerios, and the plethora of towels we need warrants it. I also subscribe to the "anyone who cleans my toilet deserves a couple extra bucks" philosophy.

Have a magical day!

 

[jcsbama]

I also subscribe to the "anyone who cleans my toilet deserves a couple extra bucks" philosophy.

ok, you may have point there

 

[Ducky4Disney]

This is a tough topic and I'm on the fence.

We have tipped in the past, albeit sporadically. On our last trip we stayed at SSR and being a DVC resort we had limited service so we didn't tip for the whole trip, then we decided when we left to leave a tip ($20). I didn't even realize that the same person might not be cleaning my room (duh!). $1 per person/per day makes sense if there is more than 3 people there. On my upcoming solo trip, $1 per day seems insulting. I think start to think whether or not I should tip at all.

There are some excellent points here, why are we tipping for service that is included in the nightly price? Lots of people are talking about "service industry" jobs, but this isn't a waitstaff position that makes under minimum wage and is a commision based job. Do you tip the folks at McDonalds? Probably not. I also think that the excuse/reason of "Many of the mousekeepers have not had the benefits of a great education. Many are here working hard in a profession that was not their first choice. Many do not have other options." is a bit absurd.

On the other hand, I do believe that tipping mousekeeping on the basis of spreading pixie dust and general good cheer is an excellent idea! I think I'll do it for those reasons.

D4D

 

[ribbot]

I question whether they even clean the toilets---more than once I've checked into hotels and there's "leftover" hairs from the previous occupants.

I noticed my sheets were not changed unless I personally pulled them down off the bed. Let's see, I was there 8 nights and they were changed twice. If I hadn't of pulled them off the bed, I wonder if they would have been changed at all.

Also, I noticed they put the pillowcases on inside out---hmmm, wonder if they were clean or they just turned the dirty ones inside out?

And like I posted before---when we checked in there was a receipt semi-under the bed (not really, very visible) that was dated April 7th (we checked in April 17th).....and it layed there until April 20th when my hubby finally got tired of me b*tching about it and threw it away.

Did I tip?? Yes I did---was it worth it??? If I wanted to have extra towels, washcloths and a couple extra bars of soap it was. What a shame.

 

[Meezers]

I guess the whole thing is....service at Disney is going downhill. Now granted...they set the bar for themselves....and they set it very high.

Now we expect them to meet the standards they set for themselves and for whatever reason...cutbacks...lack of a Disney on the board...whatever....they don't seem to able to maintain the standards they set.

I have changed my expectations at Disney...sad but then I don't wind up disappointed....

 

[EthansMom]

Yeah, I was wondering about this.

My concern is, how do we leave the money?
Do we just leave it out on the bedside table, or what?


I'm British, so I'm not really used to all this 'expected tipping' stuff

Housekeeping staff are not permitted to take any money laying around in a guests room, so I take envelopes and label them "Housekeeping" (or at WDW, "Mousekeeping"). Also, if we have special requests like extra pillows, we just write a note on the envelope. We seal the money in the envelope and leave it in plain view on top of the bedspread.

 

[Grammamouse]

DH and I tip $5.00/day and when I bring my 2 wonderful but little slob granddaughters, we make it $10.00. I agree with disneygoof. One of the joys of vacation is not having to clean the place, especially the bathroom. Yea! So far, we have had wonderful mousekeeping but if no one showed up or did a bad job, we wouldn't tip at all.

 

[ReggieB]

When I first moved to this country I wasn't used to the tipping culture at all. I've read many articles and advice columns on the matter and I think I get it generally...but I am no leading expert that's for sure! I have never had any issues with housekeeping at Disney. We got some great towel animals at AKL. I assumed it was because they knew we had a small child...I usually leave $1 or $2 a day. The first time we visited I left something at the end of the stay. Last visit I left it every day, with a small business size card that said thank you. I always seem to run into our housekeeping at least once during our stay and always make a point of saying hello and thanks. My son was sick one night at GF, and, unfortunately, on the bed, but the housekeeper was there very quickly to tidy up and also to make lots of fuss of my son. I am a pretty fastidious housekeeper myself (my poor DH and DS!) but I have never had any problems with the level of service, and believe me I would notice!

 

[DanaHesson]

If you have incredibly messy children and the mousekeeping is having to scrape mushed up cheerios from the carpet, constantly cart out pizza boxes, etc.... In other words if you are MESSY, I think a bit of a tip is warranted.

I used to work in the hotel industry as front desk personnel, and believe me, these ladies work very hard, for low pay, and frequently have to clean up nastiness. It just makes ME feel good to leave a little something extra, now Towel Animals? Thats gonna be a fiver for sure!