Proper etiquette for tipping?

[apple9117]

Hi all!

So the DW and I are used to going on Disney Cruises, and at the end of the cruise, they give you suggested tip amounts for the servers, housekeeping, etc. I was wondering if there is a proper etiquette / amount for tipping at DVC resorts?

- Housekeeping: For stays of 7 nights or less, they just provide trash and towel service on day 4. Wondering what people leave for tip?

- When using bell services to move your luggage from one resort to another for split stays, wondering what people give for tip?

Thanks everyone!

 

[freediverdude]

This may be just me, but I typically don't tip mousekeeping. According to Disney it's not a tipped position, but I know some people do. If I saw that they had done something especially nice, I probably would.

For bell services, I think the typical tip is $5 for each bag, both to the person taking it and to the person who delivers it to you. It seems unfair to me to tip one or the other, because the person who takes all the bags might not end up getting tips that way, or vice versa.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Afaik standard tipping for bell service is $1 to $2 per bag. $5 is extremely generous. I do give a little more for our owners locker because it's bulky and heavy. We tip on delivery unless we're just sending our owners locker down to wait to be picked. Tipping both ends is also generous if speaking of what is standard.

 

[apple9117]

Thank you both for the tips! Really appreciate it, exactly what we were looking for

 

[freediverdude]

Afaik standard tipping for bell service is $1 to $2 per bag. $5 is extremely generous. I do give a little more for our owners locker because it's bulky and heavy. We tip on delivery unless we're just sending our owners locker down to wait to be picked. Tipping both ends is also generous if speaking of what is standard.

True, if I had 10 bags, I probably wouldn't hand them $50 each way, but I typically only have a few bags, so that's why $5 each seems reasonable- I'm not going to hand the guy $3 or something, lol. So I guess it depends on the number of bags too.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

True, if I had 10 bags, I probably wouldn't hand them $50 each way, but I typically only have a few bags, so that's why $5 each seems reasonable- I'm not going to hand the guy $3 or something, lol. So I guess it depends on the number of bags too.

Simply in terms of standards, no, it doesn't matter on the number of bags. But what people do individually will vary of course. It's like you stated you feel they should get tips on both ends. That isn't a standard either but many people decide they want to.

 

[DenLo]

We still tip the maids on T&T and full cleaning days. $5 per room in the villa -- a studio is $5, a 1BR $15 and 2BR - $20, the last two have kitchens to be cleaned in addition to the living room and bedrooms. On check out day we give the maid an extra $10.

 

[disneynutz]

We don't tip housekeeping. The fact that Disney and their employees unions have decided that it's a non tipped position is enough for me plus they get paid time off for finishing their section. I wish that they would get rewarded for doing a better job instead of finishing early.

Bill

 

[Deb & Bill]

We don't tip housekeeping because it is a non-tipped position unless we need special assistance from them.

 

[apple9117]

appreciate the responses everyone!

 

[Dean]

Hi all!

So the DW and I are used to going on Disney Cruises, and at the end of the cruise, they give you suggested tip amounts for the servers, housekeeping, etc. I was wondering if there is a proper etiquette / amount for tipping at DVC resorts?

- Housekeeping: For stays of 7 nights or less, they just provide trash and towel service on day 4. Wondering what people leave for tip?

- When using bell services to move your luggage from one resort to another for split stays, wondering what people give for tip?

Thanks everyone!

I use national standards whenever possible and adapt to the situation as appropriate. Basically I tip for those in tipped positions using that standard and don't tip those in non tipped positions. The national standard for hotel maid's is varied because some are in tipped positions and some are not. The last I saw few hotels in the US had maids in tipped position and less than 10% of hotel guests leave a tip of any type. I am not aware of any timeshares in the US where the maid's are in tipped positions and they clearly are not with Disney including DVC. The same is not true for some other countries esp MX and the Caribbean but in those locations they're doing service 6 days a week and even washing dishes and the like at times. For Bell services the standard is to tip at the final destination of the bags which is the room on arrival and the car on departure. That Disney has chosen to divide this up further by outsourcing valet services does not affect that fact IMO. I then adjust accordingly based on service and circumstances, generally the standards are a minimum to us but I do need a reason to deviate from those basics. OTOH, we often do more but we have a reason to do so beyond it's expected. At Disney nowadays you're lucky if they actually come and do the full Trash and Tidy or full cleaning when they're supposed to.

 

[deedisneydream97]

We never use bell services, so can't help you out there. But we always tip the housekeepers on T&T day.....and for nearly 100% of our trips, I always leave a note on that first T&T day about how much I appreciate the fact that the room was spotless when we moved in. Since 1997, I can only recall one studio that was not acceptable...called immediately and someone came to the room to inspect and then tell us it would be re-cleaned promptly. And it was. Usually leave $2 or $3 on T&T and $3 on move-out day. We don't usually stay long enough for a full cleaning. And I don't really care if it is a tipped or un-tipped position. If I want to put a couple of extra bucks in someone's pocket, it is my business. I always ask on check-in day when our T&T day is....they used to put it on the reservation letter, but not any more and I can never remember. I have never NOT had my T&T taken care of on the scheduled day. You just need to make sure your Do Not Disturb sign is not hanging on the outside of the door on your T&T day.

 

[Debby7]

Our daughter was in the Disney College Program as a housekeeper. Most people left those rooms in awful condition and her wages barely paid her meals and disney housing. Unless you have a beef about the quality of the housekeeper's work, they deserve those tips , no matter what their employer says !!!
Since seeing the other side through her experiences, we tip $5 on T and T day and $20 when we leave(2 bdrm)

 

[bumbershoot]

Afaik standard tipping for bell service is $1 to $2 per bag. $5 is extremely generous.

Agreed.

I wish that they would get rewarded for doing a better job instead of finishing early.

Terrific point.

That Disney has chosen to divide this up further by outsourcing valet services does not affect that fact IMO.

Worse, have 3 people. Boardwalk is the only place at WDW I've experienced it, but I've dealt with it at Royal Pacific, where one puts the bags from your car onto the cart, another takes it to the bell Services area, and another brings it to you. Grr.

Most people left those rooms in awful condition and her wages barely paid her meals and disney housing. Unless you have a beef about the quality of the housekeeper's work, they deserve those tips , no matter what their employer says !!!

While I do tend to tip housekeeping even though I know they are officially an untipped position.... She knew what her wage was going to be. She accepted that job. Hopefully she read through the contract to find out it was a untipped position. When people take jobs it behooves them to think it through.



And tipping housekeeping is tricky, because you're tipping *in hopes* that they will do a good job. A note left is a note being given to someone who likely didn't clean that room before you got there. A tip left is not tipping the person that cleaned yesterday, but the person about to clean. It's like a bet.

 

[disneynutz]

I use national standards whenever possible and adapt to the situation as appropriate. Basically I tip for those in tipped positions using that standard and don't tip those in non tipped positions. The national standard for hotel maid's is varied because some are in tipped positions and some are not. The last I saw few hotels in the US had maids in tipped position and less than 10% of hotel guests leave a tip of any type. I am not aware of any timeshares in the US where the maid's are in tipped positions and they clearly are not with Disney including DVC. The same is not true for some other countries esp MX and the Caribbean but in those locations they're doing service 6 days a week and even washing dishes and the like at times. For Bell services the standard is to tip at the final destination of the bags which is the room on arrival and the car on departure. That Disney has chosen to divide this up further by outsourcing valet services does not affect that fact IMO. I then adjust accordingly based on service and circumstances, generally the standards are a minimum to us but I do need a reason to deviate from those basics. OTOH, we often do more but we have a reason to do so beyond it's expected. At Disney nowadays you're lucky if they actually come and do the full Trash and Tidy or full cleaning when they're supposed to.

We experience the same room cleaning issues as you do, I can't understand why they don't know their own schedule. A few years ago I held a cleaning schedule class at SSR. It started as a front desk conversation about our missed cleaning and escalated to several manager types and CM's each with a different idea of what the schedule should be. I finally logged into the member website to show them the correct schedule. They were very thankful and commented that they were never given the correct info and this was at a DVC resort, not a shared resort. They did mention that some guests will take the staged supplies basket left outside their door not knowing that it is placed there for the housekeepers and not the guest. They also stated that some guests will collect baskets from other rooms to get daily fresh towels.

Bill

 

[n2mm]

We tip for T&T and full cleaning a modest amount depending on the size of our unit. We also tip when we call down and request extras (blanket, pillows, blender). I never see anyone mention this. This is asking some one to go out of their way. Also OP if you use resort airline checkin on your departure day this is a Tipped position. This is basically "curb service" just located at your resort. These folks are not Disney employees. They share their tips between them. I can't tell you how many times I've been in line waiting and watch folks not tip. I love this service and tend to over tip here.

 

[nabi]

I especially tip big for the airline check in- our bags are 49.5 lbs/ 22.5 kg and 2 each person. These helpful people haul heavy bags all morning long.
This topic has me wondering- in other countries tipping is not a custom, I wonder how many know to tip when in the USA?

 

[disneynutz]

People know the job requirements prior to applying for the job. Housekeepers clean toilets, bag handlers lift bags, that is what they are paid to do. I honestly do not understand why and where we decided who gets tipped and by how much. Why isn't the Disney transportation driver tipped, the toilet cleaner in the parks, the front desk?

Tipping was originally used to reward exceptional service, now it is expected and if not paid you feel guilty. As a result the employer who should be paying a fair wage has in many cases used tipping as a way to reduce the wages.

Bill

 

[skier_pete]

This is personal choice, and have nothing negative to say about someone that doesn't look at it this way, but I ALWAYS tip the maids. All I know is I can afford to give Disney thousands of dollars for my vacation yet these people do a fairly thankless job for a minimum wage salary. If I can't afford an extra $20 per trip to boost some minimum wage worker's income, I probably shouldn't be coming to Disney.

We have only stayed DVC once so far, but my thought is I would leave $2-3 for T&T, and then $5 for clean-up day. When we used to stay in the regular hotels, we would leave $2 a day and usually a little thank you note, and then $5 on the last day.

As far as Bell Services go, I would say a standard is $1 - $2 a bag, depending on the amount of handling being done. Usually to bring all our bags somewhere - I'd throw them $8-10. Again - I'm not hurting for money - why not see some of my money go to actual employees instead of directly into Iger's pocket.

 

[shortypots]

So we are about to stay in a grand villa for 7 nts. My general rule of thumb for a 2 bd, is my dh and I give 20, and if we have other guests, we ask them to put something down as well usually $10 for single $20 for double. With the grand villa, I will probably ask each family to put in $10-20, leaving the maid a tip of at least $60.

WRT bell services, we tip $1-2/bag. Sometimes we do both ways other times not so much... Since we are staying at OKW this next time, when they pick up our bags, they are probably going to pick us up as well, so we will probably go with $2/bag