Am I the Only One Who Doesn't Tip Housekeeping?

[Limmer]

I live in Canada and I know I could not survive on $6.10 an hour. If you can afford to stay in a hotel/eat in a restaurant/valet park etc. you can afford to give a small tip for those who are looking after you. If $20-$50 in tips for a 7 day trip will break your vacation budget maybe those vacation dollars would be better applied elsewhere.

 

[bettyann29]

I always tip the housekeeping.. Not alot but just a small token per person per day.. If they go out of their way to do something special then I do tip a little extra..

We cruise on Carnival quite a bit and they expect you to tip $9.75 per person per day in each cabin for a 7 day cruise.. That amount is distributed among different people, including waiter in the dining room, assist waiter, cabin steward.. etc.. You can adjust this amount according to your service but it is pretty much expected unless you recv bad service and dont feel it necessary to leave a tip.. Then you are expected to pay the baggage handler at the port $1 per bag just to handle the bags.. then of course you are expected to pay it again when you return home.. Then at each port you go to if you do an excursion such as snorkeling, swimming with dolphins, etc you are expected to tip them too.. If you take a cab or bus or something you are expected to tip them also.. Once we got a picture with a huge lizard looking thing (cant remember the name of them) and yes was expected to tip yet again.. If you get an alcoholic drink on the cruise a tip is automatically put on the tab.. I dont think you can take this one off..

I agree that tipping on vacation can drain you!!! I know first hand.. But I guess I still feel obligated to leave something..

 

[lucyem]

Ever since I read the book "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America"
by Barbara Ehrenreich I tip housekeepers. It will change your view on minimum wage in America. I also tip waitresses in cash even if I pay for the meal with a credit card.

 

[swilphil]

I always tip housekeeping, but I admit it isn't that much, usually around $5-10 for a 4 night stay. I've read about some people who tip each day. Is that better? Do you even get the same housekeeper everyday?

Lucy--I used to always tip in cash when I paid with a CC because I was a waitress 10 years ago and that was preferred. I stopped doing it separately because other waitresses I've had told me it didn't matter. What is the benefit of tipping in cash?

 

[lucyem]

My sister told me if waitresses are paid in cash they do not necessarily have to report it to the IRS. I am sure it would depend on the resturant.

 

[disneychrista]

IMO the only benefit to tipping in Cash vs Credit Card is that it makes it easier for the Server to "cheat" about the amount of tips they recieved.

 

[Hippychickali]

I live in Canada and I know I could not survive on $6.10 an hour. If you can afford to stay in a hotel/eat in a restaurant/valet park etc. you can afford to give a small tip for those who are looking after you. If $20-$50 in tips for a 7 day trip will break your vacation budget maybe those vacation dollars would be better applied elsewhere.

First of all, how rude! Personally, I don't have $20-$50 dollars extra a week to tip to housekeeping on top of the tips that I give elsewhere. That's my own situation. And you cannot tell anyone where they should spend their money or who can or cannot afford to go to WDW. Back to my original point - tipping is optional. Each individual can and should use their own discretion. You may feel as though people should tip housekeeping (so tip away) but that is simply your opinion.

Ali

 

[DisneyBill]

Yep, always tip house/mousekeeping. Unless of course they don't do what is expected.

 

[daystar]

Hi,
When we took our first vacation to WDW last Christmas 2003...Before we left i read all kinds of books for traveling and i did come across tipping...In the one book it says to tip a dollar per person that is in the hotel room daily...So that's what i did....But i can also see some other points on this thread as well...Your hoping that your money is going to the right person but how do you really know that it is...I really never thought about that until i read this thread....I totally agree i think the tipping is optional.....
We did have one lady on Christmas day clean our room she made my boys a snowmen out of towels....It was so cute...We also brought our miniature christmas tree with us and before we left i turned off all the lights and sat it to the side.....When we returned from breakfast she had set up the christmas tree, turn the lights on, and put it on the table...I notice that she had just left our room to go to the next room so i had my son go out the door to her cart and tell her thank you, we also gave her a nice tip....

 

[Mortlives]

We tip mousekeeping, but then, I was raised to always tip the maid in a hotel. Has maid become un-pc, by the way? Even in an all-inclusive resort where tips are included, we've always left money at the end of the week. Since we had an instance where the housekeeper didn't take the money, I've made sure to leave a note as well. The best is when we get notes back. I haven't gotten that at WDW, yet, but I have gotten towel animals. I don't worry about whether or not it's the same housekeeper. I would imagine pooling happens, and even if it doesn't, I'm sure what goes around comes around. I've certainly never been unhappy with the service I've received.

Kungaloosh!
Morticia.

 

[shleybird]

I always tip mousekeeping, 1.00 per person per room. 4.00 per day, or 40.00 per trip. Who ever gets our room on the last day always gets the left over soda and snacks, hopefully they don't go to waste, they are not opened, and I always set them on the table with a note. Just my way of saying thanks for doing such a good job.

 

[disneychrista]

I have heard that any food itmes left in the room are to be tossed "just in case." Don't know whether this is true or not.

 

[goofydad621]

Having been raised in a good sixed reataurant business, I understand how much the tips are depended on. The waitresses at the time made $2.35 an hour plus tips which usually added up to about $10.00 an hour and they earned every cent of it. Maids on the other hand g4et paid at least min. wage plus tips.

I always felt that tipping was the right thing to do IF the job was done right. By the way the term tips does not mean something extra it is an acronym for
To
Insure
Prompt or Proper
Service

Those folks that clean my room work hard and coming back to a clean room makes my stay that much more enjoyable. It is worth it to me, just like telling a cm at a ride or food venue thank you or have a great day. IT suprises me that some of them will look at you with the look of astonishment that someone mught wish them a good day instead of the I'm paying you to be here so wait on me.

Just my 2 cents

Dave Goofydad Dionne

 

[disneychrista]

By the way the term tips does not mean something extra it is an acronym for
To
Insure
Prompt or Proper
Service

While this may have been what it was intended to be this is no longer true. Since we no longer tip BEFORE we get the service there is no way my tip AFTER the service has been performed can Insure Prompt/Proper Service.

Now to tip simply means to give a gratuity to. Gratuity is something given voluntarily or beyond obligation usually for some service.

 

[Limmer]

First of all, how rude! Personally, I don't have $20-$50 dollars extra a week to tip to housekeeping on top of the tips that I give elsewhere. Ali

I did not mean that amount to tip housekeeping, I meant housekeeping, bellboys, bus drivers etc. Those that take care of you and make a vacation a real vacation. Why is that rude? You don't feel it is rude not to tip the person that cleans your toilet.

I was not saying who should or should not go to WDW, I was stating my OPINION as you were stating your OPINION. Just for the record, for the two of us we usually tip housekeeping $10-$15 for a 5 day stay. IMHO tipping is part of the expense of traveling, something to be considered when making a budget.

 

[Hippychickali]

According to dictionary.com, a gratuity is:

"Something voluntarily given in return for a favor or service, as a recompense or acknowledgment"

or

"an award (as for meritorious service) given without claim or obligation".

Nowhere does it say that I am obligated or required to tip anybody for anything...otherwise it's not a gratuity. So, how is a tip in any way like an award if it is expected from every housekeeper, taxi driver, etc.

BTW, I probably spend well over $50 in tips in a week at WDW on tips but that's my choice. I don't expect anyone else to spend a single penny. It's really up to the individual.

Ali

 

[Limmer]

Nobody said you are obligated. The OP asked for opinions. The 1st definition says given in return for a service. That is what I am doing, giving in return for a perfect stranger cleaning my bathroom, making my bed and cleaning up my garbage. That is worth far more to me than a few dollars a day which is why I tip.

 

[I_Know_You2!]

If a person is paid a regular wage, we don't tip except for outstanding services rendered, and then I consider it a "thank you" rather than a tip. From what I understand restaurant personell are not paid regular wages and are taxed on tips, and thus we tip at least %20 at restaurants.

 

[disneychrista]

Here in California all workers must be paid at least minimum wage. So the workers at McDonalds and the local Denny's are both paid the same wage. The workers at Denny's get tips, at McDonald's they don't.

As for being taxed on tips, they are taxed on what they REPORT as being tips. Which leads to "fudging" on the numbers. I know the place I do accounting for, the servers have never reported tips to me, so they are only taxed on 8% of their sales, which I am sure is MUCH MUCH lower than actual.

 

[princesstommi]

It's become a habit to tip housekeeping for us. Especially at Disney. That's not a job I would want, I know what Disney wages are like, and I know they work hard. That extra $20 won't mean a lot in the long run for me, but I'm sure it could make someone's day in that position.

But I totally understand both positions on this. Since it's not a *tipped* position, I don't think it's bad if people don't tip.