Do you tip Mousekeeping?

[lntsmom]

here is what I do:

First I take an envelope for each day we are going to be there. take last time for instance:

7 days I take:
2 $100.00 bills
2 $50.00 bills
2 $20.00 bills
2 $10.00 bills
2 $5.00 bills
2 $1.00 bills
and 1 envelope with 2 pieces of paper cut to the size of money.

I scramble them all up and leave one each day for the maid...even I dont know whether we are tipping $200.00 OR $0.00 LOL...I consider it a game and always wonder what the maid who gets the 2 pieces of paper thinks LOL

$372.00 is nothing to us so I figure why not have some fun with it.

anyway...it makes it interesting...does anyone else have fun with the maids?

bnba2

Never mind my mousekeeper comment...I wanna be you! I can't imagine a time in this life when I'll be able to make a comment about money like yours. You are one very blessed person!

 

[KigerKat]

Geez! I want your life if $372 in TIPS is nothing!!

I would hope they were being sarcastic - I think it's pretty tacky to say things like that.

 

[declansdad]

If 3/4 of the people tip $3, I'm taking home $110 a day...with half of that tax free.

Considering the job doesn't require a degree or special training, that is a pretty good paying position!

That is still nothing compared to a good server in a busy restaurant.

 

[frannn]

Usually like 20. on the tv. One trip, we were bring our luggage to the car on the last day. The room hadn't been made up yet, and we didn't leave the door open. We took a trip to the parking lot, came back to the room, and the $ was already gone. The beds hadn't been made yet or anything. Makes me wonder.... We did check if it fell & didn't find it.

 

[lntsmom]

That is still nothing compared to a good server in a busy restaurant.

Does Canada do the "tax on projected tips" thing like the US does? Here the servers have to pay taxes on what the government thinks they should have been tipped- whether they really got that in tips or not.

Personally, I think it is unfair to tax tips, but here it is something servers just have to put up with.

 

[lntsmom]

Just one more tangental thought...

What bugs me about Disney is the way the bags and your purchases appear by magic when you aren't in the room. THAT I feel bad about. I want to tip the bag guys, but never see them.

And, yes, I could go to the luggage storage room and tip a random guy or two there, but it isn't quite the same.

 

[Mouseaholic!!!]

but I gotta say, I want to be a mousekeeper!!!!!

Unlike waitresses who pay taxes on tips whether they actually receive them or not, nobody is looking over the mousekeepers shoulders and tallying the tips.

Figure they do 20 rooms a day minimum? Maybe the bonus kicks in after that. So, say I am a hard worker and I do 25 rooms in one 8 -hour shift. With the bonus, that's about $56. Not so good, right?

But, if just half those people tip me $3 a day, I'm now taking home $92 a day, and $36 of it is tax free unless I decide to be a good girl scout and report it myself.

If 3/4 of the people tip $3, I'm taking home $110 a day...with half of that tax free.

Considering the job doesn't require a degree or special training, that is a pretty good paying position!

First, the standard in the housekeeping industry is 10 -12 rooms in an 8 hour day....and we know Disney isn't going to pay a penny of overtime. Housekeeping is a dirty-dirty business......yes, they make beds and clean bathrooms, they pickup after your children but they also, on occassion, pickup discarded items of personal hygene....and other items which are just too icky to describe here. Ask me how I know....I DID it in my much younger days! PM me and I'll give you a better idea of what a typical housekeeper finds in a career!

Now, lets say half of their rooms tip $5 (which is probably above average). That means they will leave at the end of their day which a whopping $30 on top of their minimum wage $6.78 p/hour wage. WOO HOO That's not enough to fill up their car with gas!

My DH and I feel ia $5 tip daily to the mousekeeper is a very small percentage of our room cost but a much bigger percentage to the hard-working mousekeeper. If it means they can afford to take their family to a movie on the weekend...or maybe buy and extra gallon of milk for their children....it makes us happy to help.

That is our personal opinion - you don't have to agree with it,

Don't bet for a minute that the mousekeepers are rolling in tip money, however.

 

[rt2dz]

First, the standard in the housekeeping industry is 10 -12 rooms in an 8 hour day....and we know Disney isn't going to pay a penny of overtime. Housekeeping is a dirty-dirty business......yes, they make beds and clean bathrooms, they pickup after your children but they also, on occassion, pickup discarded items of personal hygene....and other items which are just too icky to describe here. Ask me how I know....I DID it in my much younger days! PM me and I'll give you a better idea of what a typical housekeeper finds in a career!

Now, lets say half of their rooms tip $5 (which is probably above average). That means they will leave at the end of their day which a whopping $30 on top of their minimum wage $6.78 p/hour wage. WOO HOO That's not enough to fill up their car with gas!

My DH and I feel ia $5 tip daily to the mousekeeper is a very small percentage of our room cost but a much bigger percentage to the hard-working mousekeeper. If it means they can afford to take their family to a movie on the weekend...or maybe buy and extra gallon of milk for their children....it makes us happy to help.

That is our personal opinion - you don't have to agree with it,

Don't bet for a minute that the mousekeepers are rolling in tip money, however.

Wow! Really? If they clean 12 rooms in an 8 hour day, that's 40 minutes on average per room. That's it? I am being serious here. I find it truly surprising. I've been around when our room (5 people) has been cleaned and they are out in about 15 minutes. I know I don't leave a messy room, but I didn't think I was that clean compared to the average person/family. Wow. I would have expected more around 30 rooms in an 8 hour shift.

 

[Mouseaholic!!!]

Wow! Really? If they clean 12 rooms in an 8 hour day, that's 40 minutes on average per room. That's it? I am being serious here. I find it truly surprising. I've been around when our room (5 people) has been cleaned and they are out in about 15 minutes. I know I don't leave a messy room, but I didn't think I was that clean compared to the average person/family. Wow. I would have expected more around 30 rooms in an 8 hour shift.

There are rooms that get light cleaning in 15 minutes....and generally deep cleaning every 3rd day (or probably MORE now). Turnaround days can be brutal - a room can easily take over an hour if it's a disaster.

Once we happened to find our room before we were allowed inot it at the beach club......cereal ground into the carpet, trash and discards everywhere....bathroom...well, I was ashamed as a guest to look at it. The Mousekeeper got a second mousekeeper (we tipped both) and it took them abouit 45 minutes. I've seen it before.....luckily it's not the norm....but it does happen more than you would like to think.

You also have to remember their day on the clock begins by loading their cart and returning it at the end of the day. Housekeepers can be stopped with questions, errands and oh my gosh how one screaming guest can change EVERYONE'S plans for the day. There are many distractions simply because they are so visable.

Now.....add on a few towel animals and the special treatment that Disney mousekeepers can offer.......they can be very busy.

Last trip at BVI I caught a bug and was in bed for the afternoon. Our Mousekeeper checked in on us to make sure we didn't need anything and actually brought a special towel teady bear for me because I was sick.

It all adds up.

 

[Disney1976]

I wouldn't want that job. I know many people can be messy, and I shudder to think of the "personal hygiene items" people with young children may carelessly leave behind for mousekeeping to pick up. Gross! Then, I think of the other "personal hygiene items" that careless adults leave behind, and that's even MORE gross.

Besides, I don't like cleaning my own house, I couldn't spend the day cleaning rooms for someone else, lol!

 

[catne]

I don't like cleaning my own house either! And surely do not want to clean/make beds etc. on my VACATION. I salute anyone who will take this job.

Besides cleaning rooms, there's a lot of walking to & fro, carrying supplies, restocking supplies (you know, if they have the bad luck to get a whole bunch of rooms requesting extra towels, they will have to go back to linen supplies & restock their carts...all this is pretty time consuming.)

Housekeepers earn every penny of their tips (and many, many people do not tip maids in hotels...at all. So if I tip well, I hope it makes their day a little bit better. )

 

[declansdad]

Does Canada do the "tax on projected tips" thing like the US does? Here the servers have to pay taxes on what the government thinks they should have been tipped- whether they really got that in tips or not.

Personally, I think it is unfair to tax tips, but here it is something servers just have to put up with.

I believe they are required to report all their tips themselves unless the employer reports it on the T4 slip employees receive (this reports are yearly income and deductions).

 

[declansdad]

I don't like cleaning my own house either! And surely do not want to clean/make beds etc. on my VACATION. I salute anyone who will take this job.

Besides cleaning rooms, there's a lot of walking to & fro, carrying supplies, restocking supplies (you know, if they have the bad luck to get a whole bunch of rooms requesting extra towels, they will have to go back to linen supplies & restock their carts...all this is pretty time consuming.)

Housekeepers earn every penny of their tips (and many, many people do not tip maids in hotels...at all. So if I tip well, I hope it makes their day a little bit better. )

You also can't forget that many rooms are only available between 9 and 2 or 3.

 

[HonnyDipp]

We always do. Its like tipping a server

 

[rt2dz]

There are rooms that get light cleaning in 15 minutes....and generally deep cleaning every 3rd day (or probably MORE now). Turnaround days can be brutal - a room can easily take over an hour if it's a disaster.

Once we happened to find our room before we were allowed inot it at the beach club......cereal ground into the carpet, trash and discards everywhere....bathroom...well, I was ashamed as a guest to look at it. The Mousekeeper got a second mousekeeper (we tipped both) and it took them abouit 45 minutes. I've seen it before.....luckily it's not the norm....but it does happen more than you would like to think.

You also have to remember their day on the clock begins by loading their cart and returning it at the end of the day. Housekeepers can be stopped with questions, errands and oh my gosh how one screaming guest can change EVERYONE'S plans for the day. There are many distractions simply because they are so visable.

Now.....add on a few towel animals and the special treatment that Disney mousekeepers can offer.......they can be very busy.

Last trip at BVI I caught a bug and was in bed for the afternoon. Our Mousekeeper checked in on us to make sure we didn't need anything and actually brought a special towel teady bear for me because I was sick.

It all adds up.

Impressive. I never have thought about it really. I did give time for check in time and questions, but I just never thought it would be that long. I should have though. Having worked in restaurants I know it is a heck of a lot more than meets the eyes. I'm still surprised it takes so long, but I'm equally surprised (and disgusted) that guests would leave a room in that shape. I would never do that to someone.

Learn something new every day.

 

[mr. figment]

We've never tipped, but plan to on the next trip.

 

[candykisses]

I tip mousekeeping everyday. I know their job is to clean our rooms, but I appreciate what they do.

We always ask for extra pillows and hangers. They're brought with a smile.

My husband can't regulate his body temperature, so on very hot days we need to return to our rooms around noon so that he can cool down. Because of that, we ask for early room cleaning. Again not a problem. In fact we often find that they've filled our ice bucket. Such a nice gesture.

 

[Mouseaholic!!!]

Gross! Then, I think of the other "personal hygiene items" that careless adults leave behind, and that's even MORE gross.
QUOTE]


Yes, gross....I always HATED cleaning honeymoon rooms.....the "gifts" that were left in the bed linens WERE gross! As I said, it happened more than you wanted to think about.

Sorry for the touch of reality.....yuck!

 

[domco]

Just returned from a quick trip and tipped Mousekeeping daily. After the first day, our room was made up right away in the morning usually while we were at breakfast. Every day that we saw the woman who cleaned our room she would thank us for our tip.

 

[redc]

Yes, Daily, Generously