Do you tip Mousekeeping?

[declansdad]

If someone is living in Florida and able to find a full-time housekeeping job that pays over $12.00/hour plus benefits, then, they should not expect tips! That is an extraordinary wage compared to waiters, servers, hosts, bellmen, etc...

I don't think anyone has said that mousekeepers expect tips. The question was. "Do you tip Mousekeeping?"

 

[WendyisDarling]

I never heard of NOT tipping maids til I read it on the DIS. LOL! I thought everyone knew to tip. My parents always tipped maids when we stayed in hotels. Didn't matter if it was the 8 Days Inn outside of WDW or some local hotel in Atlantic City where we spent summers. It wasn't til I came upon the DIS did I realize not everyone tips. I was surprised to say the least. We tip $5 daily no matter if it is 2 or 3 of us in the room.

I'm with you, although I don't care if some chose not to.

Not Disney, but I've been to plenty of hotels that have envelopes out that say "your housekeeper is _________" and has a place for you to make a note or check off if you need more towels or whatever.

We tip regardless of hotel. I make a point to tell my boys, when you grow up don't forget to tip housekeeping. This past summer, my oldest said "I know Mom, you've told me that a hundred times!"

I answer this question the same every time. I tip, but it is my choice. Others do what is right for them.

 

[Maine-iac]

I'm with you, although I don't care if some chose not to.

Not Disney, but I've been to plenty of hotels that have envelopes out that say "your housekeeper is _________" and has a place for you to make a note or check off if you need more towels or whatever.

We tip regardless of hotel. I make a point to tell my boys, when you grow up don't forget to tip housekeeping. This past summer, my oldest said "I know Mom, you've told me that a hundred times!"

I answer this question the same every time. I tip, but it is my choice. Others do what is right for them.

I wondered "what is the proper etiquette" when it comes to tipping housekeeping. So I googled it

from http://www.findalink.net/tippingetiquette.php
Remember that tipping is discretionary. If you don't think tipping is necessary in a particular circumstance, then don't tip. This is a guide for people who are planning to tip and want to know the customary amount. If you think tipping in general is stupid, then don't tip.
Maid service - $3-5 per day typically, up to $10 per day depending upon how much mess you make. Tip daily because there might be a different maid each day. Leave the tip on your pillow. Err on the side of being generous, and tip on the last day also. If they change out your linens by request, give $1-2 each time.

from http://www.essortment.com/all/propertippinge_rmuv.htm
Tipping is gesture of appreciation for services rendered.
At a Hotel: It is standard to leave the maid a few bucks for tidying your room. If you have additional needs such as more towels, soap, an extra toothbrush, etc. thank the maid with an additional dollar or two.

from http://www.howtodothings.com/food-and-drink/a3339-how-to-use-tipping-etiquette.html
Tip for a job -- any job -- well done. There are no rules that are set in stone when it comes to tipping. If you're unsure if tipping is appropriate for the service performed, go with your gut instinct. Even if your neighbor doesn't tip the newspaper delivery person, if you think he does a great job, then go ahead and include a tip with your payment.

from http://www.betidy.com/trivtip.html
Tipping is a social custom, not a requirement, with no set rules. It is a personal decision, an expression of satisfaction on the quality of service you receive. It is a gift, usually in the form of money, given in return for services. The recommendation is to leave 10 to 15 percent of the pre-tax bill. In general:
Maid - $2.00 to $5.00 per night (leave daily as housekeepers may change)


So there are 4 different web sites. I guess one should tip if they want to.

 

[goofy4tink]

If someone is living in Florida and able to find a full-time housekeeping job that pays over $12.00/hour plus benefits, then, they should not expect tips! That is an extraordinary wage compared to waiters, servers, hosts, bellmen, etc...

And that's why housekeeping is not considered, by Disney, to be a 'tipped postition'! Those others, 'waiters, servers, hosts, bellmen, etc..' are paid much less simply because the company knows they will be tipped by the guests..or at least they should be tipped for good service.
Housekeeping is not underpaid. My dd works in a preschool/daycare center and makes about the same...$12 or so an hour. If someone feels their housekeeper has done an exceptional job, then they should feel free to tip. But, I have had housekeepers who barely left clean towels each day...they did not get tipped. I had a housekeeper at the Swan who didn't feel the need to even come to our room. Dh had to call Housekeeping at 9:30 at night to get clean towels..the beds hadn't been touched either!! No tip for her the next day, that's for sure.
If we get a housekeeper who goes out of her way to make our stay nicer, then yes, we tip. More than expected towels each day, plenty of toiletries, fun placement of dd's stuffed animals, towel animals..that sort of thing will get that housekeeper a bit extra the next day. Generally, we leave about $3 for the three of us on any given day. We are very neat, so not much to tidy up in the room.

But, it should be up to the individual to decide if their housekeeper has done anything to warrent that little extra each day.

 

[debraW76]

I've never tipped either. But to those who do tip I have this question:

Are the tips left in advance for housekeeping? I mean, do you leave the tip before it is cleaned or after?

If before, how do you know it was service worthy of tipping? I would never leave a tip at a table before I met my waitress/waiter?

If later, then how do you know the tip is going to your housekeeper that day and not being picked up by the person cleaning your room the next day? Again, using the restaurant analogy, I wouldn't leave my tip for my dining experience based on the service I got the previous time I ate out?

The third option I guess is to hand deliver it to the housekeeper but in my experience I don't usually see the housekeeper.

We are going in less than a month and I am still debating on setting aside money for housekeeping tips. Your answers would help me make that decision. Thanks!

 

[beattyfamily]

I've never tipped either. But to those who do tip I have this question:

Are the tips left in advance for housekeeping? I mean, do you leave the tip before it is cleaned or after?

If before, how do you know it was service worthy of tipping? I would never leave a tip at a table before I met my waitress/waiter?

If later, then how do you know the tip is going to your housekeeper that day and not being picked up by the person cleaning your room the next day? Again, using the restaurant analogy, I wouldn't leave my tip for my dining experience based on the service I got the previous time I ate out?

The third option I guess is to hand deliver it to the housekeeper but in my experience I don't usually see the housekeeper.

We are going in less than a month and I am still debating on setting aside money for housekeeping tips. Your answers would help me make that decision. Thanks!

I tip daily. When they come to clean, they pick it up. I have no problem with this but if others do that's up to them.

If I decide that my room wasn't cleaned well, then I'd have a talk with either the maid or the front desk.

 

[Anonomom]

I had never heard of tipping housekeeping before I started lurking on these boards, either. But from all of you I kind of assumed that it's what's "done" at Disney, and we tipped every day.

I don't know if it's related, but when we were at POR two weeks ago, we had flocks of towel animals the first two days (one day alone, we got two ducks, a few mice and a butterfly; my in-laws in the connecting room got two elephants and a mouse), then each day after that the housekeeper arranged them all into fun poses. It seriously made my DD (2.5) laugh with delight every afternoon when we returned to the room. Even better, I ran into our housekeeper the last day, and was able to thank her in person and tell her she'd made my daughter so happy.

 

[ilovebassets]

we don't tip. i've never tipped at any other hotel/resort so i'm not sure why we should start at disney. if someone really went out of their way to fulfill a special request or we left the room really dirt or gross, i probably would, but we're two adults who never request anything or puke in the bed or anything like that. so we don't tip.

 

[frdeb1999]

We do because we have always had absolutely fabulous service.

 

[dbriggsq]

I'm afraid I don't tip housekeeping. I can't see why it's any different from castmembers earning a similar wage who I wouldn't consider tipping - retail staff, cleaners at the parks (surely a much more wearisome job). I've been ripped to shreds on other threads for saying this but my opinion stays the same. Unless someone can tell me why housekeepers who earn the same per hour as other castmembers in the parks should be given extra in the form of tips for doing a job they chose to do I can't really see the need to leave a tip unless it is to salve my conscience or make me feel good. I still think that tipping is a condescending practice and should be eradicated as soon as possible by paying employees a living wage.

 

[perla75]

I'm afraid I don't tip housekeeping. I can't see why it's any different from castmembers earning a similar wage who I wouldn't consider tipping - retail staff, cleaners at the parks (surely a much more wearisome job). I've been ripped to shreds on other threads for saying this but my opinion stays the same. Unless someone can tell me why housekeepers who earn the same per hour as other castmembers in the parks should be given extra in the form of tips for doing a job they chose to do I can't really see the need to leave a tip unless it is to salve my conscience or make me feel good. I still think that tipping is a condescending practice and should be eradicated as soon as possible by paying employees a living wage.

I feel it is condescending as well & I hate that the general public is in charge of deciding how much a person should earn in a given evening when they are totally biased and untrained to do so.

That said, I know several servers who disagree with me & would not want a set hourly wage. I had a long discussion on another tipping thread a while ago with another Dis'er who owned a restaurant & in the case of a restaurant, it did not make economic sense to give an hourly wage to their servers. I'm not sure how this accounts to European restaurants, where servers do not have tipped positions & the restaurants hold up just fine.

 

[DisneyJen0504]

I'm afraid I don't tip housekeeping. I can't see why it's any different from castmembers earning a similar wage who I wouldn't consider tipping - retail staff, cleaners at the parks (surely a much more wearisome job). I've been ripped to shreds on other threads for saying this but my opinion stays the same. Unless someone can tell me why housekeepers should be given extra in the form of tips for doing a job they chose to do I can't really see the need to leave a tip unless it is to salve my conscience or make me feel good.

Same here.

 

[Classof83]

We tipped $5 each day of our stay (family of 5). My kids took turns decorating the envelopes with drawings and stickers each morning while we were getting ready for the day.

We always try to keep our hotel rooms fairly neat, wherever we go.

Years ago my mom worked in housekeeping at a local motel where I grew up. It is not a fun job, and you would not believe how some people act just because they know someone else will be cleaning up after them!

 

[natnelliesmom]

Housekeeping staff are traditionally very poorly paid for very hard work. I always tip and always clean up after myself to make his/her job easier.

Truthfully, since I don't have children and my DH is a real neat-nik, we'd rather housekeeping just not bother coming daily. We don't change our sheets and towels daily at home, why harm the environment doing on holiday?

Just put out a do not disturb sign and they won't come in to clean! I always do this- as I don't like people coming in to my room when I'm not there. Just a silly pet peeve of mine.
I always hang up my towels to reuse them and part way through the trip I'll call mousekeeping for more towels. They just come while we are there and take the dirties and leave us cleans.
It works very well for us. With little kids there is just too much worry that a special toy will get taken away in the linens. (It's happened to us before) We also tend to leave our things laying around- toys, paperwork etc. and I hate thinking of someone having to clean around that!
I just leave a big tip on the last day.
-Sarah

 

[copperbrick]

Yes, I always tip. $2.00 per day, per bed, more if I'm really impressed with the service. I'm happy to say that I have been impressed!

I am very into "Do unto others." If I had that job, I would appreciate the tips so very much. My goodness, I tip servers in restaurants and Mousekeeping works at least as much.

If I have extra "stuff" in my room at the end of my stay (this last time it was unopened cheese, wine and more), I leave a note to let Mousekeeping know they are welcome to whatever is there. I don't know if they are allowed to take it, but I sure would love it if they would.

My last visit was to Animal Kingdom Lodge and Mousekeeping was a gracious and responsible as can be.

Copper

 

[copperbrick]

I never tip.

I'd be interested in knowing why -- no wrong answer! Thanks.

 

[copperbrick]

I almost always tip. I've forgotten a couple times. I think they deserve a tip if they do their job. They work so hard for so little money. Everyone tips so many other people, many of which barely do anything, so why not the mousekeepers!?

We tip $1-2 per day per person, based on how much of a mess we make I also leave little thank you notes, so they know I appreciate them.

The thank you note is a great idea. We leave one as well. : )

 

[copperbrick]

1) What is considered poorly paid?
2) Per the contract, maids at WDW earn up to $12.47/hr, plus incentive pay.

To my family and me: At that price, they DEFINITELY are worth the tip! It's worth it just to help them feel good at the end of the day . . . as long as they're doing a good job, of course. Do onto others, my motto. I'd sure want the tip if it were me!

 

[copperbrick]

PS: We've found it is important to tip every day, from day one, rather than wait until the last day. That way, Mousekeeping knows you care from the start. It stands to reason it might make a difference in the service you receive.

 

[copperbrick]

just to play devil's advocat

i know housekeepers work hard and get little in return but do you tip your garbage men, nurses, paramedics, etc?

why is it it that we tip housekeepers when we don't to the people who save lives?

Actually, yes. Gifts, notes, everyone counts!

Actually, I was just thinking about this today. I need to be even better at this than I have been.

I have a doctor who just helped me get over a problem I've been having for years. I will give him something if only a handwritten thank you, although I will probably buy him a gift. What a blessing to have had his help! He's making a fortune but that's not the point. Everyone has feelings. Everyone counts.

Copper