Housekeeping is a tipped position at every other hotel except WDW. The managers at the WDW resorts I have stayed said indeed the mousekeepers are allowed to keep their tips. I tip because I believe they are DESERVING of it. Not because they expect it. Not because it makes me feel better. Not because it is or isn't a tipped position. It is because they do a very dirty and difficult job and they DESERVE the extra money. Making $12 a hour to clean up after people and the demands of some of the most obnoxius people is worthy of a tip. After reading the whining that goes on at this board about not getting this, demanding this, complaining about that, they deserve higher pay.
I also will stick with my, if you can't afford to tip, wait to you can philosophy. Honestly if you are going on a vacation you can barely afford, your words not mine, I would be rethinking the vacation, tipping aside. I know I could not enjoy myself knowing I can't afford it.
I don't need anyone telling me something isn't a tipped position. If someone wants to rely on that and not tip based on actually deserving something extra so be it. I would never base my tip on what their hourly wage is anyway. If you are deserving of a show of appreciation for a difficult job well done, what does what your hourly wage have to do with it. Not anymore deserving of it? Oh sorry, you make this much, I'm not going to show my appreciation to you. Sorry. I don't do that. I love to tip those that I feel deserve the extra for doing a hard job well.
I know everyone has different standards of tipping but I don't have to think it is right when someone doesn't tip.
Being allowed to keep tips and it being a tippable position are two completely different things. According to Disney, housekeeping is not considered a tippable position...that is according to Disney, not a resort manager. However, housekeepers are allowed to recieve tips, if the guest so chooses. What that says to me is that I don't have to feel cheap if I decided not to tip. I would feel that way if I stiffed my server in a restaurant though...that is a tippable position and they are paid accordingly.
You say that these housekeepers make a very small pay amount..and that because of all the 'dirty' work they do, they should be getting tipped. Well...as I said, my dd, 32, gets that same pay, and works with young children. She does scrub toilets and sinks, as well as cleaning up children who have soiled themselves...in one of many ways!!! She went into that job knowing full well what the pay was and what the conditions would be. Same with housekeeping...they all know what they are going to be paid and they fully understand the working conditions and the job description.
So....just because someone chooses to not tip does not mean that they are 1. cheap, 2. don't know any better 3. don't realize what housekeeping does.
It simply means that they don't feel the need to tip...for whatever reason. There really is no need to try to make others feel badly about their choices.
Believe me...I've seen lots of CMs who are truly deserving of a tip or at least some sort of recognition after dealing with something (or someone) unpleasant. I've seen the way some of those public restrooms are left...those restroom custodians deserve something extra....at least more than the thank-you I give them when I run into them in the restrooms. And I do run into them frequently. It's because of piggy guests that the custodians can't keep up. There are only so many CMs cleaning those areas...if more guests treated the bathrooms the same way they treat theirs at home, perhaps the bathrooms would remain neat and clean.
So..if you feel that your housekeeper is deserving of being tipped on any given day, fine, go ahead and tip them. If you don't feel so inclined, then don't. Your daily service should not suffer for the lack of a tip...if it did, then I would be calling Housekeeping myself, as well as the resort manager.