Do you tip the housekeeper?

[NAS]

We are staying at the Coronado Springs for nine nights in March (yipee!). We, sorry to say, don't usually tip the housekeeper at any hotel although we've never stayed this long in one place before. It appears from this site and others that most people do tip while in WDW. It sounds like the housekeepers that get tipped go above and beyond their duties. Is that always the case? Do you tip and what have your experiences been either way? Thanks!

 

[Impatient Disney Fan]

Funny thing...before I read these boards it never crossed my mind to tip the housekeeping...I guess I thought it was their job and they already get paid to do it . But I guess you can say the same for a waitress or bartender! Regardless...we tipped our maid at CBR in June...she did a very nice job even on the day we forgot (oops! we did make up for it the next day). She didn't do anything that I would call "special" though. And we did have plenty of toys and stuffed animals around. I think it depends on the maid, not the tip

Faith

May 1992 FW Home
June 2000 CBR
April 2001 CSR!!

 

[WishUponAStar]

rarely do i even use the housekeeping. i shower at night so the sheets are clean when i get in bed, spend only minimal time in the room anyway so there is not much mess except for our dirty clothes which should not be a housekeepers job anyway. so instead of giving them a tip i give them less work for the same money. just keep your do not disturb sign up and they will usually drop off more towels, soap, etc. anyway. also not crazy about people being in my room with my stuff (yes i lock valuables in the safe) does anyone else not use housekeeping?

 

[Beverly Lynn]

actually before reading these boards I never tipped either. and I can't say that I really care to either. if I am staying in a room that i scosting me over 200 a night I think that housekeeping should be included in that rate. if they go and do something special for me then yes I can see the tipping but if they are just replacing my towels and making the beds then no I don't see any reason for tipping when they are getting paid to do this(and yes it is more than a waitress) and I don't think that people should be made to fell bad or be put down for not doing it either.

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Beverly

 

[jaccceee]

My DD has already decorated and wrote housekeeper on the envelopes that will hold their tips. BTW I heard they don't change the sheets daily any more. I'm OK with that.

 

[Disneydenise]

I have slways tipped the mousekeeping. Our room is always immaculate and our sheets are fresh and lovely. I am happy to have someone else picking up the towels and tidding for the stay.

 

[ZerasPride]

I agree with DisneyDenise! You couldn't pay me (any amount) to pick up after other people. It is a service I really appreciate and I show my appreciation to the housekeeper (or mousekeeper as the case may be) by tipping an appropriate amount based on whether it is DH and I alone or we are traveling with our son.

We have had occasions where our stuffed animals have been displayed in funny positions or hidden in the room when we returned from a hard day of playing at the parks and have even received written thank you notes from mousekeeping before. There have also been times when the tips have been taken and nothing out of the ordinary was done. But we don't tip in the hopes of having something special done - its just to say thanks, your efforts are appreciated!

Lisa

CBR - 10/98
BC - 10/98
BC - 6/00
GF - 9/00
Dolphin - 6/01

 

[peppersugar]

If you do tip the housekeeping how much is appropriate? Is is appropriate only if you really make a lot of mess in the room or even if you just basically sleep and shower there?

 

[Disneydenise]

I tip a dollar per person per day. I would advise you to leave the tip each day as houskeeping may change during your stay.

 

[Lynn CC]

I do tip the housekeeping. They really work hard to keep the rooms clean. They don't get paid very much. I feel they really need the extra money, and it must "make their day" when they get tips!

I always ask for a lot of special requests on the first day. I leave a note with what I will need daily,with $10.00.
My requests are always more than met each day. I again leave money each morning if the job is well done.(it usually is).....usually $3-$4 a day.
We sometimes get to meet the maid during our stay, if they are nice I usually buy them a gift to leave in the room on check-out day.

I know it's a little extreme, but we like to tip well in the housekeeping and restaruant dept

I hope everyone leaves atleast $1 a night in their rooms, if they are aware that the maids do really appreciate the tip.

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[jctwizzer]

here is what the Service Directory at Old Key West has to say about tipping "...it is customary to tip the following positions for exceptional service: bartender, bell services, cocktail server,food and beverage server and valet parker"

Since I'm sitting in room 28xx typing this, it is fairly up to date. IMO, any tipping over and above that set out is up to the individual

 

[fkj2]

I am not consistent about tipping housekeeping but I did tip at the Contemporary last Spring. We had a wonderful housekeeping maid, who was more than willing to accommodate some special requests that we had; we had to use the handicapped rooms for my arthritic mom. Anyhow, we would get to chatting with her and she was so sweet. I'm never good at knowing what to tip, but since there were four of us (two juveniles) I would give her $5 a day. She was so appreciative and I'm not sure which of us enjoyed her getting that little extra the most. The day she was off, our room was horrible. I gave the $5 that day to her as well, because she had twice the work to do when she came back. Another poster had mentioned the cost of the Disney rooms; that certainly isn't filtered down to the staff as far as I could see. I understand every $ matters when a trip to Dis is planned but when a housekeeping maid works hard to make your room enjoyable, a couple of $$$ a day isn't much to show your appreciation

 

[Gretel]

Nope............

 

[SamSam]

I generally tip a dollar a day per person in the room. So when it's just dh and I, I tip $2 a day.
We barely mess the room up, so I feel that's enough. The housekeeping staff does a great job and I like to let them know I appreciate the job they do.

 

[deno2]

if the housekeeper has a good job with the room. As a Motel owner, I see this issue from a the other side. We do not expect our guest to subsidize our housekeepers wages through tips, but we do expect our staff to always go above and beyond and we pay them accordingly. Because of our standards and theirs, they usually do get tipped well.
So, when we stay someplace, I always tip for a job well done. I clean rooms about once a month and know what hard work it is. It's so nice to feel that a guest really appreciates all of your efforts. Just adding my 2 cents!
deno

 

[dianeschlicht]

I do notice more hotels have little beg sheets for maids to encourage tipping, but my husbands business discourages them from tipping housekeeping. When you tip a wait person or any service individual, it should be for performance. Since there should be standard performance practices for preparing a room, and if it is clean (as it should be), there is no way to know if this was an "above the call" performance or not. I guess I am of the school that says this is their job and not a personal service job like a waiter. Besides, I have stayed in many hotels where instead of waiting for you to leave a tip, they help themselves to something of yours in the room!

Disneydiane

 

[travelcoupons]

Here's the way I feel...
If we tip housekeeping that cleans up after us, shouldn't we tip the custodians at our childrens schools who chase around cleaning up after our kids?
Same difference, isn't it?

That's why I don't.


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[Bob NC]

I have yet to hear a convincing reason that housekeepers should be tipped. The logic most folks use in determining that housekeeping should be a tipped position would also dictate that you should tip almost everyone you come across in the course of a day. The hourly workers down at the drugstore keep the store clean and the shelves neatly stocked for my shopping pleasure. Should I slip them a few bucks? The service that cleans my office does a pretty good job. Do they deserve a gratuity be tossed their way? Waitpeople/valets/bartenders, etc. ARE paid less because tips are customarily given to them and I have no problem with that, and I tip them very well.
I have seen posts where folks say the "rule" is to tip 1 or 2 dollars per person per day, and I think some guilt is being tossed towards the non-tippers. Having said all that...lol....I have tipped housekeeping before, but only when I have asked for something above and beyond the housekeepers normal job.

 

[SusanD]

I also tip housekeeping. It is something that I have done since college. This is not just something that happens at WDW but is a common practice whenever staying at hotels.

 

[TinkerTell]

After reading what everybody had to say about tipping "mousekeeping" on this board, I tipped them on our last visit. But my problem with this practice is that they are not considered to be "tipped employees" so nobody is looking for them to pay taxes on this income. It is simply not the nature of the housekeeping position.

Waiters/waitresses make less than minimum wage because of the expectation that gratuity will more than make up the difference, but the IRS insists that they report this money as income. If they don't, they are allocated tips based on either the gross sales per individual for the year (if they track it - most do) or per the restaurant for the year (to be divided amongst all tipped employees). Evidently, the IRS expects to see at least 8% of sales reported as additional income by the tipped employees. Been there, done that.

That said, you should not be expected to automatically tip housekeeping. If they want a job where their performance is consistently recognized/rated by a gratuity system, they can go wait tables. If their wages are too low, Disney should address that issue. I feel like they are simply doing their job. If, however, somebody goes above and beyond to meet special requests, then tip them.