Do you tip the mousekeepers?

[Diamondintheruff]

Love the preprinted envelope site! Now I am torn between preprinting them and having the kids decorate them. I thought I would have them decorate them while driving down. Always looking for ways to occupy the kids while they are strapped down for hours at a time.

 

[hvivona]

I made up these cute envelopes ahead of time that said "Thank you Mousekeeping" and it had the date (one for each day). We always leave $1 for each member of our family so for us $5 a day. Enjoy your trip!

 

[IluvDonald!]

We leave $5/day - for 3 of us. We usually stay at POP and Mousekeeping did a great job!

 

[SelfEmployedDebtFree]

Does anyone know if mousekeeping is paid well? (Are they making a decent living?) Just curious.
We used to go to Cancun a lot. One of the tourists made the comment of how they were shafting the locals and how the maidservice didnt make nothing. It was $500 a month(USD). Then someone else (who had also asked the same question to a maidservice employee) said "yeah, but they have free room and board in NICE rooms, free food at the resorts, free transportation on the resort buses all over Cancun, free water, free electric, free drycleaning, and free satellite TV. I could probably live like that in Cancun!

 

[beattyfamily]

I'm new to this - do you tip the mousekeepers? How do you do it (where do you leave the money?) How much? Do you tip every day or at the end of the week? Do you have your room cleaned every day or every other day?

I'm trying to budget so I need to know if I should include mousekeeping money!

Thanks!

Yep, I do tip Mousekeeping! I print out special Mousekeeping envelopes before my trip and fill them up so its one less thing to worry about.

I leave the envelope on the bathroom mirror.

I tip each day in case my mousekeeper is different each day.

I have the room cleaned everyday.

We tip $1 or $2 per person, per day so my family of 4 usually leaves a $5. bill each day.

But tipping is always a personal choice and there is no 'right' answer. Do what you feel is best for you.

 

[cabanafrau]

We also print out envelopes @ home w/ Thank You Mousekeeping & include $5 each day. We left them on top of the refrig in our room each day w/ the coffee maker, ice bucket, etc.

We actually ran into our mousekeeper on our last day & she stopped us to say thanks. Little did she know, I wanted to grab her & kiss her -- coffee mugs left dirty & came back clean??? beds made all neat & tidy???? wet towels were clean & dry???? vacuum was pushed around???? sink & mirror were spotless??? & here I thought there was some sort of law that only the very highly trained me knew how to perform those tasks

I was a for 6 whole days!!!!

 

[Hannathy]

Tipping is not a MUST. We don't tip unless I have asked them to do something special. A clean room is included in the room rate that is what you are paying for and a tip is not needed to get your room cleaned!

Someone on another thread said housekeeping is not a "tipped" position, so the are paid accordingly and if all of you are leaving $2-$5 a day per room these folks are really adding a lot to their income and probably tax free! I really don't understand the need to tip if they are just doing the basics of their job, do you tip the ride CM's who are making the same amount? Or the housekeepers in the park?

 

[disneyaggie]

$5 a day, left on the table with a note.

Yep -- me, too! My note always thanks them for such a great job and telling them they are appreciated.

 

[disneyfanfamily]

I am not sure about the tipping thing. 4 years ago when we went to WDW we never tipped. Didn't know that is what we were suppose to do! Got many towel animals. (this was at ASSPORT) She (they) were very good and attentive.

2 years ago we went to POR and we tipped everyday. She was not that good. Never got a towel animal either - not that we should expect one.

Plus, if you tip, you are sort of tipping before the service is done. And if you tip because they did a good job the day before, you may be tipping a different mousekeeper.

We will probably tip, but not the $5.00 a day we did the last time. Probably be $3.00. And we are a family of 5. We will be staying 11days this time and $5.00 per day is over $110! That is a lot! If all of their guests tipped that much everday, that is alot of money that they would be pocketing to do what they are suppose to do anyway.

Please do not think I am stingy. Just thinking outloud. Like I said, I probably will tip. But is their position like a waitress who expect tips in order to make enough to make it worth their while?????

 

[disneyfav4ever]

I tip $2 a day, since it is only me, and $1 a person, would just mean a $1 tip which seems too low, though for three or more people $1 a person per day sounds right. I leave the money of the counter with the sink, underneath the "I cleaned your room today," card.

 

[loriandmatt]

yes, we tip the mousekeepers

we tip them about 1$/person in the room each day.

we leave the money in special envelopes that specifically says it is for them and we leave it on the pillow of an unmade bed each morning.
most times they take it sometimes they do not. (but very infrequently)

we tip daily because you might not have the same person every day and i don't want to give the person on checkout day a big reward and have it not be the person who cleaned up after me for my entire vacation.

we have on occasion not tipped the mousekeeper each day. we had some problems last time where we would consistantly not get our room cleaned/new towels for a few days at a time. i am not tipping for poor service. when i got the service i tipped, but i took that envelope away if i returned at night and my room was not cleaned and i had to call to get it done.

we are probably camping this year so no mousekeeping. i wonder if DH will be leaving an envelope with cash out on his pillow for me to thank me for making his bed and tidying up the camper each morning?!?!?

 

[KimKamMom]

[we are probably camping this year so no mousekeeping. i wonder if DH will be leaving an envelope with cash out on his pillow for me to thank me for making his bed and up the camper each morning?!?!?

I just read this to my husband...we are campers!!!! I've never gotten a tip, but now I am expecting one!!!!

So funny

 

[themudd4]

Me and my kids make our own envelopes at home.
Guidebooks suggest...$1 per person per day and tips should be left on the sink so they know the money if for them.
We also toss all of our change on the entertainment center each night in the room and let it collect over the week. When we check out, we usually leave that for the mousekeeping too. Last year it was an additional $12 in change! I almost felt bad leaving that much but thought...it will probably still be the biggest tip they get all day!

 

[Ilovefozzie]

I'm part of the minority here...I don't tip. Not for just doing their job. If something special is done..sure. But otherwise, no.

We don't make a mess of our room, we pick up after ourselves, put dirty clothes away in a suitcase. Everything.

We do leave thank you notes, but no money.

 

[babar41]

I make envelopes before I leave home. Since I love Dumbo, and he is the forgotten character and therefore can't find any predesigned envelopes, I make my own. The envelope normally has a picture of Dumbo taking a bath, the date it is for, and a big THANK YOU to our Mousekeeper. Inside is $2. It is just DH and I and I have to admit I keep the room pretty neat. When I travel with my daughters or grandkids I tip more for the added chaos

For those of you who believe tipping the housekeeping staff is wrong, I respectfully disagree. Housekeepers are normally minimum wage positions, and they work hard! Cleaning toilets are not my favorite thing to do, say nothing of cleaning other peoples toilets!

Different hotels have different rules, but at most hotels housekeepers are expected to clean between 17 and 22 rooms in their 8 hour shift. If 1/2 of the rooms left them a tip (and it looks like the average here is between $3 and $4) then the housekeeper may make an additional $30 to $40 dollars a day. I sure don't begrudge them that.

Coming back at the end of a hard day of playing at WDW it is nice to have your bed made, clean towels, clean floors, no dust, clean bathroom, sinks, tubs... And sometimes they even leave us towel animals! I think for the most part they do a great job.

 

[Ilovefozzie]

For those of you who believe tipping the housekeeping staff is wrong, I respectfully disagree. Housekeepers are normally minimum wage positions, and they work hard! Cleaning toilets are not my favorite thing to do, say nothing of cleaning other peoples toilets!

Coming back at the end of a hard day of playing at WDW it is nice to have your bed made, clean towels, clean floors, no dust, clean bathroom, sinks, tubs... And sometimes they even leave us towel animals! I think for the most part they do a great job.

I respect that. But, even according to an interview with Walt Disney..mousekeeping should not be tipped. According to several CMs I have talked to about this matter, they do not keep the tips they are given. The money is given to charity. CMs, mousekeeping included, are given tickets for parks and other perks. I agree I also hate to clean toilets and wash dishes...but if Disney tells me to not tip..guess what...I don't.

I did not leave a single tip the entire trip and every day when we came back from the parks we had wonderful "surprises" for us. They recieved thank you notes for that little extra attention.

I don't mean to get into an arguement or even discussion about this. I just know what I have been told and it doesn't make me a bad person, or a rude one. You do it your way I'll do it mine.

 

[babar41]

Ilovefozzie... No arguement here. When I said I respectfully disagree that tipping housekeeping is wrong, that is exactly what I meant. I respectfully disagree.

Not meaning to drag this out, but you said something that I would like to know more about. You said "according to an interview with Walt Disney..mousekeeping should not be tipped". I have never seen this or heard this before. Not saying I don't believe you, I do, but I'm wondering where and when this interview took place. It is just hard for me to believe that WDW would say that, especially since tipping housekeeping is an accepted practice throughout the United States. Not everyone does it, but I don't know of any hotel or motel that does not allow their housekeepers to keep any tips that they might receive.

Could you shed some light on this for me? Because I would like to write WDW a letter and it would be nice if I could quote this interview.

Oh, and for the record, I don't think you are a bad or rude person for not tipping. Hopefully you don't think I am a bad or rude person for tipping! Everyone has to do what they feel is right. No judgement here!

 

[Vivianne]

I tip $1/day per person. We've always done that at every hotel.

 

[Ilovefozzie]

Ilovefozzie... No arguement here. When I said I respectfully disagree that tipping housekeeping is wrong, that is exactly what I meant. I respectfully disagree.

Not meaning to drag this out, but you said something that I would like to know more about. You said "according to an interview with Walt Disney..mousekeeping should not be tipped".

Babar, Forgive me if my attitude is coming off wrong. My week has been one of those that needed to end before it began. It started with a car accident resulting in damage more than our upcoming WDW trip. LOL I'm trying to keep in mind that my trip is only 39 days away and then the magic will hit.

In regards to the interview. I'm trying to remember where I/we found it. It was before our trip last year. What I'm remembering of it was something along the lines of Walt not wanting hard working families spending more than necessary for his parks. The only tipping (from my memory) he was ok with was for dining. And that is because waiters/waitresses make LESS than minn wage.

My DH just found the source again. We found it on PassPorter. The following paragraph is from there.

"Walt Disney had strong feelings about tipping that are still reflected in official policy at Walt Disney World and Disneyland. Walt did not want guests "bribing" employees to receive preferential treatment. He wanted all guests to have the same high level of service, regardless of financial means. As a result, most Disney employees are expressly prohibited from accepting tips, and can be terminated for doing so. You can certainly express your appreciation by offering a gratuity, but expect that your offer will be very politely declined."

In regards to the CMs I talked to, wanting to verify this...I was told that tips go into a "jar" and given to charities every month. Tips are not to be kept.

Hope that helps!

 

[babar41]

Ilovefonzzie... Sorry to hear about your rough week! When it rains it pours and sometimes I have felt like maybe I should build a boat! Hope no one was hurt in your accident.

I will look into that quote, thank you for finding it for me. I do have to wonder if when Walt made that quote he had any hotels or if he was refering to the park employees. It is common knowledge that CM's are not allowed to accept $$'s, but I never thought this extended to everyone who worked for Disney other than waitresses. That means bellhops, valet parkers, and the drivers that pick you up at the airport shouldn't be receiving tips either.

Thank you again for getting the info for me. I will probably write Disney and ask for clarification. I don't feel very good if the tips I have been leaving in good faith have not gone where I intended it to, namely in the hands and pockets of housekeepers, bellhops... I would much prefer someone would have told me "I can't keep this but Disney will donate it to a charity."