Do you tip the mousekeepers?

[hollyb]

At a place where we drop at least $5,000 I think it's funny that people refuse to tip a few bucks a day.

To me its worth it to come back to a clean room with fresh towels. Nothing better then that after a long day.

 

[NEVERENOUGHWDW]

And the mousekeepers are rolling in it? I'm not suggesting we don't tip waitstaff, I'm questioning the policy, because it makes no sense. I want my mousekeepers to get their tips too!

Me too.....relax. If you read my entire post you would realize that

 

[TheRustyScupper]

1) If we really mess up the room, we will leave $2-$4.
2) Otherwise, we don't leave a tip.
3) Housekeepers can make up to about $11.82/hr staright wage.
4) They don't necessarily need a tip.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

Of course not!!! This really concerns me that some of the CMs are going to loose out on their tips. We all know WDW is not great payers and waitstaff depend on their tips.

1) Wait a minute.
2) Do we understand the concept of contracts and policies.
3) The union contract describes tipped and non-tipped positions.
4) Housekeepers are non-tipped PER CONTRACT.
5) They know this at hire time.

PS - Housekeepers can make up to $11.82/hr. Is this really a bad wage ???

 

[IWISHFORDISNEY]

We made up envelops and put the money in them before we left that way we were not searching for money every night. We left $5 per day. After all she had to deal with diapers in the trash. Eeewwww.

 

[NEVERENOUGHWDW]

1) If we really mess up the room, we will leave $2-$4.
2) Otherwise, we don't leave a tip.
3) Housekeepers can make up to about $11.82/hr staright wage.
4) They don't necessarily need a tip.

I think at 11.82 an hour they deserve a tip. Also everyone has an idea of what a messy room really is, if your bed needs to be made you need to leave a tip. Nevermind dealing with someelse's garbage . Do you tip cab drivers, door men, wait staff? Really curious....

 

[bytheblood]

$5 a day, we leave the tip daily. We leave it either on the side of the tub or on the sink in an envelope marked "Thank You Mousekeeping."

 

[NEVERENOUGHWDW]

I forgot who originally posted it but someone said their kids decorate the envelopes to leave the $ in, very cute idea. Also a nice way to teach them "thankyous".
Being we aren't going with kids next week do you think I can talk DH into decorating envelopes????

 

[DisneyBride'03]

We tip..and leave envelopes. I even tipped an excellent server at Ohanas and we were on DDP. We normally leave 20% for excellent service anyway.

Something about a stranger cleaning the bathrooms, sink and making beds for me...I want to show my appreciation. Yes I know they get paid to to that, I guess I just appreciate the fact that I am able to take vacations, and visit Disney as well.

 

[MyGirlLovesMickey]

I'm so glad I saw this thread. I feel like a total idiot, but I never knew that it was customary to tip housekeeping/mousekeeping. I'll be sure to do this when we go on our trip in October!

 

[DVCajun]

I just look at it as a "thank you" to someone who works in what seems to me to be a thankless position. You rarely see them -- the room just magically becomes clean and lovely. And if you're lucky enough to have a mousekeeper that does the towel animals? How cool is that!?

But I'd probably be considered an "over" tipper by many -- I figure, it's only a few dollars out of my pocket and it blesses them.

 

[SGMCO]

We leave the tip on the bed the 1st day,
then whenever we get our 1st towel animal
be incorperate the tip envelope with the towel animal.
Get the Towel animal to seem like it is holding
the tip for the Mousekeeper.
They seem to like it and leave plenty more
towel animals and we make a little display
everyday with the towel animals and one
of them holding the tip envelope that we've
decorated at home (before we came).
We put the animals in the funniest desplays
we can come up with.

 

[DisneyBee]

We tip $1.00 per day per person in the room, and I also use the cute Mousekeeping envelopes. I'm the type of person who will always go out of my way to be nice to others - if, for me, this means leaving a tip for a non-tipped position, then so be it. To each his own!

 

[labattblue]

A couple of questions...

-Without knowing whether you have a different housekeeper each day, you're leaving a tip for the current days housekeeper and hope that they do a good job. So what do you do the following day, if the housekeeping wasn't great the previous day? Also, If you are leaving a tip in the AM for the previous day, you could be leaving it for a person who did not clean your room the previous day.

-Do the people who make such a big deal out of tipping at WDW resorts(special envelopes, notes, gifts from home, etc...) go out of their way at any other hotel in terms of tipping?


-Was it clarified that WDW housekeepers receive minimum wage like all other park employees or do they receive a wage similar to waitresses which is less than minimum?

 

[allerobed]

I wouldn't ever consider not tipping a housekeeper in any hotel. Just think of some of the things they have to clean up and/or see. The small amount of money ($1-2 per person per day) is always added into my vacation budget.

 

[beattyfamily]

-Do the people who make such a big deal out of tipping at WDW resorts (special envelopes, notes, gifts from home, etc...) go out of their way at any other hotel in terms of tipping?

I tip at all resorts/hotels/motels. I make special envelopes at WDW because they do not provide tipping envelopes and because I can have them ready before my trip for budgeting purposes.

If I stay in a non-Disney hotel, there is either an envelope provided already or I just leave it on the table and its usually only a one or two night stay anyway so I do not make envelopes ahead of time for those places.

 

[jcc0621]

Just think of the things they could do to your room if you didn't tip

 

[mom2my3kids]

Just think of the things they could do to your room if you didn't tip

Just like if you don't tip your server.. Make sure you go rent "Waiting", its so funny. But I will say I have never seen anyone do anything to anyones food..

 

[labattblue]

Just think of the things they could do to your room if you didn't tip

I am not sure if you are serious or said this tongue in cheek, but I highly doubt any housekeeper would risk their job to get revenge on a guest who did not tip. Who would tolerate such nonsense and say "oh boy, I better leave a tip tomorrow, look what they did to our room!".

 

[themudd4]

I wonder if this policy includes waitstaff at restaurants too. Seems a very strange policy to me.

Honestly I never even thought to ask her about the wait staff. I am assuming that since they leave room on the bill for this and on the DDP it is already included at 18% that they do get it. My question is...does the wait staff get the actucal amount of tips they earned or is it put in a pool and devided between them equally. (I hate when places do that).

And the mousekeepers are rolling in it? I'm not suggesting we don't tip waitstaff, I'm questioning the policy, because it makes no sense. I want my mousekeepers to get their tips too!

I too questioned this policy that I why I contacted Disney. I wanted to hear it straight from them. I was really quite shocked to here that they did not allow them to keep the tips, but that it went to a "pool" for benefits and extras.

Just for the record we always tipped Mousekeeping and other maid services from other hotels. I am not telling anyone to stop tipping I just thought that you all may want to know the info I found out regarding the tips we do leave. Had I thought about it I would have asked if this was only cash tips that they had to claim/turn in. I may try to contact them back and find out or just ask while I am there next week. If cash is all they have to report, then I may start leaving gift cards or something for them...But I do not know how I feel about tipping someone for giving a little extra effort to me and my family and them not be the one to benefit from it directly/immedicately! Just my .02