Help with tipping?

[ScotsMinnie]

This year will be our first year staying onsite. In fact we will be 5 days in a hotel near DTD and 9 nights at the Poly.

All other trips have been in a villa offsite so we have not had to think about tipping as there is no housekeeping or anything. (My Mum and I were the housekeepers!!!)

So help me please? In the UK you don't really tip housekeeping. We don't tip as many people as you do in the US. We are not being mean its just not such a huge part of our custom. We tip in restaurants, taxis, hairdressers but can't think of many others. We only tip if we have had good service. If we don't get good service then there would be a lesser or no tip. Some people never tip, even in restaurants.

I just don't want to get it wrong in US hotels! Who should I tip and how much? Should I always tip regardless of level of service?
Thanks!!!!

 

[lorenni]

We tip anywhere from 2-10 per night, depending on the type of hotel and how messy we've been. I tend to be neat even on vacation so I would say for a moderate resort at Disney I would tip 5/day.

If you do tip it is important to do so daily as it is a different person cleaning your room each day. I also leave the tip with a note so that the housekeeper clearly knows it is a tip and not just a few bucks I left laying around.

Hope this helps.

 

[ScotsMinnie]

Thank you!

 

[stargazertechie]

Tipping for housekeeping isn't mandatory. In the US, waiters make much less money than minimum wage because the government and employers anticipate them earning taxes.

Housekeeping at Disney is not designated as a "tips-based" position, so they make a fair wage (not sure how much, they are Union, so probably more than minimum wage, but not sure how much more). So they aren't relying on tips to make up the majority of their income.


If you do tip though, as others have suggested, leave a bit of money each day as the housekeeper could change. Also be sure to leave a tip on the last day, as that housekeeper will have the most work- changing all of the linens and supplies over for the next guest checking into that room.

 

[softballmom3]

Tipping is a personal choice. I tip at restaurants but I haven't ever tipped housekeeping/mousekeeping. I do not say this to stir any pot. It is just my personal choice and I don't believe it is something that should be done like in restaurants (although not required, it is a tipped position). Liike I said, my choice and I know some think differently and that's fine with me too.

All the people that I know who go to Disney do not tip mousekeeping either. More than likely you will get a lot of mixed responses here.

 

[plutonic]

It is not expected to tip housekeeping in the US. I personally do not, but if you want to you certainly can.

 

[ScotsMinnie]

Thanks for the responses. I always got the impression from these boards that everyone had to tip housekeeping so I am glad I asked. I have to say that one thing we always notice in the US when we visit is that waiters really do earn their tip. We have had some of the best service ever in Orlando. Last trip a waiter in The Outback and one in Bahama Breeze gave us the best service ever. Really lovely experience and worth the super tip we gave them.

 

[davedmaine]

Tipping is a personal choice. I tip at restaurants but I haven't ever tipped housekeeping/mousekeeping. I do not say this to stir any pot. It is just my personal choice and I don't believe it is something that should be done like in restaurants (although not required, it is a tipped position). Liike I said, my choice and I know some think differently and that's fine with me too.

All the people that I know who go to Disney do not tip mousekeeping either. More than likely you will get a lot of mixed responses here.

I agree - it's a 'non-tip' union position; there's no need to tip them. And based on the tip threads here, they're all millionaires anyway..

 

[Deb & Bill]

When you check into your DTD hotel, ask the front desk about tipping housekeeping. But at WDW, housekeeping is a non-tipped position. Valet services, Bell services, table servers are tipped positions.

 

[Mommyof3inVA]

Here is a cute DIY Mouse Keeping tipping envelopes that I found on a blog: http://disneyworldonabudget.blogspot.com/2013/02/mouse-keeping.html