Hotel tipping: how much, when and how?

[tomato]

I assume that tipping at your hotel is standard, although if it were left up to my DH it probably wouldn't happen.

Do you tip the housekeeping staff? If yes, how much and how do you do it?

I have tried leaving cash out on the pillows after we leave in the mornings. It hasn't been taken. (For the record, for our last two trips we stayed at the Fairfield.) In those cases I left notes that it is intended for housekeeping and at that point it was taken.

DH thinks it's silly to tip each night because it's probably a different person each day in your room.

Lately I've taken to packing envelopes and putting cash in them that is marked for housekeeping.

At the end of our trip we also leave all our coin, as we cannot exchange American coin back home, just bills.

How much is appropriate to leave for daily tips? Or should it just be done when you leave?

 

[GAN]

Depending on the quality of the hotel, the range is anywhere from $1-2 per person/night to $5 per person/night and upwards. I generally don't request housekeeping daily anyway -I don't need my bed made for me and the less people in my room the better. I'm heading out for business for a week and I'll probably leave $15-20 at the end of the stay. I'm not sure if they pool their tips, but it would be good if they did ...it's a pain leaving a daily tip in my opinion.

 

[Malcon10t]

I generally leave $3-5 a day. I leave it each day, as I have asked and they don't pool tips at the hotels I stay. I generally leave it where they leave the soap and shampoo.

 

[beachdreamr1229]

I didn't know it was appropriate etiquette to tip housekeeping. I'm pretty sure no one in my family has ever done that. I guess I'll have to start. I feel bad now. Is that fairly common?

We do tip the bell service about $1-$2 per bag, valet parking attendants about $5, anyone helping us with room service/food at the hotel.

 

[disneychrista]

DH thinks it's silly to tip each night because it's probably a different person each day in your room.

This is exactly WHY if you are going to tip you should do so each day and not a lump sum at the end.

 

[Lucky'sMom]

I tip housekeeping everyday, at least $2-3. I work in the hotel industry, and housekeepers jobs can be horrendous. You just would not believe the stories I've been told of what they are left to deal with in some rooms. We keep our room tidy, put all towels in the tub, etc. to try to make up for all of the rude guests they have to deal with.

 

[Imdboss]

If you keep your room somewhat tidy, like the pp mentioned (this is also what we do) then I think a few dollars a day is good. Tipping daily is best so that the person actually cleaning your room gets the money. You don't want to stay for several days and then the last day suddenly it's a different housekeeper and he/she gets a large tip from your entire stay.

 

[Canooknic]

We do a $ per bag with bell services (but usually round up because we rarely have singles!)

$5-10 for M.Express driver...except once when he was very grumpy and we only had 1 bag - he got a big ol' $0.00

$3-4 per day for housekeeping and then our left over change at the end of our stay - I'm not dragging that home with us!

Restaurants depend on service/type of restaurant, but usually around 15-20%

 

[Nonsuch]

I leave $5-10 every morning in a envelope labeled "Housekeeping, Thanks", on the bathroom counter (many hotels have a tray for amenities, so that is a good spot).

"The Envelope Please" was started a few years ago to encourage tipping, but only Marriott joined the campaign.

 

[rentayenta]

I assume that tipping at your hotel is standard, although if it were left up to my DH it probably wouldn't happen.

Do you tip the housekeeping staff? If yes, how much and how do you do it? $1 per person per day

I have tried leaving cash out on the pillows after we leave in the mornings. It hasn't been taken. (For the record, for our last two trips we stayed at the Fairfield.) In those cases I left notes that it is intended for housekeeping and at that point it was taken.

DH thinks it's silly to tip each night because it's probably a different person each day in your room. That's why we tip daily because it's possible a different person is cleaning each day.

Lately I've taken to packing envelopes and putting cash in them that is marked for housekeeping.

At the end of our trip we also leave all our coin, as we cannot exchange American coin back home, just bills.

How much is appropriate to leave for daily tips? Or should it just be done when you leave?

See above in bold.

 

[lalasmama]

Admittedly, I suck at tipping. In the small town I grew up in, tipping was never done. Somehow, though we travelled locally on the west coast, I still missed the idea of tipping anywhere other than at restaurants.

Now that I see how "expected" it is, and how frequently I should have tipped and didn't know to do so, I try to tip well...

Taxi: I round up to the nearest $5/10 marker. Most often my taxi ride is about $44, so I round up to a flat $50.

Hotel: I get maid service on days 3 and 4, and tip about $3-5, depending on if it's me (clean), me and DH (still clean), or me, DD, and DH (then DD creates more cleaning--extra bed, more towels, etc, so I tip more).

Restaurants: I tip higher based on where we are and the service provided.

 

[ADisneyFamilyof5]

I didn't realize we should tip housekeeping until we started going to Disneyland. We now tip $5 every time we have them clean our room. We don't find it necessary to have daily housekeeping, so I usually set aside $15 for tips in our budget. I leave $5 on the day we get housekeeping. I fold a piece of paper in half and write "Thanks housekeeping " on it, then slide the money inside and leave it on the nightstand.

 

[avalon451]

At WDW the resort hotels call it "mousekeeping" and there is a whole pinterest-worthy industry of people who make special envelopes for tipping their mousekeeping workers! I was amazed to learn of this. Here's an example: http://wdwprepschool.com/printable-customizable-and-cute-mousekeeping-money-envelopes/

 

[NannyBeBe]

We tip $5 per day, in an envelope marked Housekeeping, and leave it on the table. Never on the nightstand.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

This video is funny and helpful: How Much Should You Tip? | YDIW with The Sklar Brothers.

We tip $3-$5 per day for housekeeping (always with a note to explain that the money is for the housekeeper), but if we have lots of requests or the room is extra messy, we tip more. Once when oldest wet the bed, we tipped a LOT more (around $15 or $20, if I remember -- it was a big mess). On major holidays, like Christmas or Thanksgiving, we tip much more. We always make a point of saying thank you to the housekeeper if we happen to see her cleaning our room.

 

[DharmaLou]

I love the Sklar brothers.

We tip 3-5 a day

 

[Los213]

I tip $5 everyday ( $1 per person plus $1) . The fact that it could be someone different everytime is a bigger reason to me to tip everyday.

 

[Jaina]

I have never tipped housekeeping in my life, nor known anyone to do it. We try not to leave a mess, though.

 

[Agent 86]

We tip $1 per day, per person for housekeeping when in the US.

I normally just put it on the bedside table and it has always been taken. I also do my best to keep the room neat and tidy, including hanging up the towels, etc.

 

[ShaunaM]

We keep our room tidy. We tip usually around $10 a night , every night. These people work hard for not very much. They clean my sink , clean my toilet, empty my garbage can. They are as deserving as restaurant wait staff and spend a lot more time looking after my needs; just because I don't actually see them does not mean they do not deserve a tip. I leave it smack in the middle of the made bed with a note.