How much to tip Housekeeping?

[SimbaSue]

I have not seen this discussed on these boards. How much do you tip Housekeeping when staying at DVC? Although they are not cleaning every day, they may have to spend more time per room when they do clean. Any ideas?Sus

 

[DVCajun]

I usually leave $5 each time they come. Don't know if that's "right" or not, but I never know what to do about tipping.

 

[Pa@okw95]

I don't tip the housekeeping at DVC because they are paid by my dues. They come in to change the towels on the fourth day. Tipping in this country has gotten out of hand. I say that and I consider myself a generous tipper. Everywhere I go now there is a tip cup. Tips have lost their meaning. If you want to tip, go ahead. Did you ever add up your tips at the end of a WDW vacation??

 

[BobH]

A few dollars per day is customary. Most travel guides recommend this amount. Leaving this much only amounts to $14 for a 7 night stay.

 

[ceejay13]

We had a 2 bdr at OKW for 8 days on our last trip and we tipped $10, which I felt was appropriate for such a big place. I feel housekeeping at WDW is much better than most hotels and tried to tip $2/day when we stayed at the hotels prior to DVC.

 

[Dennis the WDW Menace]

We tip $5 on most occasions but the last trip this past week we did not tip anything. We did not get any trash/towel service and had to call housekeeping for them to do it. They emptied the trash in the kitchen and left the towels on the kitchen counter. They did not take any of the dirty towels that we had put into the tub. I don't know what the problem was, maybe they layed off the housekeeping people at OKW this past week.

 

[baileybrad]

When we stayed in WDW resorts before we joined the DVC a few years ago, we usually left around $2.50 a day. We pretty much clean up after ourselves so this seemed okay for us.

Since we stay at DVC properties most of the time it has varied. I too feel that I pay maintenance fees for things like a trashntidy or the once a week service. But it just depends on what kind of interaction that we have with the hk folks that we see during our stay as to whether we tip when staying on points. I am not advocating not tipping at DVC resorts. We just tend to do it more on a case by case basis.

Oddly enough when we did stay at WDW resorts if the service dropped off during our stay, the tips went away, and presto, the service usually picked back up most of the time.

 

[dvcdudes]

I think it also depends on your room. I would tip a bit more for a 2 bedroom than for a studio.
Our last two trips we left $5 on T&T day and $5 at checkout for a 5 night stay in a studio. I would probably leave this same amount for a 7 night stay but I might up it a bit for a one or two bedroom.

 

[PKS44]

This has been intensely discussed on other boards (RADP) with regard to resort stays where the maid service is daily. Tipping $2 a day seems okay if they come every day- if they don't come everyday, why are they being tipped by the day? Another confounding factor is that "officially" housekeeping is NOT a tipped position according to Disney. They encourage you to tip valets, bellhops, but not housekeeping. Someone says any tips you give housekeeping are collected and given to management to dispose of as they see fit. Some say for a department party or charitable donation. I have no idea if this is true, but someone once posted the WDW policy on this issue and it was that housekeeping is NOT a tipped position.

Paul

 

[antnee]

on Vacation or Business I tip acording to service there have been time whne I leave a dollar a day because the HK staff never replenished my soaps or shampoos. However at DVC the story is much different, if the room is clean upon arrival then I tip them very good. They only do trash and towel while I am there and we try to do most of the work ourselves. On our first trip to OKW before leaving and upon arrivald I put all utensils, cups,glasses, coffe pot thru dishwasher and wiped down counter and inside and out of fridge. We also swept the kitchen floors and if I am not mistaken there is a vacuum that we used. I dont mind doing these extra chores. As long as I can stay in at least a 1 bdr I am happy. To me its like renting a summer home at the shore except we are at WDW. In any case if the room was clean upon arrival and depending on how many days I usually leave between 5-10$$. Its not based on the T&T but if I was there long enough for a full cleaning

 

[Granny]

I haven't had my first trip home yet, so I'd like to ask a question.

Is there a card or something in the DVC rooms that says "(So & so) is your maid for the week. Call with any needs...."? Then you have a pretty good idea that the maid who originally cleans your room before check in is the same one who does trash & towels and any other services. This card is used at the resorts, per my recollection.

If not, how is one to know if the tip they leave at the end of a stay is even for the same person who performed the services?

And that pooling of tips thing is bothersome. If it's true, it takes away the whole purpose of tipping. I wish we could confirm that one.

 

[PamOKW]

SimbaSue I work on your idea that it is much bigger than a hotel room -- more like cleaning a house when staying in a one-bedroom or larger. I usually tip about $5 per night in a hotel room. I adjust accordingly to what size room I'm in at WDW and for how long I'm staying (not necessarily tipping for every day but taking into consideration that it is a big job). I won't give a dollar amount but I will say I feel I am fair to generous in my tips. I also tip if housekeeping brings something to the room.

Part of my reasoning is that everything at WDW is high-priced anyway, I'm not going to use housekeeping as the one area I cut back on.

I also keep the room tidy and do my best to have it in shape when I leave.

 

[OKWgolfer]

I agree with PA@OKW95, I also think that tipping has become an abused issue. Where does it stop…why not tip the person behind the front desk, perhaps the bus driver or the ride operators, or the pool attendants. I would believe that this is built in to the cost factor of the room or our annual dues. I don’t think we need to get crazy on this. I just got back from VWL and I have to admit that I was not a happy camper as far as the service that I received while I was there. I have been a member at OKW since 92 and I have seen the quality of service hit a downward spiral from where it used to be. We used to hold Disney on such a high pedestal for quality service, yet I know believe that they have lost site of true customer satisfaction. I am extremely unhappy as far as where I think the MEMBER benefits and service should be. Well, I guess I kind of vented there for a second, but I truly do not feel the valued DVC MEMBER privilege that I once held when we first joined.


OKW member since 92

 

[SimbaSue]

Wow! Not quite as controversial as 5 in a studio, but much more so than I expected. I too usually leave $2-5 per day when staying at a WDW resort room or anywhere else, depending on service and type of room. However, I was unsure about what was the custom for DVC stays where the service was only on certain days. I guess there really isn't one. We have only had 2 short DVC trips so far, one 3 days and one 4 days, both in studios. We left $5 each time because we never saw HK (not that we should have), but the rooms were pretty clean upon arrival. I say pretty clean because the mirror at VB had little fingerprints on it. Anyway, thank you everyone for your comments! I do agree with nearly all of them, if that's possible.Sus

 

[jctwizzer]

The tipping guidelines we receive when checking in at our DVC resorts do NOT include housekeeping positions. Consequently, we do not tip housekeeping.....never have, never will.

 

[sumessefui]

On our last trip, we left a tip on the the full cleaning day. When we returned to the room, the beds had been made and towels replaced and that was it. We were disappointed and left no tip when we left.