Leaving Magic for MouseKeeping

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

We always leave candy ( we bring cadburys chocolate from the UK ) in addition to cash. Just small bars they can place in their pockets to eat or give their kids. We have never had one left or refused!

 

[zoo2tycoon]

While the sentiment of a gift is nice, the money is much more appropriate. You don't know the dietary restrictions of your mouse keeper. Of course the treat will disappear but it might be in the trash rather than being eaten. The little trinkets totally seem silly but that is each persons opinion.

 

[toodycat]

I think cash and a nice note if the person goes above and beyond ( i.e. "Thanks for the towel animals and extra shampoo!" ) is plenty. We tip daily so that if there are different mousekeepers each day, they are all taken care of. Certainly, a letter to the head of housekeeping praising your mousekeeper does not take the place of a tip, but is always helpful.

 

[KateSpade79]

What is the appropriate amount to tip? Anyone have a guideline? Let me make sure I'm understanding this correctly-since they might switch daily who cleans your room we should leave the tip BEFORE the job is done? We will be staying in a 1 bedroom at OKW 2 adults 3 kids just fyi-thanks!

 

[verleniahall]

We leave a tip along with a note that they are welcome to a cold bottle of water or powerade from the fridge if they would like. I think only 2-3 times during the 10 day we were there they took advantage, and they left us a note saying thanks -

 

[verleniahall]

What is the appropriate amount to tip? Anyone have a guideline? Let me make sure I'm understanding this correctly-since they might switch daily who cleans your room we should leave the tip BEFORE the job is done? We will be staying in a 1 bedroom at OKW 2 adults 3 kids just fyi-thanks!

For a value room - we tipped $5.00 a day and on the last day we tipped $20

 

[LilyWDW]

What is the appropriate amount to tip? Anyone have a guideline? Let me make sure I'm understanding this correctly-since they might switch daily who cleans your room we should leave the tip BEFORE the job is done? We will be staying in a 1 bedroom at OKW 2 adults 3 kids just fyi-thanks!

Tipping is different for each person, but what I have heard is $1-$2 per person per day. I PERSONALLY tip about $3 per day even though I travel solo and then did $5 when I had a second person in the room.

 

[ForeverAlice]

We leave cash for our Mousekeeper. Have an awesome trip!

 

[Upup4fun]

I feel super bad. We always just leave a large tip for our length of stay...should we be leaving a nightly tip? AND if so, how much nightly?

 

[AngiTN]

Yes nightly.
How much really depends on many things.
We do $1 per person per day. Left every morning
We keep our belongings in the suitcases, are not terribly messy and don't use the toiletries so they don't even need to be replenished. We also hang our towels and sort the trash/recyclables

 

[smallworldnh]

I still think that the best tip they can get is people keeping their room in good order and as tidy as possible so that the cleaning staff can Tinkerbell their way in and out quickly, without having to spend an hour cleaning up after you. Some people can be total slobs and I would hate to walk into one of those rooms having to clean it.

I absolutely agree with this. I worked in housekeeping way back when I was putting myself through college and always appreciated it when guests would put their trash in one place or place all their used towels neatly on the bathroom floor in one pile. I do the same things now, basically pick up a bit before we leave, because I know that the housekeeping staff would like to get done and out as early as possible and a "neater" room is much easier to clean up! I have had some rooms where the guests were absolute pigs and looked like they went out of their way to leave a disaster - with no tip! And yes, I think a quick note with a thank you and some cash is very much appreciated!

 

[cjshh]

I think leaving cash is the way to go. Something each time housekeeping services the room and and something extra at checkout.

 

[oceanmarina]

Truly: Cash. Don't overthink it.

The wage of a housekeeper is not huge, and it's a lot of work. You may not get the same staff every day, so if you want to go all creative, you'd need to do it daily to really be just.

And Disney is no different than anywhere else. Precious gifts don't buy groceries. Cash money does.

Yep to that. as the saying goes, cash is king!! I always leave a $10. tip a day (we are a family of 4) in a cute Thank You Mouse keeping envelope that I get from the following. (She created a lot of different designs that can be found within the thread);

http://www.passporterboards.com/forums/showthread.php?t=264052

 

[momtotaryn]

We stayed at AoA Lion King suites. I made little baggies that included our $5 tip/day, along with a small Hawaiian Chocolate Covered Macadamia Candy treat. I put a label on them that said "Thank You to our Mousekeeper!", along with a Disney sticker, just to finish it with that "Disney touch". Here is a picture of my baggies, before I placed the labels/stickers on them. I had fun making these, and I am pretty sure our Mousekeeper liked her tip baggies. She gave us excellent service daily. We are a family of 4 (youngest is 15 y/o), and we are not very messy at all. In fact, I tidied up every morning, before we headed out for the day. We had one of those rooms that the mousekeeper could get in and out quickly. I don't mind, because my mother was a hotel maid (her actual title) in Waikiki long ago, and I know how hard she worked, especially when the tourists were messy.

 

[VillainFavs]

We stayed at AoA Lion King suites. I made little baggies that included our $5 tip/day, along with a small Hawaiian Chocolate Covered Macadamia Candy treat. I put a label on them that said "Thank You to our Mousekeeper!", along with a Disney sticker, just to finish it with that "Disney touch". Here is a picture of my baggies, before I placed the labels/stickers on them. I had fun making these, and I am pretty sure our Mousekeeper liked her tip baggies. She gave us excellent service daily. We are a family of 4 (youngest is 15 y/o), and we are not very messy at all. In fact, I tidied up every morning, before we headed out for the day. We had one of those rooms that the mousekeeper could get in and out quickly. I don't mind, because my mother was a hotel maid (her actual title) in Waikiki long ago, and I know how hard she worked, especially when the tourists were messy.

It could be that your housekeeper gave you excellent service because she was just an excellent housekeeper. Or, as you said, that you tidied up yourself and didn't leave the place a mess for her.

Not just aimed at this poster, but as many have said, I'm sure the thing most appreciated is cash and leaving the room tidy for them. Plain and simple. As much as people spend all the time and effort making all the fancy envelopes and special ways of giving that cash, I'm willing to bet all that ends up in the trash before they leave your room. Not that they're ungrateful--it's purely an efficiency thing. Take the money out, slip it in a pocket, get rid of the rest of the "stuff". We tip every day, leave it in the envelope provided by Disney (or whatever hotel we're staying in), and leave it in on a conspicuous place. Our towels are all in one pile in the bathroom. There's nothing left on our beds. Our bathroom vanity area is kept tidy--we like it that way! And we've always had great service! No special treats, no handmade envelopes, nothing over the top.

I think the idea is a good-hearted one. But I think it's probably more for the giver's sake than the receiver's.

 

[ArwenMarie]

Yeah we just leave a note that says "To Housekeeping Thank You" with the cash right on top. We usually leave $10 a day. I do try to tidy up a bit before we go out as well so it's obvious what is trash or whatever and they can spend their time tidying and not sorting through our junk.

 

[BrokeMack]

I leave my tip in the name card they leave on the dresser. I can't remember exactly what it says but it has your housekeepers name on it. I just leave the cash in the fold.

 

[rwdavis2]

I agree with others. Just the cash.

Yep, cash is king.

 

[Docsknotinn]

I feel super bad. We always just leave a large tip for our length of stay...should we be leaving a nightly tip? AND if so, how much nightly?

It's customary, and in many cases best to leave a tip each nite for several reasons. Your Mousekeepers will likely not be the same each day so in essence if you only tip once you could end up stiffing your best house keeper and over tipping on a day you received no service. This can vary and it depends if Disney is "pooling" tips or not. Also if you tip each day you might find extra measures of Magic in your room. After all your Mousekeepers are still real people with bills to pay which is why cash will always be King no matter how you leave it.

 

[AngiTN]

It could be that your housekeeper gave you excellent service because she was just an excellent housekeeper. Or, as you said, that you tidied up yourself and didn't leave the place a mess for her.

Not just aimed at this poster, but as many have said, I'm sure the thing most appreciated is cash and leaving the room tidy for them. Plain and simple. As much as people spend all the time and effort making all the fancy envelopes and special ways of giving that cash, I'm willing to bet all that ends up in the trash before they leave your room. Not that they're ungrateful--it's purely an efficiency thing. Take the money out, slip it in a pocket, get rid of the rest of the "stuff". We tip every day, leave it in the envelope provided by Disney (or whatever hotel we're staying in), and leave it in on a conspicuous place. Our towels are all in one pile in the bathroom. There's nothing left on our beds. Our bathroom vanity area is kept tidy--we like it that way! And we've always had great service! No special treats, no handmade envelopes, nothing over the top.

I think the idea is a good-hearted one. But I think it's probably more for the giver's sake than the receiver's.

The reason I use envelopes for our tips is 2 fold
1, DGD loves to make them just before our trip[
2, (and most important) it eliminates any confusion on the part of the Housekeepers, "is this for me or is this just left out"
Yes, there are sometimes cards with the Housekeepers name on them in the room but we have had some stays where there was no card. And I've never seen an envelope at Disney. Other hotels yes but never Disney.
So we make and bring our own. It doesn't hurt my feelings to think that the envelope is trashed once the money is received. I expect it to be