Mousekeeping-Appropriate Tips

[sarahandhannahsmom]

I have read that lots of people tip the mousekeeping staff.

I printed some envelopes for this, but I'm unsure how much is appropriate. Part of me feels like i should receive a clean room, with good service simply for the amount I am paying.

I understand that tipping can often get you a perk or two from them.

Can anyone provide me with some insight on the "perks" and how much we should be tipping per day?

There are two adults and two kids in one room (ages 6 and 2.5) and one adult in a seperate room.

Thanks

 

[mmeb144]

I usually tip $1/person per room. We are a family of 4, 2 kids, 2 adults. We got some really cool towel animals last time we were there. In the past, the maid has arranged the stuffed animals like they were watching TV while we were out. It was so cute!

Marie

 

[Wendi]

Hi!

Tipping is a rough subject...........I understand that a clean room should be supplied for the rate we pay each night and it is, the problem lies elsewhere. The Mousekeepers are one of the lowest paid CM's in the resorts and if you have ever walked by some of the rooms they have to clean you might be shocked. We walked by 2 rooms (connecting) at the GF and it looked like a Rock Band with 50 groupies in it had completely trashed it. It was Horrible. I could not believe how bad they left it. There was even a crib in there. I felt sorry for that Baby. Anywho, the tip is just a way to say "Thank You" and "Hope" for any little extra's. In the past we have always had extra Towels, extra toiletries, extra chocolates from turndown service (different tip) and just overall nice treatment from the CM'S. A Tip does NOT guarentee ANY EXTRA'S. We tip every single day and we even tip turndown service and sometimes we get extra's and sometimes we don't.
The standard tip rate is $1 per person. We are a family of 4 and we tip $5 per day. For the turndown tip we tip $2. I hope this helps. You might want to do a search to see what others have to say on the topic.

Wendi

 

[Mouseteacher]

I agree with Wendi. We tip b/c we recognize the hard work these people do for so little pay. I am anal even in a resort room about keeping things orderly and tidy. So, our room does not take too much effort to clean. I can imagine some of the things they have to clean up after!

We tip $3.00 a day.

 

[Kathy5]

I, too, am a cleanliness freak. My husband jokes that housekeeping probably comes in our room to have a coffee break, because there's nothing to do. However, I view housekeeping like waitresses-underpaid and needing tips. We travel as a family of 3 or 4, and I tip $5 a night.

 

[packy]

We also clean (more like straighten) up the room before leaving each day but still leave a tip for the maid service. How much - $5 per day for four and we leave it each day rather than at the end of the trip so if there are different maids they each get something.

 

[DrTomorrow]

[philosophical mode ON]
They say that, if a person sits in one place, over time they will see everything in the Universe pass by. Then they'll see it again.
[philosophical mode OFF]

I think that this just happened to me with the tipping thread.

This issue was beaten to near-death a while ago. Either:

Housekeeping is a non-tipped position, you should feel no obligation to tip; you don't tip other non-tipped CMs, do you? So why tip HK?

OR

I feel that they work very hard and I tip in recognition of that. And to get towel animals. Average tip: $3-5 a day, turndown $1-2 nightly - and tip daily, so the appropriate person gets it.

You make the call.

Good-bye, Citizens; my work here is done!

 

[Aurora in blue]

We just got back from AKL on Saturday. We tipped 4 dollars a day for a family of four. Our housekeeper was excellent. We have sayed at other disney resorts where the service was not as good. Our housekeeper set the kids stuffed animals up to make it look like they were reading a magazine. She also wrote a note.... 1 2 3 ready or not here I come...and hid the animals like they were playing hide and seek. The kids were so excited to find their stuffed animals. I didnt care if we were given any perks or not, to me it felt good to give someone who has a tough job a little extra .

 

[yecats]

General thoughts. If you were home and called in a maid, you would pay for her cleaning services and may also still throw in a tip for doing a great job so that you wouldn't have to do it. While on vacation, I don't want to have to do the normal things that I would do at home. I am taking a solo trip and have my envelopes ready with $2 to $3 per day to come in and keep my room tidy. Granted I don't leave clothes, shoes, funky towels or makeup all over the place. My room pretty much looks like my house with everything organized and in its place. When the mousekeeper comes in she'll have to make the bed, leave towels, and basic bathroom cleaning, however, I won't have to do these things for myself. I just appreciate the thought that I come back to a clean room and if I am lucky enough to get a towel animal or an extra toiletry that would be a great ending to a great day. I certainly know that as I am keeping my own home clean there are task which are just tedious so I can't imagine myself having to do them day in/day out as a low paying job. God bless them.

 

[Wendi]

I am so tickled to know that there are many others like myself that pretty much clean the room before Mousekeeping comes. I leave all towel or dirty linens in a tidy little pile ready to go as well as pick up all trash and put in the trash can, not leaving things around on other tables. I have to agree with the other poster about keeping my room like my room at home. On the flip side of the coin, not everyone keeps a tidy or clean house. My husband goes into homes on a daily basis and can't believe the condition of some homes, so yes; cleaning our rooms would be like taking a coffee break compared to some. The Mousekeepers work very hard and try to do many things in each room daily and even though this topic has been beaten to death I do hope that most do tip something. I appreciate the job they do and I for one would not want to do their job. I do that job everyday while not on vacation and I enjoy not having to so much that it's worth it in more ways than one.

I had to tell you folks this one. We are really bad about bringing our own shower head (detachable shower massager) with us on vacation. Two years ago at the GF the Mousekeeper on the first day of our stay left us a nice little note with a ton of Chocolates telling us how Thankful she was for the use of our shower head and that she wished they had them in all rooms because it made her job easy in the bathroom. She even went as far as to ask permission to use it the remainder of the stay and appologized for using it if we didn't want her to. We left her a note telling her no problem, we didn't mind. The next day when we came back to the room for a break we happened to come back as she was leaving our area of rooms. She looked funny at us and nicely asked us if we stayed with her 1 or 2 years ago. I looked and sure enough, she was our Mousekeeper both times. We laughed and she stated that she remembered how nice we were and told us that there were not many people like us. After chatting for a bit she asked me if I wanted to see what she ment, I said sure. So we went with her about 7 doors down the hall and she opened a room and said look quickly. It looked like a war zone. She said that she gets that a lot. She also said that the people like that are non tippers and VERY demanding.

I don't take pitty on Mousekeepers, after all they know what they are in for when the get the job. I do appreciate them and I feel it is worth every penny. Sorry so long. Just had to tell my little story. So next time you guys are there and Mousekeeping leaves the door open while they are in a room, check out how other people leave there rooms. Would you want to have to clean up after them? I wouldn't.

Wendi

 

[trracers]

Anyone remember the link with the envelopes to print out? I want to print them out and put the $$ in before I go.

THANKS!!

 

[sarahandhannahsmom]

There is another thread several pages back about mousekeeping envelopes that has the link. i would hunt it down for you, but i'm a computer idiot and don't know how to do a link.

good luck and i see you're now a dis verteran. congratulations.

 

[Disneymoon04]

We usually tip about $3-$5 depending on how we left the room (just the two of us). As much as I would love a towel animal or something cute done, I'm trying to go with the expectation to NOT get anything so if it does happen I will truly be excited about it!

The mousekeeping evelope sites are:
http://www.disneydollarless.com/mousekeeping.shtml
and
http://users.adelphia.net/~heidiw/maid_envelopes/

I'm putting some together myself and when I'm done will post the link.

 

[trracers]

Those are GREAT!! Thanks!

 

[Mamu]

I leave $5.00 a day 2 adults, 2 children.

I leave a room with nothing out of place, I return to a room that is immaculate, with ton of extra towels. I have not been blessed with towel animals, but thats OK. I'm not leaving the tip for perks. I'm leaving it for a clean room.

I pre make my envelopes and fill them at home. Each morning before leaving for the Park I put the envelope out.