Mousekeeping

[RMH]

it is also a server's job to bring you your food and get you your drink and the same goes for a hairdresser. . . you are paying them to do heir job serve/cut hair but still tip them.QUOTE]

True, but in the case of a food server a tip is factored into his or her wage. So if you don't tip they are making less than minimum wage. I have never worked in the hospitality industry so I don't know if housekeepers have this issue or not. Regardless I am sure they appreciate it, but I would hope it would not become so expected that you would have to worry that your bathtub will be dirty if you don't leave a tip.

The word actually is an acroynym for "To Insure Promptness" which in my opinion that is what is should be used for. If you would like promptness or anything 'extra' a tip should be left and appreciated. But if you are OK with average/normal service than one is not necessary nor should it be expected.

For those that do tip mousekeeping: Do you do it at ALL hotels you visit or only when staying at Disneyland?

 

[victorandbellasmom]

We tip at all hotels we stay in not just at Disney. It's woked into our budget for the trip.

 

[HunnyPots]

Nope, never have never will. Housekeeping is not a tipped position like food servers. Housekeepers make at least minimum wage, unlike food servers who make less per hour and the rest is covered by their tips. And before you ask, yes, I know minimum wage is not a lot of money but it is unskilled labor and it is what they contracted to work for. Hotel rates include housekeeping, so we are already paying for it. JMO...

 

[samkj]

We tip $1-2 per person/day, except on our last stay, my son got sick all over the bed one night and my daughter another. We left $20 tips for those cleanups.

 

[victorandbellasmom]

I've never worked in the food service industry and was curious. Are all food servers paid less than the minimum wage? Is it state specific? Restaurant specific?

 

[NVDisMom]

I've always considered "tips" to be a way of saying thank you for going over and above in the level of service one provides. I have been known to leave absolutely no tip and exactly the opposite, a large sum. It all depends upon the service the individual provides. I do not consider it a right of any individual to get a tip in any industry. And I think IRS is wrong to consider it income. It should be seen as a gift. But that is a different discussion.

At the GCH in Dec we tipped one day. The room was done before we came back to swim after lunch (the only day this was true), and they had left some treats for the girls. That was over and above what we had come to expect during our stay. Honestly, we loved staying at GCH, but the housekeeping left something to be desired overall.

At CCI, Jan '06, we tipped everyday. They were always leaving something for the girls, or doing something fun like making Mickey hang from the light, and it was done early in the morning everyday. A high level of service delivered well.

 

[Mr. Pig]

I do tip now but did not in the past. I am another one that did not know that this was common before coming to these boards. I can tell you that I did not get any better service when I tipped than when I didn't. I have received towel animals whether I tipped yet or not or sometimes had none even after tipping. Also did not get any different service whether I tipped each day or just at the end. I will continue to tip but not to extreme - couple of $ a day for two people - and not asking for any special services.

 

[mikayla73]

My mom worked for a major world wide hotel chain as a housekeeper for quite a few years before she became a supervisor there. She was not tipped on a regular basis. Yes she occasionally got tips, but it was definitely not the norm. Housekeepers (at least where she worked) were paid above min wage.

So with that experiece, I never thought about tipping for the daily straightening up/bed making that is done until I read online about making the envelopes to leave for house/mousekeeping. Though I would tip if I asked for something extra (pillows, blankets etc...) that someone had to make a special trip to bring me.

If our trip is a week, we usually put the DND sign out all but a couple days. It's just DH and I so it's not like there's a big mess anyway. Besides I don't use a fresh towel everyday at home, I hang it up to dry and use it again the next day. So getting clean towels every other day or so for us is fine. Sometimes we just ask them for fresh towels and bring ours out to them. So I guess I fall in the category of not tipping, at least regularly, but we don't have them do our room every day either.

 

[XTinabell]

I voted No on the poll. I've never tipped a housekeeper when staying at a hotel - I've never considered it as a proper protocol. I tip waiters/waitresses and the people who cut my hair, but I've never really considered it for hotel housekeepers. Maybe it is because there is no face-to-face interaction with them, or because it just seems like it is their job - like the person at the reception desk or the groundskeeper. I wouldn't think it would be normal to tip those people either.

Based on the results it looks like I am in the minority, but it has really never been a consideration for me.

I agree with you here, I don't really consider housekeeping a tipping job unless there is something that they'll have to do that they normally wouldn't. Like maybe I got sick and made a big mess everywhere or something then I would tip. I don't feel it necessary to tip someone to make my bed when they will already be paid for that. Hair dressers and servers get paid less than minimum wage and do depend on it as part of the salary, if I get my hair done by the shop owner I don't usually tip unless he/she does something out of their way for me.

No I never tip I honestly never knew people tipped housekeepers until I joined the disboards. My family never tipped in all the hotels we stayed at when I was growing up. The housekeeping is included in the price I pay to stay at the hotel I don't feel it's necessary to tip extra.

I know in some countries the housekeeping staff will steal from you if you don't tip but other than that I had never heard of tipping housekeeping until I came to the dis boards either. But like I said above I will tip if housekeeping has to go out of their way for something but if it's just the usual room tidy, nah.

 

[JenDisneylandlver]

I voted no also. I'd never heard of doing so until coming to this board. To me it just isn't a tipping kind of job. Now I agree with the PP that if I had them do something extra for me, like bring me some extra towels ect.. yes I'd tip. Because I feel tipping is for service that goes above and beyond what they are already getting paid to do (and as others brought up, they are getting at least minimum wage).

We are also not very messy people. I tend to tidy up the room quite a bit during our stay. I don't scrub the floors or anything. LOL But things are in their place, and I don't leave garbage everywhere, or the bedding thrown on the floor or anything. I suppose if I left a room a complete disaster, giving the mousekeeping a bigger job to do then the norm, I'd feel a tip was needed!

But then again I really don't like where tipping has gone in this country. I think it's horrible that it's considered a large portion of someones wages (like servers), so that their employers can get away with paying below minimum wage. Tips used to be about great service, going above and beyond ones normal tasks. A "thank you" for doing such a wonderful job. Now it's expected, and even demanded for jobs that never really got it before, and for service that may not always warrent it! There are a lot of lower paying jobs out there, we certainly can't tip everyone. Anyway that's my two cents about the subject.

 

[zukeeper]

I've never worked in the food service industry and was curious. Are all food servers paid less than the minimum wage? Is it state specific? Restaurant specific?

In Washington State the food servers are paid the state minimum which is $7.93 an hour. In some states the servers are paid the federal minimum which is $5.15. In California the minimum wage is $7.50 and in Florida it is $6.67. In Arizona the food servers get $2.50 an hour because it's a "right to work" state whatever that means. They are trying to pass legislation to make it the actual minimum wage. I would also like to give my 2 cents about tipping with regards to food servers. This is something I do so I can work nights and stay at home with my kids while they're little. I would make more money working a job in the business field, but my kids are only young once. I have good nights tip-wise, but I have really lousy ones too.

My mom tipped in hotels, so I tip in hotels. I just assumed everyone did it. $5 a day - I never though about per person, but lately there are a lot of us! (where did they all come from??) When I think about doing the HARD LABOR the maids perform every day (I hate changing sheets and vaccuuming!) I just want them to feel appreciated. We have a thing about massive amount of washcloths for getting hair washed so I rely on the maids for extras too. I will say that I would really like it if they could leave an acknowledgement when they receive a tip. A scrap of paper where the tip had been.

My last pet peeve - when staying at DCA way back when, I tipped my $5 every morning. Then I realized one day that a different person came through and did late turndowns and "decorating". I asked her if they shared tips and she said no. I felt bad that the person spreading the magic received no thanks from me. So I started alternating days after that but it's hard to catch the turndown maid if you are at the park all day.

 

[rockstargeisha]

The only hotel/housekeeping staff I've tipped has been on Disney property. Guess I'm just feeling generous when I'm around the mouse.

 

[victorandbellasmom]

Thanks for the info zukeeper. I also grew up in a family who tipped the maids. I figure if the bellhop gets a tip for bringing up my bags, then the maids also get a tip for making my beds, vacuuming the floors, emptying the trash, and refreshing the supplies. I know my dh never tipped the maids while growing up. He does now though.

 

[disneegrl4eva]

I would also like to give my 2 cents about tipping with regards to food servers. This is something I do so I can work nights and stay at home with my kids while they're little. I would make more money working a job in the business field, but my kids are only young once. I have good nights tip-wise, but I have really lousy ones too.

i hear ya zukeeper...good for you...as far as food servers go...I do tip them because I know they arent making alot of money and their work is worse than most...I have seen people be horrid to them and its not an easy job but I have to tell you...I have also not tipped anything...if I have to wait a long time before my server comes to check on us, or is not friendly I will not tip them...I hate when I have to go hunt someone down just to get a refill...and Im not talking about waiting 5 minutes...Ive had times where they have only come round once the whole time we were there...otherwise I tip the standard 15% or if they were really good I tip more

 

[JenDisneylandlver]

i hear ya zukeeper...good for you...as far as food servers go...I do tip them because I know they arent making alot of money and their work is worse than most...I have seen people be horrid to them and its not an easy job but I have to tell you...I have also not tipped anything...if I have to wait a long time before my server comes to check on us, or is not friendly I will not tip them...I hate when I have to go hunt someone down just to get a refill...and Im not talking about waiting 5 minutes...Ive had times where they have only come round once the whole time we were there...otherwise I tip the standard 15% or if they were really good I tip more

Same here, I won't tip at all for lousey service. One time we waited so long for drink refills my husband got up and went to the bar they had, and had them refill our sodas! Now that was bad! She did not get a tip, I think the only time we saw her after our food was brought (not by her either) was when she brought the bill. No tip for service like that.

For good service we normally will tip 15% also, and have tipped as high as 25% for great service.