Rental Car Etiquette

[Wendy31]

I find it really suprising that people think that leaving trash behind for others to pick up would be appreciated as providing a job or that people would actually be insulted if trash were not left behind. This is absolutely not how my mind works.

And, personally, I do not feel that I am paying for someone to clean up my rental car for me---I feel I am paying to be provided with a clean, safe, well serviced car to drive in the designated time frame of the rental contract.

I like your post so much I'm quoting it!

And I agree. I don't think any car detailer or maid looks at someone else's left-behind garbage & thinks, "Wow! I appreciate this so much. Now I have something to do! Instead of just quickly getting my job done & moving on to the next room or the next car, I get to pick up someone else's trash! Yay me!"

Again, I hope I never get so entitled that I start to think of my leftover trash as something that will be "appreciated" by someone else.

 

[dish rag]

I don't eat in a car or really have any kind of trash in my cars. I really don't know what kind of trash I would have to leave behind, but if I did I would remove it before turning the car back in.

 

[LYSE]

I like your post so much I'm quoting it!

And I agree. I don't think any car detailer or maid looks at someone else's left-behind garbage & thinks, "Wow! I appreciate this so much. Now I have something to do! Instead of just quickly getting my job done & moving on to the next room or the next car, I get to pick up someone else's trash! Yay me!"

Again, I hope I never get so entitled that I start to think of my leftover trash as something that will be "appreciated" by someone else.

I'm sorry but when I'm paying for something yes I feel entitled to receive it.

Everyone complains about their job but do you think they would get as many hours or there would be as well staffed if everyone was a neat freak that mostly cleaned up after themselves?

And my comment about nicer places being insulted when you do their job, yes when I'm paying close to a thousand dollars a night they think it's odd and a little annoying that they aren't getting as much of a tip. (Although I still tip them)

Question: How Much of a tip do you guys leave after cleaning up after yourselves?

 

[hereyago]

On the hotel perspective:

Some places don't pay by the hour, they pay by the room.
If they meet their aloted time they will get a bonus. DND rooms they don't get paid for obviously.



I worked in timeshare housekeeping for years, so they took longer and during the holidays guests were especially nasty. And yes houskeepers are there to clean, but when people are nasty (oh the stories I could tell ) the "easy" rooms help with time.

 

[NHdisneylover]

I'm sorry but when I'm paying for something yes I feel entitled to receive it.

Everyone complains about their job but do you think they would get as many hours or there would be as well staffed if everyone was a neat freak that mostly cleaned up after themselves?

And my comment about nicer places being insulted when you do their job, yes when I'm paying close to a thousand dollars a night they think it's odd and a little annoying that they aren't getting as much of a tip. (Although I still tip them)

Question: How Much of a tip do you guys leave after cleaning up after yourselves?

UM, I have never heard of tipping for a rental car turn in.

I tend to travel and stay in hotels where it is not the norm to tip. On cruise ships I leave, at minimum, the recomended tip---very often more. I consider the tip for doing teh job of actually cleaning (vacuming, cleanign the shower, etc---not for delaing with my failure to pick up after myself.

I can totally understand someone being offended if they were doing a good job in a tipped position and someone failed ot tip or tip appropriately. That is entorely different, IMO, than being offended that someone failed to leave trash to be picked up or some other mess.

I think it seems a lot of the difference in opinion is this "I am paying for it" attitude. I have never felt that paying for a rental car or for a hotel room means i am paying for someone to clean up after me being just plain messy or leaving trash.
I am not paying for a car to be detailed---it's nowhere in my contract. I am paying to use a car for a set amount of time.

Likewise, I am not paying for a personal maid; I am paying for use of a room with certain features and daily "housekeeping" which, for me, means clean the floors and the bathrooms, replace used toiletires, make hte bed, etc---but doesn't mean need to sort through items left all over, or find and toss trash left rhoughout the room, etc.

Obviously, others feel differently about what the cost of a hotel incurs (I am baffled about how that can apply to the cost of a rental car for anyone--since "detailing" is not generally listed as part of the service, unlike "housekeeping")

 

[tvguy]

I worked as a hiker for Budget Rent A Car briefly out of college. Hiker is the name for the people who clean the cars between rentals. I never expected the outside to be cleaned by the customer, and hoped the trash would be removed. We vacuumed and wiped down the inside of every car and washed them. As a customer, we always remove all trash. But I have returned some cars with a lot of sand in the carpet after beach trips. I have no way to clean that out.

 

[LYSE]

UM, I have never heard of tipping for a rental car turn in.

I tend to travel and stay in hotels where it is not the norm to tip. On cruise ships I leave, at minimum, the recomended tip---very often more. I consider the tip for doing teh job of actually cleaning (vacuming, cleanign the shower, etc---not for delaing with my failure to pick up after myself.

I can totally understand someone being offended if they were doing a good job in a tipped position and someone failed ot tip or tip appropriately. That is entorely different, IMO, than being offended that someone failed to leave trash to be picked up or some other mess.

Sorry! I didn't mean to only quote you, the tip was referring to hotel house keeping.

The car of course you don't even get a chance to tip, but it's also never too dirty.

Your suppose to tip house keeping at every hotel period.

 

[Allison]

Again, I hope I never get so entitled that I start to think of my leftover trash as something that will be "appreciated" by someone else.

Absolutely

 

[NHdisneylover]

Sorry! I didn't mean to only quote you, the tip was referring to hotel house keeping.

The car of course you don't even get a chance to tip, but it's also never too dirty.

Your suppose to tip house keeping at every hotel period.

I travel almost entirely in Europe--where tipping is much less common. Unless pretty much every coworker/friend/neighbor we asked early on is lying to us, no it is not the norm in the hotels we are staying at.

 

[Wendy31]

I'm sorry but when I'm paying for something yes I feel entitled to receive it.

Everyone complains about their job but do you think they would get as many hours or there would be as well staffed if everyone was a neat freak that mostly cleaned up after themselves?

And my comment about nicer places being insulted when you do their job, yes when I'm paying close to a thousand dollars a night they think it's odd and a little annoying that they aren't getting as much of a tip. (Although I still tip them)

Question: How Much of a tip do you guys leave after cleaning up after yourselves?

You cannot honestly tell me that you think a maid, upon entering a room where garbage is scattered all over the room, thinks, "I'm so glad this guest left a mess!"

No matter how much I'm paying, I expect a clean, nicely appointed room w/ clean towels & sheets. (And, seriously, does it matter if I paid $1000/night or $200/night?) I'm not paying for a maid to pick up after me beyond regular, routine room clean-up - beds made, trash taken out, clean towels left, etc.

I'm paying for a safe, clean vehicle. My rental term agreement has never included "complimentary car clean out" when the vehicle is returned.

I've never left a tip at the car rental facility. We don't leave a tip when we're staying for a week at the beach condo because we're not getting daily maid service -- which is what the tip is for. At a hotel, if it's the 5 of us, we typically leave $5/day - which is, I think, pretty standard. When it's just me & DH, we'll leave $3 day & $5 when we checkout. I've tipped Disney hotel employees a bit more when they've set up "scenes" w/ our kids' stuffed animals. We'll also tip extra for either requested or complimentary turn-down service. So our daily tip amount varies, but, no, I don't tip less because I've "tidied" the room.

 

[bcla]

I find it really suprising that people think that leaving trash behind for others to pick up would be appreciated as providing a job or that people would actually be insulted if trash were not left behind. This is absolutely not how my mind works.

And, personally, I do not feel that I am paying for someone to clean up my rental car for me---I feel I am paying to be provided with a clean, safe, well serviced car to drive in the designated time frame of the rental contract.

Hotel accommodations and car rentals are in the service industry. Nobody is suggesting piling trash into the back seat to be cleared or leaving stuff everywhere in a hotel room, but it's customary and expected that housekeeping will handle reasonable amounts of stuff left on a table, because it's part of the service. I'll also leave a tip on the bed.

Nothing is wrong with that if you feel better about yourself, but it doesn't really affect much in a service industry where light cleanup is in the job description.

 

[DisneylandDarling]

To the people who feel that housekeeping appreciates a trashed room - have you really talked to them and asked them? Some say they feel insulted if you tidy up the room before they enter. How would you know unless you stayed behind and waited while they're cleaning and asked them specifically when you tidy up the room?

I rarely see housekeeping so I wouldn't know how they feel about my tidying up. I can only guess as to how I would feel cleaning up a trashed room. I know I wouldn't feel very good thinking someone left trash everywhere because they feel entitled to and that it's beneath them to pick it up...

 

[LYSE]

If you tidy up and leave a good tip, sure I'm sure they love you. But I simply do not see how people somehow think you have to clean up after your self, if we all did I'm sure there would not be as many house keeping jobs.

I would rather let them do normal levels of clean up and leave a tip that is actually meaningful to them in relation to their hourly wage.

As for rental car return, I follow the agreement gas up or pay for refueling no more no less simple ..I've never seen a rental agreement where you have to clean the car out.

 

[dish rag]

I'm sorry but when I'm paying for something yes I feel entitled to receive it.

Everyone complains about their job but do you think they would get as many hours or there would be as well staffed if everyone was a neat freak that mostly cleaned up after themselves?

And my comment about nicer places being insulted when you do their job, yes when I'm paying close to a thousand dollars a night they think it's odd and a little annoying that they aren't getting as much of a tip. (Although I still tip them)

Question: How Much of a tip do you guys leave after cleaning up after yourselves?

Not sure because my wife leaves it or gives it to them, but from what I see $5 to $7 per day.

 

[Allison]

But I simply do not see how people somehow think you have to clean up after your self, if we all did I'm sure there would not be as many house keeping jobs.

I don't believe that people picking up after themselves is going to result in less jobs.

 

[LYSE]

I don't believe that people picking up after themselves is going to result in less jobs.

Less work doesn't equal less jobs???

Okay..have a magical day

 

[Vicki926]

Hotel accommodations and car rentals are in the service industry. Nobody is suggesting piling trash into the back seat to be cleared or leaving stuff everywhere in a hotel room, but it's customary and expected that housekeeping will handle reasonable amounts of stuff left on a table, because it's part of the service. I'll also leave a tip on the bed.

Nothing is wrong with that if you feel better about yourself, but it doesn't really affect much in a service industry where light cleanup is in the job description.

But why would you leave it on the table? You're in a hotel room, everything is steps away. As you're packing up, why not grab the cup and walk 10 steps to throw it in the trash can?
I can honestly say I've never thought about housekeeping and if they'd care or not if I left a Starbucks cup On the nightstand. I just clean up after myself, period. At home, in a car, in a hotel, at a friend's house, at work. Just habit.

 

[Allison]

Less work doesn't equal less jobs???

Okay..have a magical day

Thanks. I'm sure I will.

 

[sam_gordon]

Has anyone on this thread considered that there are degrees of cleanliness?

In hotel rooms I'll make sure the trash is in (or next to depending on size) the trash can, and used towels are on the floor of the bathroom (which is what they ask for). I leave the bed unmade.
For rental cars, I'll throw away any easy to get to trash, everything else I leave.

 

[DisneylandDarling]

That's simply not true. There aren't going to be a reduction in housekeeping jobs simply because people pick up after themselves. Housekeeping still has to wipe down surfaces, strip and clean beds, clean the shower, vacuum, mop, clean the toilet, restock tp, restock shampoo, etc. They have to do all of this in addition to cleaning up trash that people feel they are entitled to leave all over. They then have to do all of this in the time between check out and before check in for many rooms. If they don't work fast enough because someone left a room trashed or several people did, they then will get fired. That is what will cause a reduction in jobs. Not because someone picked up after themselves. No amount of reasoning is going to make it okay to make their job more difficult. You're paying for a service (a clean hotel room, friendly service, access to amenities), not a personal maid who picks up after you.

I think I'm starting to see a pattern here. The same people who leave trash all over their hotel room/rental car for housekeeping to clean up are probably the same type of people who leave behind garbage all down Main Street after the parade/fireworks for CMs to clean up. You're paying $100+ for admission, no? Aren't you entitled to leave trash on the ground instead of taking the time to throw it in the garbage? This is the same reasoning people are giving for not cleaning up after themselves in hotel rooms or rental cars.