Tipping etiquette

[mom2rtk]

We usually tip the housekeepers the last night of our stay and leave them $15-$20, but maybe this next time I'll leave something everyday. $2 per bag or so for airport check-in and hotel bellhops, but $3 is better.

Midnightred

Just as an FYI, I think most tip daily because you don't always have the same housekeeper every day.

 

[Aspoonfullofsugar]

I tip a minimum of $5.00/day for housekeeping. I usually use the free notepad, put it near an obvious place such as the center of the cleared desk or by the phone, and write thank you on the notepad.

 

[MickeyFan18]

I worked Front Desk in a couple different hotels and tipping rates are pretty standard... $1 per bag for bellmen, $1-2 for extras brought to the room, and $3-5 per day for housekeeping. I never really thought about tipping per day for housekeeping until I worked at the hotel then aanager explained that you pretty much hve a dif person each day so whoever is lucky enough to get your last day gets a nice tip while the others get screwed. She said theres no real way to monitor it so they cant really split it. Also my routine with restaurant tipping is to double the tax to the nearest dollar. Makes adding it up easy and still leaves them a nice tip!

 

[bearette]

The tipping guidelines are good. When in doubt 15% works.


I have seen envelopes for housekeeping before. I couldn't tell you what chain it was but they are not very common. Just leaving the tip obviously so they can tell it is for them and not laying around should be enough.

 

[ShaunaM]

If we use the 20% rational then housekeeping should really be paid much much more. A waiter with whom we interact with for a few minutes here a few there, and they clean up at 20 %, compared to housekeeping. A Bell boy 10 minutes up to your room gets say 5 bucks.
But housekeeping who while never seen knows us the most intimately spends the most time in our service and proportionately get paid the least. These people clean our toilets.

We generally do 15-20 % for wait staff depending on service.
Never (or very rarely ) use bell boys, but then likely 4-5$

Cleaning staff we leave money every day on the bed. When my husband travels alone on business he says he leaves $5 , but room is kept very , very tidy, towels folded etc.

As a family we always make up our beds, pick up our towels, generally leave the room tidy, but we are 5 so there is more of a mess I am sure. Then we would leave $10. Might have to rethink that again, for instance on our last stay we were at the DLH , at a rate of $190 plus taxes. Well that would put it in the $20 a night range if we went with the 20% range. Those ladies work so hard, and for a pittance I am sure.

 

[disneychrista]

$1 per person for housekeeping in hotels that are less than $100. $2 per person if more.

This is the first I have ever heard anyone say they base the tip based on the room rate of the hotel.

 

[lana772]

This is the first I have ever heard anyone say they base the tip based on the room rate of the hotel.

I base it on the star rating of the hotel. A five star hotel I leave $10. A three or four star hotel I leave $5. At the nicer hotels the housekeeping is required to do more.
Same concept with bell services. $5 a bag if it's a 5 star hotel. $2 a bag if it's a 3 or 4 star. Valets I just give $10.

Lana

 

[lana772]

We generally tip 15-20% for sit down dining, no tip for counter service (unless they have a tip jar out, then I usually put a dollar or two in it). We don't generally use housekeeping during our hotel stays (my husband is in the hotel industry and sees too many thefts). We do however call for extra towels and things like that. We will tip the person bringing them a dollar or two. And we usually leave $5 when we check out.

The DLR hotels have a card you put the tip inside.

Lana

 

[Czardas]

Can I ask what you would tip a bartender each time he brings you a drink?

 

[Malcon10t]

Can I ask what you would tip a bartender each time he brings you a drink?

Wow, this is hard for me, it really depends on where we are. Minimum is $1 a drink for me. But I have also left $20 to cover a 2 drink tab which was $12.50.

 

[sonnyjane]

Wow, this is hard for me, it really depends on where we are. Minimum is $1 a drink for me. But I have also left $20 to cover a 2 drink tab which was $12.50.

Same. $1 a drink minimum but if it's an upscale place serving $15 martinis, it's more like $2 or $3 per drink.

 

[Mama Who]

I base it on the star rating of the hotel. A five star hotel I leave $10. A three or four star hotel I leave $5. At the nicer hotels the housekeeping is required to do more.
Same concept with bell services. $5 a bag if it's a 5 star hotel. $2 a bag if it's a 3 or 4 star. Valets I just give $10.

Lana

This. From time to time I end up in large fancy hotels. If housekeeping has to deal with 10 throw pillows and a double sized room, I tip higher. If I stayed in a suite I'd tip higher.

 

[disney4cam]

Can I ask what you would tip a bartender each time he brings you a drink?

Minimum $1, but I usually stick with the 15%-20% rule, maybe more if it's a really elaborate drink.

 

[sonnyjane]

Minimum $1, but I usually stick with the 15%-20% rule, maybe more if it's a really elaborate drink.

Like a mojito lol! I LOVE mojitos but they are very labor intensive! I have a lot of bartender friends who say they hate when people order them simply b/c it requires so much work lol! If I order one I try to tip and extra buck or so. Frozen drinks that don't come from a machine (i.e. they have to blend them individually) can also be a pain.

 

[Huff]

I don't tip based on any $ amount nor % of bill. I tip what I feel like based on the service I received. On a dinner bill this could range anywhere from 0% to 30% possibly higher for low $ bills where the service and enjoyment was exceptional. Its all what I feel like giving...its a tip. Extremely poor service may get no tip, exceptional service I may tip very high. Just a matter of how much I feel someone deserves for the service they provided me. I also might not tip as high as a fixed % would indicate for a bill I feel is way to high for the food served. Say I went to a restaurant that had a burger for $35. It was good but no better than a typical nice restaurant burger at $12. Service was as expected. Does the server deserve a higher tip simply because the burger was absurdly priced? IOW's I tip on the value of the service more so than the price of the service.

 

[beachdreamr1229]

For delivery of baggage to my hotel room, I pay $1/bag. For restaurants, I usually tip 20% but less if the service is not good. For drinks, I do $1/drink. For housekeeping, it depends on the place (upscale vs. motel/not-so-nice), but as a rule, I do about $5/day for a regular room or $10/day for a suite.

 

[disneychrista]

Can I ask what you would tip a bartender each time he brings you a drink?

If you are paying per drink, then yes, at least $1 per drink.

If you paid for the drinks at the end of your evening, then I would give at least $1 per drink at that time.

 

[thelittletiffany]

I usually just leave a tip at the end of my stay for housekeeping, but most of the time I have the "Do Not Disturb" on the door until I check-out so they only visit the room once. I never thought about tipping for when people bring up requested items until my cousin brought it up on a recent vacation - after thinking about it, I guess I should've tipped whoever would bring things to the room, oops!

For drinks, I usually tip $1 per drink unless the service is really good. For leaving luggage at the front desk, I tip $1 per bag. For table service, I tip at least double the tax depending on quality of service.

 

[deronal]

Just wanted to say thanks to everyone who replied - it's all useful information.

I'm glad drinks got mentioned, I would never have thought about tipping in a bar before. If I was ordering a large round in a pub I might say ' One for yourself' to the barmaid and then they usually just round the amount up to the nearest £. I would never think to tip if it was just one or two drinks so the DIS has saved me from looking ignorant - thanks again.

 

[tdhickey]

Like a mojito lol! I LOVE mojitos but they are very labor intensive! I have a lot of bartender friends who say they hate when people order them simply b/c it requires so much work lol! If I order one I try to tip and extra buck or so. Frozen drinks that don't come from a machine (i.e. they have to blend them individually) can also be a pain.

That's funny, you think a bartender would be happy to not just pour a beer for once. I love making these drinks, blending margarita's at parties, etc.

Mojito's are easy, poor liquor, mint, spoon suger, muddle, top off with soda and lime (and a dash of bitters) and garnish.

I tip bartenders based on the quality of the drink. Well garnished, good taste and put together nicely = better tip. Proper beer pour with the right amount of head = better tip. Lazy pour, little to no tip. Service is the same.

Personally I think hotels should allow the housekeepers to leave labeled envelopes after they clean the room and can get tipped appropriately. I tip $5 a day now, doesn't seem to make a difference to when I didn't tip (at least visibly, who knows what nasties get cleaned up better when I tip).