tipping mousekeeping staff

[fizz13]

Thanks for this Heidi, very cool

Claire xx

 

[tmt martins]

I left a slightly used ( 8 days ) microwave for mousekeeping at PP in DL .With some cash for that day and a very detailed note to mang. with cell # if they needed to call for verification never heard but hope it went to good use.I even left the cash reciept with it, with the store location on it.

 

[Savin4Disney]

Oh, sorry. I forgot that housekeeping is a big department with many jobs. Thanks though for your perspective on tipping mousekeeping. It's appreciated. It's nice getting an insider's perspective.

That is a shame if you are not considered a "good" tipper your room will not be as cleaned. Let me say if they do not clean my room well because of my tip that is the last tip they will see.

I had a sandwich place once say ... Don't forget to tip the driver. Now I always gave 2.00 for a 5.00 tip. After that comment..no more tips.

I give tips because I want to not because I have to. When I pay for a hotel I expect my room to be cleaned liked all the others -- not matter what. That is what I paid for. The hotel did not ask me if I wanted housekeeping they provide that service as part of my room fee.

 

[lovemyguys]

We are a family of 4 and we leave $5 each morning before heading out. When I noticed that there was no envelope to put the money in I took the little card (the one that says Hi my name is xxxxx and I am your housekeeper or something like that) and placed it on top of the money each morning between the 2 sinks. Cute idea with printing up envelopes.

 

[beattyfamily]

That is a shame if you are not considered a "good" tipper your room will not be as cleaned. Let me say if they do not clean my room well because of my tip that is the last tip they will see.

I had a sandwich place once say ... Don't forget to tip the driver. Now I always gave 2.00 for a 5.00 tip. After that comment..no more tips.

I give tips because I want to not because I have to. When I pay for a hotel I expect my room to be cleaned liked all the others -- not matter what. That is what I paid for. The hotel did not ask me if I wanted housekeeping they provide that service as part of my room fee.

Not sure why you quoted me??

I agree that all guests should have equally clean rooms, but I can kind of understand their going the extra mile for those who do tip (especially since it isn't a tipped position) and by that I mean giving extra supplies/toiletries or maybe some towel animals to show their appreciation.

I've always tipped and I've only gotten towel animals once in my 8 trips, go figure.

 

[groomtb]

usually just left few bucks on the pillow since thats' the most obvious place. can make them feel extra special by leaving some sweets with it too?
also when you see them around the rooms cleaning your block, it's nice to be friendly with them.

great advise on preparing cash for tips in advance. cards are accepted almost everywhere now so most people don't carry lots of cash around. it isn't so safe anyways.

 

[ChristyJ]

We're not going until 12/06 and I've already made up our "Mousekeeping" envelopes for each day! I put $5.00 in each envelope for our family of 4-we decorate the envelopes with Disney-themed stickers and write "Thank you Mousekeeping!" on each one.

Making the envelopes up now is also another little way to save up for our trip!

 

[iliketoby]

We are two people, and leave $5. This might be over-tipping, but I have a soft spot for the maids. I just grab a piece of paper off that little pad in the room and write, "For You" on it, so there isn't any confusion.

I never put cute little stuff on it, because I kinda figured that Mickey isn't quite as exciting for them as it is for us.

 

[garettdoyle]

I am a frequent business travel (3-5 trips per month) and I do not make it a regular practice to tip the housekeeping staff. Everywhere I go, some non-tipping position/person is asking for more money. (Coffee shop, counter service restaurant, some guy that points me to cabs at the airport, etc.)

I am not discouraging anybody from tipping housekeepers but I refuse to feel obligated or shamed into doing it. I am tired of feeling like the only way I get good service is if I bribe someone into doing it, especially when they are already getting paid to do it. On the other hand, I don't destroy my hotel room everyday and expect someone to clean up after me.

If I am a business owner and my employees are getting paid directly by customers in the form of tips, I would be tempted to stop paying a reasonable wage and let my employee make their living off tips. So does tipping, non-tipping positions encourage this behavior?

Why don't you tip the bus drivers at WDW? Front Desk Clerk? Lifeguards? Street Performs? Characters?

(I am getting under my desk in preparation for the flames )

 

[iliketoby]

That is a shame if you are not considered a "good" tipper your room will not be as cleaned. Let me say if they do not clean my room well because of my tip that is the last tip they will see.

I had a sandwich place once say ... Don't forget to tip the driver. Now I always gave 2.00 for a 5.00 tip. After that comment..no more tips.

I give tips because I want to not because I have to. When I pay for a hotel I expect my room to be cleaned liked all the others -- not matter what. That is what I paid for. The hotel did not ask me if I wanted housekeeping they provide that service as part of my room fee.

I don't think she meant your room wouldn't be cleaned.

It is OF COURSE 100% up to you whether you want to tip or not. To many, tipping is a bribe for better service, not some kind of Thank-You. Bribery is the origin and essence of tipping. If we aren't getting the good service, the tip goes down (or disappears entirely.) Tipped employees know it works this way, and work harder for the tips.

When I waitressed I absolutely gave better service to my regular customers who tipped well. I wanted the money. And they were usually nicer to me, too. Doesn't mean I didn't give good service to everyone else. Just extra stuff, like remembering their favorite drink and getting it ready when I saw them come in, so I could bring it right to the table and they wouldn't have to wait.

Cash is King, right?

But I totally agree with you on these places that are asking for or demanding tips. Kinda defeats the purpose.

 

[iliketoby]

I am a frequent business travel (3-5 trips per month) and I do not make it a regular practice to tip the housekeeping staff. Everywhere I go, some non-tipping position/person is asking for more money. (Coffee shop, counter service restaurant, some guy that points me to cabs at the airport, etc.)

I am not discouraging anybody from tipping housekeepers but I refuse to feel obligated or shamed into doing it. I am tired of feeling like the only way I get good service is if I bribe someone into doing it, especially when they are already getting paid to do it. On the other hand, I don't destroy my hotel room everyday and expect someone to clean up after me.

If I am a business owner and my employees are getting paid directly by customers in the form of tips, I would be tempted to stop paying a reasonable wage and let my employee make their living off tips. So does tipping, non-tipping positions encourage this behavior?

Why don't you tip the bus drivers at WDW? Front Desk Clerk? Lifeguards? Street Performs? Characters?

(I am getting under my desk in preparation for the flames )

I don't ever want to "flame" anyone. I don't really understand that term, but I think it means yelling at, instead of sharing different views. Hope so, anyhow.

Have you checked with your company about reimbusement on tips? Most of the expense forms have a space for this. When I traveled, I expensed everything. If I had to buy a pack of gum for the ears-on-the-plane thing, I expensed it. Generally, if you incurred an expense as a result of traveling, they'll pay. Unless you're driving, and if you think I'm getting in to cents-per-mile, NO WAY.

Housekeepers are making their living off the tips. They are generally paid minimum wage, with 20 or 30 cent increases every year or so. They're counting on those tips just like waitresses. And they really do work their little patooties off for them.

Since you asked, the reason I don't tip the Front Desk staff is that they can't possibly do anything extra for me, so why would I bother? And I know they make more than Housekeeping. And they don't physically work as hard -- not that their jobs are easy, just easier on the back.

OK, this wasn't flaming, was it? Let me know, so I don't "flame" anyone else!

 

[kapica3]

I took it differently.

I understood that comment to mean that the people who usually tip generously are also those with the cleanest rooms - not because mousekeeping is doing a better job cleaning them --but because the guests are considerate in general and keep their rooms more tidy.

I'm sure that there is a teeny tiny minority of guests (none of us of course ) who believe that they "are paying good money" to stay at WDW and then are inconsiderate and messey because they are taking advantage of the fact that they have someone "who is being paid to clean up after them". They behave in ways that they would never in their own homes. I took the comment to mean that "those people" are the ones who are usually also not good tippers.


p.s. We are a family of four and tip $5 per day in pre-printed Mousekeeping Envelopes. Also, any special requests, extra pillows, hangers, more towels - the person who delivers them to the door gets $1-2 dollars. And if we were treated extra special we look for our "Mousekeeper" on our last day to give an extra tip. I have a soft spot for service positions because I waitressed in a diner many evenings as a second job to get $$ to get to WDW as a gift to my daughter on the year she made her 1st Communion. Incidently I was paid by the restuarant $2.13 per hour - the rest (up to minimum wage) was estimated by the management. And tax was even taken out of $5.25 per hour even though they were only paying me $2.13. (Yes, it is legal in N.J. at least-to pay less than minimum wage to waitresses). Buy the way...... thanks to the kindness of strangers.......I got the family to WDW that year on that waitress job alone.

 

[Savin4Disney]

Not sure why you quoted me??

I agree that all guests should have equally clean rooms, but I can kind of understand their going the extra mile for those who do tip (especially since it isn't a tipped position) and by that I mean giving extra supplies/toiletries or maybe some towel animals to show their appreciation.

I've always tipped and I've only gotten towel animals once in my 8 trips, go figure.

Not sure why either! Can I blame in the fact I leave for Disney tomorrow!!!

 

[Savin4Disney]

I don't think she meant your room wouldn't be cleaned.

It is OF COURSE 100% up to you whether you want to tip or not. To many, tipping is a bribe for better service, not some kind of Thank-You. Bribery is the origin and essence of tipping. If we aren't getting the good service, the tip goes down (or disappears entirely.) Tipped employees know it works this way, and work harder for the tips.

When I waitressed I absolutely gave better service to my regular customers who tipped well. I wanted the money. And they were usually nicer to me, too. Doesn't mean I didn't give good service to everyone else. Just extra stuff, like remembering their favorite drink and getting it ready when I saw them come in, so I could bring it right to the table and they wouldn't have to wait.

Cash is King, right?

But I totally agree with you on these places that are asking for or demanding tips. Kinda defeats the purpose.

I was a waitress at one point to and I agree I worked hard for those tips. There was one guy WHO never tipped. And I was just as nice to him. On my last day he said you are the only one that was always nice even though you knew I did not tip (he was from Overseas somewhere). And he gave me a HUGE 100.00 tip that day! So being nice does pay.

Okay I need to sleep Disney is coming soon! Like tomorrow.

 

[LukenDC]

I left $5 a day for the Mousekeeper when I stayed at the Poly. I left it on top of a note clearly marked Mousekeeper and expressed my thanks for their work.

 

[beattyfamily]

Not sure why either! Can I blame in the fact I leave for Disney tomorrow!!!

Well, I don't blame you then!!! I'm sure you are gone now having a wonderful time!! Enjoy!

 

[alwayspooh]

My husband takes care of this and usually leaves between $3 & $4 every am. He will leave it on the stack of dirty towels that are placed in the tub but our next trip we are going to use the envelope idea.

 

[IamCourtney]

Ok, guys. Never did I say that your room wouldn't be cleaned if you didn't tip.

I'm sorry I wasn't clear, but I meant that the guests that keep their rooms tidy and don't require us to run obstacle courses to clean the tub are usually the guests that tip. You will NEVER EVER be left out of the clean room process just because you don't tip. You are NOT expected to tip housekeepers. Its just a nice way to acknowledge their work.

It isn't a glamorous job--not like some of these I-travel-3-5-times-monthly-and-I-get-paid-tons-to-do-it jobs (not that that's easy, but you've picked on me, so I get to pick on you ) but someone has to do it.

Before I had anything to do with housekeeping, I assumed everyone tipped housekeepers. When I told my parents how little housekeepers actually make in tips, they were shocked that people DIDN'T tip...guess its just common practice where we're from.

Of course, my dad now carries $1 and $5 everywhere and just hands them to people he thinks are doing a good job...I think he feels obligated.