Tipping Question

[Isthisnormalatdisney]

I tip housekeeping for several reasons.

First, I can afford to leave a tip, so why not be nice?

Second, I enjoy a clean room. I want the housekeeper to like me well enough to take the time and clean my room.

A cute story-we did a family trip to Disney this past January. We had three rooms: my husband and myself in one room and our daughters and their families in the other rooms. I left a tip every day. My daughters did not. Guess who got towel animals every day and guess who did not?

Were the rooms directly next to each other?

 

[Mouseforward]

The cabin Stewards on a cruise are way different than a hotel housekeeper. What you are saying about history is also far from common knowledge.

No, in better hotels, Inns and bed-and-breakfast. You have a very similar arrangement to a cabin steward where you get to know your housekeeper by name, they do nightly turn downs and keep your room stocked with what you need. These are the type of hotels where I still tip.

The modern Marriott version where it’s a nameless person who changes every single day is one of the reasons why tipping is falling out of fashion. Today you really don’t know who you’re tipping and I guess it’s the luck of the person on the last day who gets the tip.

 

[Dakota731]

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the national mean hourly wage for hotel housekeepers is $13.47, well below the $27.07 mean hourly wage for all occupations in the U.S. I don’t know any teachers who only make $13.47 an hour.
Tipping housekeeping, concierge and bell services has been in our culture for many decades. It’s nothing new though I do agree that tipping in other areas has crept into our daily life and is often controversial.

 

[Mouseforward]

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the national mean hourly wage for hotel housekeepers is $13.47, well below the $27.07 mean hourly wage for all occupations in the U.S. I don’t know any teachers who only make $13.47 an hour.
Tipping housekeeping, concierge and bell services has been in our culture for many decades. It’s nothing new though I do agree that tipping in other areas has crept into our daily life and is often controversial.

The starting salary for a housekeeper at WDW is $18 an hour, median $20 an hour. They were raised a few years ago when it became a non-tip position.

 

[Mle8308]

Some McDonald’s you order yourself on that giant screen and then boom tip option……

Yep! Crazy, isn't it!

 

[cruising spud]

Were the rooms directly next to each other?

Side-by-side. Not connected.

 

[Mle8308]

Right, the consensus on this thread is that it's hard work. I'm trying to offer the perspective of someone who's been there.

Bottom line: Even if it's more common nowadays, most guests don't tip hotel housekeeping (and it's not a tipped position), so no one expect tips. In fact, it's super-easy not to, as you generally don't interact with cleaning staff. But it's a really sweet token of appreciation if you can and do. Always made my day.

(FWIW, at current Disney hotel room prices, I think they could already find a way to carve out a little more for these cast members. Wish they would!)

Disney already does pay housekeepers more, they start at roughly $23.45 per hour, this is above the starting rate for most other entry level positions, including front desk.

 

[CoachBeard]

Surely housekeeping costs are calculated into the room rates, taxes, fees, etc. they aren’t paid as servers in restaurants are in some states ($3/hr).

I’m not understanding the requirement to tip housekeeping staff for merely completing their actual work. I realize it is not the highest paying occupation but I wouldn’t consider it a tipped role.

You’re also leaving money for them regardless of the level of work performed. Isn’t tipping meant to be a gesture of gratuity for an extra ordinary act/acts of service?

I realize the subject of tipping these days is controversial. I work hard, I’m not rich and I save a long time to make a trip to Disney. I don’t go annually or multiple times within a single year. It’s so darn expensive as it is so all these new and extra expected tipping scenarios are just not realistic to budget for.

Remember when Uber marketed themselves as not having to tip the drivers? That didn’t last long.

BTW, after you read this post there will be a couple of questions on the screen for you to complete.

Would you like to leave a tip for this reply?
Select one:
35% 65% 95% other amount

 

[Mouseforward]

Surely housekeeping costs are calculated into the room rates, taxes, fees, etc. they aren’t paid as servers in restaurants are in some states ($3/hr).

I’m not understanding the requirement to tip housekeeping staff for merely completing their actual work. I realize it is not the highest paying occupation but I wouldn’t consider it a tipped role.

You’re also leaving money for them regardless of the level of work performed. Isn’t tipping meant to be a gesture of gratuity for an extra ordinary act/acts of service?

I realize the subject of tipping these days is controversial. I work hard, I’m not rich and I save a long time to make a trip to Disney. I don’t go annually or multiple times within a single year. It’s so darn expensive as it is so all these new and extra expected tipping scenarios are just got realistic to budget for.

Remember when Uber marketed themselves as not having to tip the drivers? That didn’t last long.

BTW, after you read this post there will be a couple of questions on the screen for you to complete.

Would you like to leave a tip for this reply?
Select one:
35% 65% 95% other amount

Then you have Cake Bake Shop — let me get this box of cake off the shelf and hand it to you. Then give you if I recall 18% 20% tip options - plus you have to pay extra for the pretty bag. It can be a $40 cake

 

[CoachBeard]

Then you have Cake Bake Shoo - let me get this box of cake off the shelf and hand it to you. Then it gives you if I recall 18% 20% tip options - plus you have to pay extra for the pretty bag. It can be a $40 cake

Don’t forget the $27 chicken salad sandwich.

 

[Pinkjgray]

I usually choose the every-other-day service option and leave a $5 tip on the days they clean. If that option isn’t available, I still leave $5 each day. There are so many different tipping rules that I honestly can’t keep up—so I just tip. The only time I don’t tip is when I’m picking up a food order myself.

 

[cruising spud]

A cute story-we did a family trip to Disney this past January. We had three rooms: my husband and myself in one room and our daughters and their families in the other rooms. I left a tip every day. My daughters did not. Guess who got towel animals every day and guess who did not?

There was someone recently on DIS who reported over an 8 day CSR stay not once did they get their floor swept- but they tipped each housekeeping day. Correlation does not imply causation.

Would you let me enjoy my fantasy??

 

[Isthisnormalatdisney]

No, in better hotels, Inns and bed-and-breakfast. You have a very similar arrangement to a cabin steward where you get to know your housekeeper by name, they do nightly turn downs and keep your room stocked with what you need. These are the type of hotels where I still tip.

The modern Marriott version where it’s a nameless person who changes every single day is one of the reasons why tipping is falling out of fashion. Today you really don’t know who you’re tipping and I guess it’s the luck of the person on the last day who gets the tip.

i could see that at bed and breakfasts and stuff. But yea most of Disney is the same way and most rooms are only serviced every other day also!

 

[Isthisnormalatdisney]

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the national mean hourly wage for hotel housekeepers is $13.47, well below the $27.07 mean hourly wage for all occupations in the U.S. I don’t know any teachers who only make $13.47 an hour.
Tipping housekeeping, concierge and bell services has been in our culture for many decades. It’s nothing new though I do agree that tipping in other areas has crept into our daily life and is often controversial.

maybe they should get PAID more in that case. Extending tipping to this case is not the solution.

 

[Isthisnormalatdisney]

I usually choose the every-other-day service option and leave a $5 tip on the days they clean. If that option isn’t available, I still leave $5 each day. There are so many different tipping rules that I honestly can’t keep up—so I just tip. The only time I don’t tip is when I’m picking up a food order myself.

When I go to Disney it’s the only option available to me

 

[Isthisnormalatdisney]

Would you let me enjoy my fantasy??

Different house keepers also sometimes service rooms next to each other. Lol