Tipping the Mousekeeping

[Disney*Dreamer]

We left $1 per person per day, and left a tip daily. We never got anything special with the plush, or anything like that, and didn't except it.

However I can see both sides to this. If these people took their jobs knowing what they were going to get paid to do it, and Disney cosiders it a non-tipping job, then they know what they are going to get paid, and what their job resposibilites are. And if your room is not clean, then you should call and have them redo it.

On the other hand, I like to spread a little Disney magic myself, and have even left little plush scenes for housekeeping with their tip envelope that my kids are had a blast decorating.

Simply put, leave one if you want to, don't if you don't want to. Leave what you think is fair and quit worrying about what everyone else is doing. Don't let it ruin your trip either way.

 

[edwardsfire]

We tip sometimes and sometimes we dont.
Its a personal choice and if i think they deserve it, I'll give em one.
I.E. If they make a special trip to my room for something, i'll tip.
If i leave a mess to clean up, i'll tip,
But normally, we dont leave a mess and there isnt much to do in our room, then i wont tip.

 

[goofy4prez]

Hmm...let's see.

7 days with 2 people=$14
7 days with 3 people=$21
7 days with 4 people=$28

People if you can't spare $14-28 bucks for someone who cleans up after you maybe a WDW vacation is out of range for you.

Yes they get paid an hourly wage starting pay rate is between $7.35-$9.35. But at 40 hours a week they might be bringing home $300 a week. Please don't try and tell mw they don't depend and hope for those tips.

I cannot see spending thousands of dollars an a trip and not leaving a few bucks for the person who cleans up after you .

JMHO

I cannot agree more. Very well stated.

 

[nhl66pens]

We left $5 (3 people) per night. For an 8 day stay it was an extra $40. I wouldn't blame anyone that struggled financially to make the trip but if you have the money its a nice gesture to people that are usually taken for granted. I thought they kept our room very clean and one person left us a note thanking us and wishing us a happy holiday. To me, that was worth it.

 

[jaminmd]

I left $6/day for the 3 of us and I made my own bed, lol! I would, however, leave notes asking for extra towels & toilet paper.

Some days they were great & other days they didn't leave anything I'd ask for. I left them tips anyway. I remember my first minimum wage job & how hard I busted my butt for it. I also realize how hard it must be to live on the low wages they receive. Hopefully my tips helped.

 

[2SillyBirds]

Hmm...let's see.

7 days with 2 people=$14
7 days with 3 people=$21
7 days with 4 people=$28

People if you can't spare $14-28 bucks for someone who cleans up after you maybe a WDW vacation is out of range for you.

Yes they get paid an hourly wage starting pay rate is between $7.35-$9.35. But at 40 hours a week they might be bringing home $300 a week. Please don't try and tell mw they don't depend and hope for those tips.

I cannot see spending thousands of dollars an a trip and not leaving a few bucks for the person who cleans up after you .

JMHO

I couldn't agree more. I have already made up my tip envelopes for both mousekeeping in the morning and turn down service in the evening. I always look at a "service" job and ask myself if it is a job that I would want to do day in and day out and if it isn't and they have done a good job then I leave a tip.

 

[dbriggsq]

Oh dear! Everyime I see these threads I can't stop myself posting and usuallly get flamed but I can't help myself.


Housekeeping is a non-tipped position - they earn the same as other cast members in the park, retail assistants, ordinary cast members, cleaners - rest room and park cleaners, etc. Why do we feel compelled to press money into the palms of housekeepers and not these other Disney employees who earn the same money and make our stay equally magical.

For our last stay we were a party of 10 staying for 14 days so according to what some people would say we should pay between $140-280 for having our rooms cleaned (despite already having paid for that in the room rate) and if we were not prepared to pay that I was told in not uncertain terms that I should not stay in a Disney hotel because I was 'cheap'.

I think the danger is that if tipping housekeeping becomes the norm then Disney will feel able to decrease the hourly rate that housekeepers receive in the knowledge that guests will then feel obliged to tip, or that guests that do not feel the need to tip will receive a less than standard service.

We should be moving away from the old-fashioned and condescending practice of tipping towards a system where people are treated and rewarded in a professional manner for a good job done for their employers.

I would encourage people who receive a greater than standard service (which is what tipping is supposed to be for,although people seem to give it whatever the level) to write a note to management praising that employee and hopefully this would give the chance of a promotion and a chance of genuine improvement in that employee's situation rather than the personal 'feel-good' factor of giving that person cash in hand.

 

[pattyw]

We also tip our mousekeeper. It is nice to spread a little
Disney magic That is a very hard job!!

As far as turndown service, how much do you tip for that and do you leave two evelopes in the morning in case you don't return before turndown? I'm always unclear how to do that. If I'm in my room when turndown is done, I tip, if not I usually don't. But I feel real guilty those days

 

[mmexpress]

If you check my post on page 1 you will see a quote taken word for word out of the Walt Disney World "official vacation guide that lists customary tipping 'INCLUDING" housekeeping.

Where you got the dilusion that mousekeeping is a non-tipping position is beyond me.

 

[ryanshana]

can I ask those that leave $5+ do you get the towel animals more.

Just curious DH and I usually do $3 a day and we really didn't get anything. It seems like they do towel animals like they send out Discount codes

Just curious cause DS LOVES them and gets bummed if there isn't a new one

 

[jrt1176]

I personally feel tipping has gotten out of hand.

I'm not cheap and enjoy tipping someone when they have done a great job. Waitresses, drivers, tourguides, etc.

But, with some of the rates WDW charges you would think tipping would not be expected.

I wonder how much tipping is for a trip if you include everything?

 

[mmexpress]

Towel animals are completely random, I got a towel animal and the housekeeper didn't see the tip that was left so I would say you don't get them just for leaving a good tip.

 

[mmexpress]

Although I do tip drivers also they make more than a housekeeper, so where is the logic that you should tip a driver and not a housekeeper.
And if you use a towncar service virsus ME they make a GREAT deal more but it is still customary to tip.

 

[jrt1176]

I always tip.

I even tip house keeping at hotels. But, I feel its un-needed most of the time. If i'm staying at a 4 or 5 star hotel, this should not be needed. I mean they already bleed you on the way from your car to your room!

Its not the money, its the principle.

Sometimes the people dont even go out of your way!

I'll tip a taxi driver more if they talk and are nice. If he just talks on his phone or is mute, they get the minimum.

 

[Christmas-in-Disney]

We debated to tip or not to tip mousekeeping. There were 4 of us for 11 days. We decided to meet in the middle and tip a little bit but not the $1 per person per day. We left her $2 a day and then $5 on Christmas day. Every single day she left us a note thanking us. We could tell she was appreciative. We got towel animals everyday! She also did cute things with my DD's animals. One day we came back to find my DD's big stuffed dog had torn the toliet paper around the room and had it in his mouth. It was cute. It was really fun to come back after long days and we were tired and getting grumpy to open the door and get a good laugh or surprise! After the first several days the girls were racing each other back at night to see first! LOL! Our first day we asked for extra towels each day, so we wondering if maybe this was the "code" for towel animals! LOL! Seriously it probably just depends on the mousekeeper. On the last day she told the girls to take home what they wanted. They each choose one smaller thing. One got a "Herbie the Love Bug" and one a set of Dalmations!

 

[robinbutterfly]

Wait... I want animal towels. So you only get those if you tip, is that correct?

 

[dbriggsq]

If you check my post on page 1 you will see a quote taken word for word out of the Walt Disney World "official vacation guide that lists customary tipping 'INCLUDING" housekeeping.

Where you got the dilusion that mousekeeping is a non-tipping position is beyond me.

If you have a look at this you will see that housekeepers are on a similar hourly rate to many other employees that people would not consider 'tipped' positions.

http://www.disney.go.com/DisneyCareers/wdwcareers/hourly/

 

[Pooh67_68]

No that is not correct. We tip everyday, sometimes we get a towel animal sometimes we don't.

Wait... I want animal towels. So you only get those if you tip, is that correct?

 

[maccagerl]

This is true. Housekeeping is paid at least minimum wage. Waitstaff are not paid minimum wage and rely on tips. Disney considers housekeeping a non-tipped position.

If Disney considers mousekeeping a non-tipped position, then why does Disney leave a tip envelope in the room when you check in?
On the table in our room at AKL, along with the brochures etc, was a dollar-bill sized envelope, with the castle and tinkerbell on it and reading "walt disney world where dreams come true" at the bottom.
On the back flap there is a gold oval which says "guest name" and "room number" so you can fill in your name and room number.
The envelope is obviously designed for you to leave your tip in.

We always tip and our mousekeepers usually thank us if they see us in the room or leave a note thanking us if they don't see us.

 

[indigoxtreme]

To the OP, I have been to many hotels and at those hotels there is always a ready made tip envelope for housekeeping, Disney is the exception as they do not want to make you feel you have to leave a tip. It is clearly up to the individual if you want to tip or not. Some don't and some do. Why would I leave a tip at all the other hotels for housekeeping and not a WDW for mousekeeping? If the room is not cleaned right certainly let the housekeeping know regardless if you leave a tip or not. We usually leave 5.00 a day for 3 or 4 in the room and we do pick up after ourselves etc.

Hope you have a wonderful trip and sometimes if you want something just ask, the worst that can happen is a no or non compliance with request. Just leave a note with your request. It does work, I have done it.