Tipping.....

[mrsnj91]

I have read on and off about tipping housekeeping. And I read about someone "getting their envelopes ready and decorating them". Was that a personal thing or does everyone do it? And is there anyone else to tip or just housekeeping??

 

[mickeystoontown]

We just returned from a 10 day stay at the Caribbean Beach Resort. It was just as wonderful as last year!

I do tip mousekeeping but I do not make the pretty little envelopes that everybody else says they do. I don't ever think about it until the last minute and I am trying to get all my last minute packing done.

I write a note to our mousekeeper every morning and leave a tip. How much I tip just depends on how many $1 bills or how much change we have left over from the day before. I usually tip about $1 per person per day ($3.00) in our case). If we have just $2 in $1 bills or about $2 in change, that's what I leave.

Some people say they wait until the very end of their trip before tipping but I don't do that. I know, personally, that we had at least three different mousekeepers during our past stay because they each left us notes back.

Lisa

 

[jmkrat]

I have read on and off about tipping housekeeping. And I read about someone "getting their envelopes ready and decorating them". Was that a personal thing or does everyone do it? And is there anyone else to tip or just housekeeping??

I am not a crafty person, so I do not make envelopes up. I usually just leave a tip in a plain white envelope with Mousekeeping on it. Last year, I forgot my envelopes and used the ones in the drawer. I had to ask them to return it each day so I could leave them a tip( I know it's tacky, but I didn't want to buy expensive stationary to leave a daily tip). We are a family of 4 and I leave $5.00 a day (we aren't too messy, DH even makes the bed . If we have turn down service I leave a tip for that too. We tip Bell services if they help with our luggage. We did tip Magical Express guy, he handled our luggage and was super nice.

 

[cara loves the poly]

Just so you know, you don't have to tip housekeeping.

 

[beattyfamily]

We enjoy making the envelopes before we leave. I use THESE.

I like having them all done and pre-filled before my trip. One less thing to worry about.

We tip them daily and I leave it on the bathroom mirror.

Of course, you don't have to tip but that's the case for any job/position. It's a personal choice. We chose to tip them $1. per person, per day.

The only other tips you might encounter are bell hops and valet parking. Also maybe the sky cap at the airport.

Maybe room service. That's all I can think of off the top of my head.

 

[dischick4778]

I don't know if it's related or not, but every time we tipped daily we would get great towel creatures. I think mousekeeping appreciates the tip every day and that was their way of thanking us. It was fun. Now that we are DVC we don't get mousekeeping more than twice so we miss the creatures. But it is really up to you, I don't think there is a standard way of tipping.

 

[MiaSRN62]

We do tip and I do find it fun to use the envelopes that I print out. But on rare occasion, we have forgotten to tip and still came back to a room with towel animals. One time we were just running out to the food court in the morning and were planning on coming right back. In the 30 minutes we were gone, mousekeeping was in and out of our room and left a towel animal.

So I don't think it's the tipping that gets you the towel critter.

 

[Squirlz]

It is customary to tip parking valets and luggage handlers but housekeeping is not a tipped position.

 

[MotherOf2Princesses]

I have never tipped. Seven trips as an adult. But my trip this past May I decided I would. I never thought about it before but read on Dis about folks tipping.
I didn't do anything fancy. Just wrote a note and left a tip. The amount is up to you.
I got towel animals, 3 at a time. I got extra Mickey shampoos and soaps. And room always looked nice. I guess they really appreciated it.

 

[beattyfamily]

It is customary to tip parking valets and luggage handlers but housekeeping is not a tipped position.

I disagree. It is also customary to tip housekeeping. If you look at any tipping guideline website, they have the suggested tip amount for housekeeping. Of course, it's optional, but customary.

 

[bmoc_ny]

It is customary to tip parking valets and luggage handlers but housekeeping is not a tipped position.

The Link below refers to a Tipping etiquette, I have pasted the hotel portion for easy reference. Remember it is customary to tip all service industry workers.

http://www.findalink.net/tippingetiquette.php


At the hotel
Before you arrive at a nicer hotel or resort, inquire as to whether gratuities are included in the price of the room. Some hotels are now charging a daily fee that covers all tipping for hotel services. If there is not a daily fee, these rates are appropriate:

Valet or parking attendant - $1-3 is appropriate for parking or returning the car. It is not necessary to tip for parking, but always for returning the car.
Doorman - If he hails you a cab, $1-2. If he helps you with your bags in or out of the car, $0.50-1 a bag. Use $1-2 per bag if he carries them all the way to the room. If he just opens the door, nothing. If he is exceptionally helpful with directions or restaurant recommendations, same as concierge.
Bellman - When he helps you with your bags, tip $1-2 per bag. Give him the tip when he shows you your room. If he just carries the bags to the front desk and then disappears, save it for the person who carries the bags to your room. Upon checkout, tip a bellman who helps with your bags. Tip more for additional services.
Concierge - $5-10 for help with hard-to-get dinner reservations or theater tickets. Tipping is optional for just plain advice. Tipping can be done at the end of the trip or at the time of service, just keep is straight so that you are fair.
Room Service - If gratuity is included, add nothing or $1. Otherwise add 15-20% to the total charge.
Delivery of special items - If you request extra pillows or an iron, tip $1 per item received, minimum $2.
Maid service - $1-5 per day typically, up to $10 per day depending upon how much mess you make. Tip daily because there might be a different maid each day. Leave the tip on your pillow. Err on the side of being generous, and tip on the last day also.
Swimming pool or gym attendant - Nothing, unless you require special services such as extra seating or inflating pool toys; then it is $2-5. If you want the same deck chairs every day, then tip $2-3 per chair beginning the first day.
Hotel maintenance staff - Nothing to replace a light bulb, fix the air conditioning, etc.

 

[Squirlz]

I disagree. It is also customary to tip housekeeping. If you look at any tipping guideline website, they have the suggested tip amount for housekeeping. Of course, it's optional, but customary.

It's quite obvious reading here that some consider it "customary" to tip houskeeping. My post states the fact that it is not a tipped position. Sorry, but there is no disputing this.

 

[beattyfamily]

It's quite obvious reading here that some consider it "customary" to tip houskeeping. My post states the fact that it is not a tipped position. Sorry, but there is no disputing this.

So your opinion is 'fact'? Good to know.

It's also quite obvious that it's a countrywide, and even world wide standard, that housekeeping IS a tipped postion. Did you even look at the above link?
Of course, it's still a personal choice on whether you want to tip and how much to tip.

 

[CoolPool]

Also customary in our family to leave a tip whether we are at Disney, the HoiPolloi Hotel or the Slum Inn. These people deal with icky stuff and deserve some respect and consideration. Ladies and Gentleman should not turn a blind eye.

 

[robinb]

I usually just leave $1 per person on the sink. I have done the fancy envelopes (and pre-packed them too!) but these days I just run out of time.

 

[addicted_to_WDW]

I give $1.00 per person per day, and don't make up envelopes. I just stick it on the sink under the little card that has the housekeepers name on it.

I know I don't have to tip, but if I can spend thousands on a vacation I can give the people who work the hardest a few bucks.

 

[peel]

I agree. That is a very strenuous job that pays very little. I may not have to tip them, but I do. I always leave $5 every day. It's a small amount added to my daily vacation expenses but I think they deserve every penny of it. (Assuming, of course, that the room is cleaned well!)

 

[tink55]

I disagree. It is also customary to tip housekeeping.

No, it's NOT customary. It's unusual, not common, and it's optional. My mom worked in the hotel business for years in Florida. IT. IS. NOT. CUSTOMARY. Mousekeepers at WDW are full time salaried workers who do not rely on tips to live. If you want to tip, fine, but don't try to force your customs on others.

 

[beattyfamily]

No, it's NOT customary. It's unusual, not common, and it's optional. My mom worked in the hotel business for years in Florida. IT. IS. NOT. CUSTOMARY. Mousekeepers at WDW are full time salaried workers who do not rely on tips to live. If you want to tip, fine, but don't try to force your customs on others.

There's no need to yell or get upset.

I'm not forcing anything on anyone. I've said in every single post that tipping is always optional and a personal choice, however, in tipping guide books and websites you will see that it is, indeed, customary to tip housekeeping and certainly isn't unusual at all. I was talking about the housekeeping industry in general, not just about WDW.

I didn't just make this "tipping housekeeping" thing up. It's been a custom for a very long time. I've even been to hotels where the tipping envelope was provided.

Tipping for any position is not manditory, it's a personal choice.

I guess we'll have to agree to disagree.

 

[WVParkfan]

We prepare our envelopes before we leave on the trip. One envelope per day with a $5 bill in each. Each morning, we put our kid's "stuffed animals" on the bed with them holding the envelope. When we return each evening, the animals have been re-arranged into funny positions (Stitch was climbing the light fixture once), and there are usually towel animals.

Mousekeeping doesn't have to do the extras like "towel animals," and we don't have to tip. But we do tip, and Mousekeeping always does special things for us.