Tipping

[pegasusEH]

How much should you leave for maid service in your room and do you leave something every morning? Do you leave more if you are staying somewhere with a higher star rating?

 

[mickeysaver]

We usually leave a tip for the housekeeper on a daily basis since we never know when the housekeeper will change. We leave a tip on a per/person basis as well as on the basis of how messy the room is. We travel with no kids, so there are two of us in the room. So, for that we start with a $2 tip, but depending on the state of the room, that can increase to a $6 tip. I have a stack of $2 bills in an envelope that I keep handy for tipping when I am at WDW, so it's pretty easy. This time, I am going to try to print off the mousekeeping tip envelopes off the net. I had just left it in a self marked envelope on the last trip and for some reason, they left the tip more times than they took it. I found that to be rather odd, especially since one time it was a $6 day.

In general, I tip in even amounts of money, so the $2 bill fund is a great way to keep up with all the tip money and also, at the end of the trip, we get to have a little fun with the cart vendors spending the cash. You would be amazed how many people think it's cool to get a $2 bill. Mickey

 

[Shells9]

Mickeysaver, that is such a cool idea!

I gotta confess -- it never crossed my mind to tip housekeeping until I started reading these boards! I did an informal survey at work, and found about 1/3 of those I work with tip if they stay longer than 1 night.

Does anyone know what percentage of guests tip housekeeping during a hotel stay?

 

[mickeysaver]

I have no idea how many people tip the housekeepers. My grandmother was the head of housekeeping at the Sheraton at Cypruss Gardens when I was a kid, I know that those ladies certainly appreciate the tips. From what I understand it's no longer automatically expected by the staff at all hotels, but I always make the effort if they do the job well. I was taught to always tip them, so I do. Mickey

 

[taylor1293]

We tip $1 per person/per day. It doesn't matter whether we are at a Holiday Inn or staying at a nice resort.

We leave this tip everyday so that the housekeeper that does the cleaning receives the tip.

Teresa

 

[bunnyfoo]

I agree with everyone else... $1 a person is pretty reasonable. I usually leave a little extra on the day I check out since there's a little more work that needs to be done.

 

[Gillian]

If there is some kind of card about housekeeping (sometimes there is, with a person's name) we leave a tip near that. If I remember, I'll write a little note, "Thank you!" with the money. It almost always is taken when I do that. I don't know if they mousekeeper envelopes look something they are supposed to take, know what I mean?

 

[Empire Day]

Where dose one find the mousekeeper envelopes to print out???

 

[bigsis1970]

depending on what the room looked like when we got there and how it looked each day after.. Usually if we mess it up more I do leave more.. Michelle

 

[skiwee1]

Originally posted by Shells9
Mickeysaver, that is such a cool idea!

I gotta confess -- it never crossed my mind to tip housekeeping until I started reading these boards! I did an informal survey at work, and found about 1/3 of those I work with tip if they stay longer than 1 night.

Does anyone know what percentage of guests tip housekeeping during a hotel stay?

Until I visited these boards I thought tipping housekeeping was something everyone did. I'm 41 y/o and I remember going on trips when I was little and my parents always tipping the maids no matter how long our stay or where we stayed. I thought it was the norm! When I go to WDW there is myself, my mom, and my 4 y/o. We are really neat and always pretty much do everything but leave $5 daily for the maid.

 

[disneychrista]

Mousekeeping at WDW is not considered a tipped position. So there for no tip is needed/required. They are paid a salary that it intended to compenstate them for doing their job. They choose to do this job, knowing the salary.

With that said, it seems to be "customary" on these board to tip $1/per perosn per day, tipped daily.

 

[skiwee1]

Originally posted by disneychrista
Mousekeeping at WDW is not considered a tipped position. So there for no tip is needed/required. They are paid a salary that it intended to compenstate them for doing their job. They choose to do this job, knowing the salary.

With that said, it seems to be "customary" on these board to tip $1/per perosn per day, tipped daily.

In Birnbaums 2002 WDW book they recommend tipping the maids. They never used to have it in their books but started that last year. They do not pay those maids that much and the maids look forward to those tips, I'm sure.

 

[Snow Brite]

and wanted to say THANKS! Housekeeping is one of the hardest working, grossest, high pressure jobs to be found in a hotel.

To say that they are not considered "tipped" positions would be correct, no Housekeeping Department I have ever seen was, as they are paid usually slightly higher than minimum wage. But that does not mean that they are NOT tipped regularly, or that it is not neccessary or polite to do so.

$1 per person per night is the usual. If you do not have a Mousekeeping Envelope then laying the dollar bills on the pillow is correct. Housekeepers are VERY concious of not taking money out of the room if there are not SURE it is for them. This is due to the high number of accusations made regarding theft from rooms. While I am sure it does happen occasionally, I investigated 100's of cases of theft by a Housekeeper and NEVER found one to be true, and usually were items found later in an unusal location in the room (under the bed, top drawer of night stand). But they almost all have been accused of taking something from a room if they have been a Housekeeper for any length of time, which is why they will NOT take cash in the room unless they are sure it is for them. This is why either the Mousekeeping Envelope or on the pillow.

Also, since the subject came up a few other tipping standards for my friends...

Valet $3-5 at PICK UP ONLY (no need to tip the guy you drop it off with, they all share)
Doorman not usually neccessary unless they do you a favor (get a taxi, give directions, etc.) they also share with the Bellmen
Bellmen $1 per bag with a $5 MINIMUM
Concierge $10 per half hour of time more if they pull off a miracle for you.

These are all based on SERVICE and are not mandatory. If someone is rude, sloppy, or presumptous then do not tip them, or tip less. And these are only guidelines, of what they generally considered "standard" is. The same as waitstaff 15-18% being the "standard" for a server.

And again, THANKS!

 

[DISNEY GUEST]

Just search for "mousekeeping envelopes" on internet.
I use Heidi's.
They are cute and " for our maid" in spanish (para nuesta criada) is included on front of envelope.
Many Mousekeepers do not speak English.
Have Fun,
Disney Guest

 

[bunnyfoo]

Thanks for the tipping guidelines Snow Brite! I sometimes wondered how much I should be giving to the conceirge

Here's a link to the Mousekeeping envelopes. I think I'll be printing out a couple for my trip!

http://users.adelphia.net/~heidiw/maid_envelopes/index.html

 

[StampMom]

Snow Brite, thank you SOOOOO Much for the guidance on tipping valet parkers! I never know whether to tip both, or just on drop off or pick up! It makes sense to just do it at pick-up, since when you drop off, they haven't yet performed the service for you! But I never wanted to seem "cheap" by not tipping.

Thanks!

 

[Lewisc]

I normally tip housekeeping BUT Disney does list tiping guidelines in the resort brochure/newspaper you get when you checkin. As others have posted Disney does not list housekeeping as a tipped position.

 

[mnbrowns]

How should we tip on this occasion-
We drop off car and luggage and go to parks. We'll be back in the afternoon to check in.

How much do we tip the bellhop who takes our luggage to the holding area? We'll of course tip again as they bring the bags up to the room.

 

[mnbrowns]

bump

 

[disneychrista]

Originally posted by mnbrowns
How much do we tip the bellhop who takes our luggage to the holding area?

My understanding, according to the rules of ettiquette, is that you only need to tip the bellhop that bring your bags to your room. However if you want to tip, I would tip half what you would to the person who brings them to your room, but that is just my opinion.