When staying at a disney resort how many of you tip your housekeepers

[bookgirl]

I tip, a couple of bucks a day usually. If I request no housekeeping that day I don't tip.

It's not required, not even customary.

What it is is a gratuity.

I'm grateful I'm on vacation, I'm grateful, someone else is picking up my dirty towels, I'm grateful I have the ability to take a vacation at all.

Leaving a small token to let someone know I appreciate that they are doing a job that makes my vacation more enjoyable, is a small way to spread some joy.

They get paid a whole lot less than I do. It costs me very little and whether it is a smile to resort employee as I walk by with a cheerful hello, a tip to a maid, or a word in the ear of a supervisor for a service done well, I feel better knowing that I made someone else's life a little happier just by being nice.

That's just me, if you choose not to tip and you are okay with it and then it's your business and who cares.

 

[sunshinejk]

We tip wherever we go. Anywhere from $2 -$5, depending on how well they clean the room and also how messy we leave it. HOtels and resorts don't pay their employees very high rates, and if they did pay them more, we would have to pay more for the room. I hate cleaning, and to me cleaning is a hard job, and often times plain ol discusting the way some people leave their rooms. I'm happy to tip as long as they clean my room nicely. If I came back to my room and it was icky, I would not leave a tip the next day, as then I don't think they deserved it. We tip daily, too, because we want to make sure that the person who cleans our room gets the tip. We just leave it on the pillow, but maybe I'll start doing the envelope thing this time, with a little thank you note.

I think that if you do tip, more than likely they will make sure to do a better job for you, too.

 

[princessallegra]

I've traveled my whole life and never heard of tipping housekeeping until these boards. I guess my world traveler parents didn't know either. Now we leave $5 if we are getting service that day. We are two adults no kiddos yet. We refuse service sometimes, but usually I call mouse keeping from the phone in room and ask to have the room cleaned as early as possible. This works really well for us and by the time we're home (usually by 2:30pm) the room is all clean! And we can nap!

 

[kaligal]

Disney or not, I leave $5 a day, $10 check-out day and I make sure their job is as easy as possible.

 

[ColoradoDisney]

You can do a search on the boards and find a "spirited" discussion. I travel extensively with my job and I rarely tip hotel housekepping I work for a large corporation (Fortune 100) and we are not reimbursed for tipping at hotels whereas we are for dining, cabs and bell services.

If you want to tip, I am sure the housekeeper will gladly accept it. However, do not feel obligated. The position is not considered a "tipping" position and the housekeeper is paid market wages for their position. For me, I do not tip unless I have done something that would cause the housekeeping staff to go over and above such as extra cleaning.

Personally, I think there are a lot of people that tip out of guilt. They feel bad that they can afford to go on vacation and the housekeeper is barely getting by. I look at the situation a little different. When I spend thousands of dollars at Disney, I am providing many people the opportunity for employment. Disney compensates their employees the minimum amount they think they can pay, just like my company. If Disney was not able to find people to do housekeeping at the wages offered, they would raise them. I don't walk around the parking handing out money to the janitorial staff, ride operators, bus drivers, etc. Why would I do this at the hotel?

I am sure my opinion will not be popular but I think it needs to be said.

 

[nadira36]

You can do a search on the boards and find a "spirited" discussion. I travel extensively with my job and I rarely tip hotel housekepping I work for a large corporation (Fortune 100) and we are not reimbursed for tipping at hotels whereas we are for dining, cabs and bell services.

If you want to tip, I am sure the housekeeper will gladly accept it. However, do not feel obligated. The position is not considered a "tipping" position and the housekeeper is paid market wages for their position. For me, I do not tip unless I have done something that would cause the housekeeping staff to go over and above such as extra cleaning.

Personally, I think there are a lot of people that tip out of guilt. They feel bad that they can afford to go on vacation and the housekeeper is barely getting by. I look at the situation a little different. When I spend thousands of dollars at Disney, I am providing many people the opportunity for employment. Disney compensates their employees the minimum amount they think they can pay, just like my company. If Disney was not able to find people to do housekeeping at the wages offered, they would raise them. I don't walk around the parking handing out money to the janitorial staff, ride operators, bus drivers, etc. Why would I do this at the hotel?

I am sure my opinion will not be popular but I think it needs to be said.

BINGO! At least for me - for a number of years I refused service b/c I didn't want to tip. But that got in the way when we did in-room celebrations and such. I'd never seen my parents tip before and the various etiquette books I was encouraged to read never mentioned tipping housekeeping, but I still felt guilty.

 

[disneyfanlincoln]

In WDW I tip $3 - 5 dollars a day depending on the job that has been done. More for towel animals. Usually housekeeping is great. However on my last trip it wasn't good and got worse during the trip which was a bit of a shock, I wonder if our room was last on the list to be cleaned ? So I stopped tipping the last couple of days due to poor level of service. This was very much an exception.

 

[2Tiggies]

We tip our Mousekeeper. There are only two of us so we leave $4 a day, and also leave it daily as you don't always have the same person servicing your room. That said, we keep our room pretty tidy and clean up after ourselves so there are the odd days where we put the Do Not Disturb sign up as there is really no need for any cleaning or replenishing of supplies.

We do it because we can and because we want to. I have never felt under any pressure to tip, but many times we have had our Mousekeeper see us entering or leaving our room and actually come back and thank us - or even leave notes saying thank you in our room. I feel that it is appreciated and it is something I enjoy doing. I would never try and persuade anyone to feel that they have to tip - but we do because we choose to and we are able to.

 

[MinnieLee]

I'm with the majority. We always tip $1 to $2 pp with a larger tip at check out. We are DVC members so housekeeping is not daily but when ever we travel and stay at other hotels we also tip. We also tip bell services the same per bag.

Although it is their job, we consider it a service. I am not sure about housekeeping but the waitresses and bartenders at WDW (and everywhere else that I know of) are paid a lower hourly salary based on the fact that they can receive tips. It's always nice to see a tip and that people appreciate what you do. Tipping varies so it is not guaranteed income but....

 

[aubriee]

I tip $1 to $2 per person per day. I already have the envelopes made up and stuffed for our trip in December!!! Only two are going this trip, so I have $4 in each envelope.

This is what we do. I have envelopes already stuffed for both my upcoming Sept 1st-8th and Oct 27th-Nov 4th trips. These are the ones I use: http://www.themouseforless.com/downloads/trip/mousekeeping.shtml

We've always tipped housekeeping though, no matter where we've stayed. I thought everyone did.

I just copied this from a CNN site:
Tip every day to ensure your tip gets to the person who actually cleaned your room. • Leave a note in your room with the money indicating it is for housekeeping. • Tip $1 or $2 per person, per night in most hotels. In higher end hotels, $3 to $5 per person per night is typical. • In a motel, tips are generally not necessary for a one-night stay. The $1 or $2 standard is appropriate for multiday stays.

this from Emily Post:
Housekeeper
$2-$5 per day per person, left daily with a note marked "Housekeeping - Thank you"

 

[mommyof3princess27]

I have never tipped the housekeeping at Disney or at any other hotel for that matter. I have never heard of tipping for this service except on these boards. They are paid to clean the rooms. It is not like they are waiters where they are paid a smaller hourly and the rest is dependent on tips.

Sorry if this is a little harsh but as expensive as Disney is, I can't afford to tip everyone just to do the job they are already getting paid to do.

I agree! I am not being mean either just MHO

 

[Kim1964]

I leave $5/day unless I don't feel they are doing a good job.

The only tip I resented quite a bit on my most recent trip was the one the resort airline check in person practically demanded. She had this whole spiel about how this was just like curbside check in and that she was the person who would make sure my bag got where it was going. The implication was clear: tip me or who knows where your bag will end up.

 

[Hoopfamily]

I am not a fan of tipping, however it seems most posters have never heard of such a practice for maid service. Seriously? You tip the guy who brings you a steak 20% but the woman who scrubs your toilet gets zip? Check out this link for more on tipping http://www.travelsense.org/tips/tippingetiquette.cfm. We always tip $1.00 per person in our room at any hotel.

 

[Nancyg56]

Sorry if this is a little harsh but as expensive as Disney is, I can't afford to tip everyone just to do the job they are already getting paid to do.

You get to tip who you want and you get to decide who deserves a gratuity for the service that they are providing to you. I have always tipped housekeeping in every place I stay. I feel it has never hurt the level of service provided to me.

I'm grateful I'm on vacation, I'm grateful, someone else is picking up my dirty towels, I'm grateful I have the ability to take a vacation at all.

Leaving a small token to let someone know I appreciate that they are doing a job that makes my vacation more enjoyable, is a small way to spread some joy.

MTE! at home I am the housekeeper and while I make sure that I am not leaving a mess for the person who comes into clean my room I sure am glad I can come back and enjoy a freshly made bed, clean shower and a lots of towels!

Personally, I think there are a lot of people that tip out of guilt. They feel bad that they can afford to go on vacation and the housekeeper is barely getting by. I look at the situation a little different. When I spend thousands of dollars at Disney, I am providing many people the opportunity for employment. Disney compensates their employees the minimum amount they think they can pay, just like my company. If Disney was not able to find people to do housekeeping at the wages offered, they would raise them. I don't walk around the parking handing out money to the janitorial staff, ride operators, bus drivers, etc. Why would I do this at the hotel?

I am sure my opinion will not be popular but I think it needs to be said.

I don't tip out of guilt. I tip because it is my opinion that housekeeping is a hard job and is not a well paying one. It is my belief that the people who are doing these jobs work hard and are very seldom compensated for their worth. Just because a company can pay low wages to get a job done does not mean that the work itself should not be worth more. I don't care what others do, I think tipping is a personal preference.

I am not a fan of tipping, however it seems most posters have never heard of such a practice for maid service. Seriously? You tip the guy who brings you a steak 20% but the woman who scrubs your toilet gets zip? Check out this link for more on tipping http://www.travelsense.org/tips/tippingetiquette.cfm. We always tip $1.00 per person in our room at any hotel.

My DH was shocked that I was only leaving our housekeeper $5 per night. He felt that she was working way harder for us than the bartender who gave us a glass of wine. He actually used the scrubbing toilet thing as a reference for why I needed to give more.

We tip $5 per night and DH will many times add more. When we have turndown service we tip $2 per night. It is built into our vacation budget and already in envelopes before we leave the house/.

 

[TJDisneymama]

If you want to tip, I am sure the housekeeper will gladly accept it. However, do not feel obligated. The position is not considered a "tipping" position and the housekeeper is paid market wages for their position.

Personally, I think there are a lot of people that tip out of guilt. They feel bad that they can afford to go on vacation and the housekeeper is barely getting by. I look at the situation a little different. I don't walk around the parking handing out money to the janitorial staff, ride operators, bus drivers, etc. Why would I do this at the hotel?
.

I agree. I thought the whole purpose of tipping was for the people who get paid less than minimum wage to make up the difference. From what I've heard, the majority of CMs who work for Disney aren't bringing in 6 figures, so as PP said, if we tip housekeeping, why not tip the janitors and bus drivers, etc.? I mean, I'm not *against* tipping HK staff, and I have tipped plenty in my day - I guess because I felt it was expected - but I really just don't get why the HK staff deserves extra; the CMs who clean the public restrooms at the park and clean up the vomit and messes in there...... blech, they probably deserve a tip more than anyone.
Not to mention, it already costs an arm and a leg just to GO to Disney and for those of us who are barely able to scrape up enough $$ to manage a trip there -- we can't be going around tipping every single Disney employee who deserves it (which, let's face it, is just about all of them!)

 

[Butterbunkins]

I tip at any hotel I stay at, Disney hotels included. We typically tip $1 per person per day, but when we stay at the Villas it’s different because they only clean once while we are there. So I only tip for when they come, but I tip a little more since they have a few days of our mess to clean.

 

[Leigh123]

We leave an envelope with $4 in it daily. (this is for 2 adults)....I enjoy decorating the envelopes with stickers, glitter etc.

As a child we traveled often and my parents ALWAYS tipped housekeeping. As an adult I have traveled all over for work and leisure and also have always tipped housekeeping.

I would rather tip the person cleaning my room than the person babysitting my luggage until its time for my flight...that's the one that irks me but I do it

 

[digiMom]

It varies. Usually just a couple of dollars per room (two rooms at POP for 4 people). I've left a little more if we leave food court trays from the night before. I didn't realize it was an un-tipped position, though...

 

[cmcadoo66]

Being that I worked in housekeeping as a teenager, we always leave a tip for housekeeping!

I vary rarely received tips during my short time doing that job but when I did it meant a lot to me. Yes, I was getting paid minimum wage but it is not an easy job to do for minimum wage. We were required to do 16 rooms in an eight hour day. By the time you factor in travel time between rooms, stocking and restocking your cart through the day it averaged out that we had about 20 min to clean each room. Try stipping two beds, cleaning one bathroom, dusting and vacuuming one room in your house and see if you can do it well in 20 minutes! Yes, during the stay it is much easier because a few of those days you only have to make the beds rather than change the sheets but I don't make assumptions about how many check-outs and stay-over rooms a person has that day. Then factor in the rooms that are occupied by people who do not even pick up after themselves and leave the room in a disaster making the job even harder for the housekeeper.

But having said all that, tipping is completely a personal choice. We leave $5 per day and more if they have done an extraordinary job. (towel animals, extra toiletries, etc.) It has nothing to do with guilt and everything to do with knowing how hard their job is especially at minimum wage!!

 

[DisneyMomx7]

$5 a day for mousekeeping, $2 or $3 a night to turndown service.

At the end of our trip if we have had someone go out of their way to make things extra nice we'll hand them an extra $20. For the last two years we had the most wonderful cm for turn down service. We requested her last year and tipped her extra because she was fantastic!