When I was growing up, whenever I went on youth group trips (and possibly for school trips too, I don't remember), they always told us that when we checked out we were supposed to leave a dollar per person per night tip in the room for housekeeping.
Last year when I was at a conference with a friend, just before we were going to leave the hotel, I said something about leaving the tip. She had never heard of such a thing but went along with it just in case.
So I was just wondering if this is standard procedure for hotel stays or not.
I first heard of this a few years ago, after years of business travel. I don't think it is a good idea for a couple of reasons:
1. I have no idea how many different maids there were, nor do I expect that they have any sort of system for divvying up tips. Why should I tip the person lucky enough to get my last day in the room?
2. I think that a clean room is something that I expect as a baseline. I am no more grateful for a clean room in a hotel than I am for all four tires on my rental car. It's expected.
3. Most importantly, if the maids need better pay (the common argument for tipping in hotel rooms) then the hotels should pay them better. It is mot my job to subsidize a group of employees when I am already paying for the service having a room. [This is the same as my stance about tipping on take-out food.]
The one exception I can think of this is a situation like a cruise ship, where the same person cleans my room and introduces him or herself, and makes a point of adding to my experience through advice and special treatment.
Do. Not. Tip. Hotel. Maids. Ever.
If they want your money, they'll rummage through your stuff and steal it from you.
Yes, this has happened to me. A few times. And you want me to "tip" them? You first, sucker.
To Insure Proper Service. That is the origin of TIPS. They were given at the beginning of your stay or meal. Now they have evolved to a payment for decent service. I disagree that maids are deserving for making bed and cleaning room and facilities. If you were robbed at a motel/hotel, a crime was committed. Why should all who serve you suffer because someone robbed you? Report it and get on with life. I have traveled extensively for 40 years and have never had one thing stolen from me in a hotel room. Maybe I am just lucky.
When I used to travel for work, many moons ago, I would leave a tip if I was staying for 4+ days and they were consistent in making the bed, but leaving most of the rest alone. I appreciated the fact that they tried to make me more comfortable without invading my space, hence I would leave a tip.
If I stayed for only a couple of days I would leave whatever change I had if I remembered.
Not horribly consistent, but that was my MO.
If I was staying in what I considered to be a moderate hotel or nicer hotel I did not leave a tip for cleaning service. I guess I just figured that I was paying a decent amount of money per night for my room, and the least I expected was a clean room.
When I stayed in somewhere that was cheaper (i.e. if I went to Myrtle Beach at the end of the school year) where I was really not paying much for my room (less than 50-75 dollars a night or so) I did not really expect that great a service, and if I came back from the beach or wherever and found my room nicely made up I considered it a bonus, and tipped accordingly.
If I was in a mid range hotel
I suppose my policy on tipping was this: If the service was not performed would I complain. If I was in a scenario where I would complain to the front desk if my room was not made up, then I would not leave a tip. If I was in a place where I would not make such a complaint, and the room was made up, then I Would leave a tip.
Probably not the most consistent policy, but I had never really given it much thought until now.
From Wikipedia:
The word originates from the 16th century verb tip, which meant "to give unexpectedly", and was derived from the German word tippen, meaning "to tap."
The Oxford English Dictionary states that tip is derived from the English thieves (which may be taken to mean "gambler") slang word tip, meaning "to pass from one to another" (cf. "to give unexpectedly.")
The word "tip" is often inaccurately claimed to be an acronym for terms such as "to insure prompt service", "to insure proper service", "to improve performance", and "to insure promptness". However, this etymology contradicts the Oxford English Dictionary and is probably an example of a backronym.
I thought your take on the etymology was interesting and went to look it up - OED via Wikipedia suggests that the history is different.
After reading this, I realize that the original (non-thief) definition is the one I work from: tips should not be expected. Think of the other name for them - gratuity. Gratuitous. Unnecessary. Nice, but unnecessary.
Exiled
I leave about $5 in hotel rooms (regardless of stay length,which is rarely 3 nights or more with me). This is because I know a hotel maid very well. She works hard and doesn't get paid crap. No benefits. And people do unholy things in hotel rooms.
If everybody tipped hotel maids, they'd make a decent living.
A movie is not about what it's about; it's about how it's about it.
---Roger Ebert
Some questions cannot be answered
Who’s gonna bury who
We need a love like Johnny, Johnny and June
---Over the Rhine
I generally tip regardless of where I'm staying...and I tip each night to avoid the issue mentioned above regarding only the last maid getting tipped (I believe I read that was proper someplace). I've usually tipped on a scale going from $2/night in a cheap hotel up to $5/night in a nicer hotel. However, steven's point about expecting less from a cheap hotel and thus tipping more is making me rethink that policy...
If I've made a mess (i.e., we had about 50 people in the Presidential Suite at the Westin after our wedding)...then I leave a bunch. I think we probably left $40 that morning...and housekeeping probably deserved every penny!
Out of all the jobs in the hospitality business, being a maid has got to be one of the hardest... and filthiest. And they work mostly behind the scenes, unlike the valet guy or the bellman or room service, who all seem to get nice gratuities without anyone complaining.
The maids often get paid only minimum wage, even at large name-brand hotels. They are pushed to clean 3 rooms an hour. They have to get down on all fours and clean urine, stool, debris, and all manners of scum off the floors, commodes, and bathtubs and make sure the drains are free from any hair or residue. Sometimes the rooms get trashed out pretty good and just cleaning out the garbage and beer cans can take a good hour or so. I'd say 98% are honest and always return lost items to the front desk, including money, jewelry, and sentimental items (pillows, dolls, blankets, etc.) I practically lived out of motels and hotels for a couple of years at one stretch and never once had anything stolen. And at the time, it never occured to me to tip. Later on, after seeing my Dad leave a few bucks in his hotel room, I took note. Then after befriending a hotel manager and learning how the maids are the lifeblood of the hotels, I began to tip regularly. Most managers would like to pay the maids more, but the owners are stingy and usually won't allow it. From my experience, most places have envelopes with the maid's name on them, and if you place the tip inside, it will go to the person who cleaned your room. I can only imagine what a pleasant surprise it must be for a maid to receive a couple of tips per day for her largely unappreciated hard work.
My friend who's a maid says, increasingly, she's getting tipped in casino chips. I thought that would be an odd thing to do. Do people also leave arcade tokens from the mall? Itchy & Scratchy money? Eastern European scrip?
A movie is not about what it's about; it's about how it's about it.
---Roger Ebert
Some questions cannot be answered
Who’s gonna bury who
We need a love like Johnny, Johnny and June
---Over the Rhine
First, let me say I love your first line. One of my past themes in some posts was the fact that very few Americans have friends who are in a different social/economic position than they are, which is a real shame. I don't think it is intentional, it is just that most people's business acquaintences make up a big part of their social circle, and cross economic-class friendships are actually far more rare than cross-racial friendships. I think it is the true demarcation in our society. I also think it is a real loss for everybody. My wife and I both work at universities, and we attend a church that has an upper-middle-class population. It makes it very easy to fall into the trap of only having friends who are in a similar economic poisiton. It was solved for us by youth sports participation, which, particularly in Durham, crosses all racial and economic classes.
As for the meat of your post, does she work in a hotel affiliated with a casino? If so, the chips are practically the same as cash and she may be doing better in tips than if it was actual cash (somebody may, out of convenience for them, leave a $5 chip instead of three one dollar bills).
Do you tip for take out?
Do you tip at Starbucks (or whatever coffe bar you frequent?)
~rthomas
I always tip 5 bucks. I'm not especially messy with my room, but I do appreciate it being ready for me when I get there. Yes, the hotel staff get paid to do it, but I look on it as a service performed like a restaurant wait staff performs.
Q "Why do you like Duke, you didn't even go there." A "Because my art school didn't have a basketball team."
Our household is split on this--my wife always leaves a couple of bucks when we depart the room for the final time, I just shake my head and ask "why". I must admit, however, that now when I travel alone I am starting to leave a buck or two in change when I leave. I just don't tell my wife what I have done.