Comments on: Tip your hotel housekeeper … or else

By: Glory Mooncalled

Glory Mooncalled — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 13:52:00 +0000

I don’t pay people for doing their job.
I’ve also never been ripped off by a maid (so stop the scare tactics) and I have never, in my life, tipped. Not even on a cruise. I also don’t tip the pizza delivery guy for merely doing his job. You people are suckers, falling for peer pressure. Think for 2 seconds what a tip is for and then decide if someone just doing the bare minimum of their job deserves extra.

By: Mark

Mark — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 14:08:00 +0000

“unappreciative customer” …. I suppose many housekeeping staff in the US think this of most European customers, as we are not used to paying tips like you are in the States. We assume all staff is paid by their employer like here in Europe. Over recent years of travelling to the US it has become quite clear that more and more people you come accross while on vacation in the US need to be tipped and infact to a certain degree even demand it.

For us Europeans, a tip is something you may offer a helping or serving party, but is at the customers discretion and is paid to they amount the customer thinks the helping/serving party has gone out of his/her way to enhance the service which they provide(d) above what would normally be expected.
When we now travel trough the US it seems obvious that hotels/restaurants/themeparks/grocerystores are on purpose paying employees low saleries and assume that the maid, waiter etc obtain the rest of their wages from the already paying customer. In more and more cases these companies have no problem with infact stating these extra charges on signs and in rooms!?? This is what we would call fraudulent advertising. So now when you go out for dinner, the (online) adverts state an amout, but really the amout shown is the price of the ingredients and the gas to cook it. All other charges are added on later which means that you nolonger know whether the deal offered is really the best deal around.

All travellers have heard the same excusses about that Amercans think that taxes should be counted seperately because the big bad state and federal governments slush this away. And tips have always been counted seperately and are not part of your dinner cost?

Come on restaurants/hotels and other services providing companies…get your act together. Pay your staff a normal salery for what they have to do, advertise using the real amount the customer needs to pay upfront including all services and taxes. That way your staff doesn’t need to act as clowns half the time in their quest to get an income, or steal from you and/or your customers. Stop giving your customers a bad feeling as if they are thieves because they did not know what and whom they need to tip.
Do you realize what it does to your dinner experience and infact your vacation experience when a waiter chases after you for half a street because he wants to know why you tipped him a dollar less then the last couple!??

Please remember, we are on vacation which is already extremely expensive and most of us are not Bill Gates, some of us are waiters/cooks and other serving personel ourselves, so for us tipping somebody 5 to 10$ is a heck of a lot of money….

By: Los angeles maids

Los angeles maids — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 16:22:01 +0000

I tip if I think that I was provided with exceptional service. Otherwise, I don’t.

By: shannon

shannon — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 06:38:08 +0000

I am a hotel housekeeper for a nice hotel in the south. Everyone I work with works very hard. We are paid $5.00 for checkouts and $3.00 for stayovers and rarely get any tips. when we do it really makes our day. Everyone likes to feel appreciated and we can’t help if our employer doesn’t. If you are a paying customer and recieve extraordinary service, at least take the time to fill out a comment card stating just that.

By: J.walker

J.walker — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 19:17:02 +0000

Wow the trickle down theory in all of it’s failed promise. I tip people, of course for great service, but also for the invaluable connections it provides me that are otherwise difficult to make. When I tip people they open up vast amounts of information otherwise contained in if you do care I don’t care frame of mind. Everyone is important everyone. Maybe a tip would have provided you with info that the hotel room had last been occupied by a person with H1N1 or some other malady you might want to avoid. Room service may tip you to a nearby eatery that offers better fare than the hotel.How do you reward people for exceptional service, many of you expect a company bonus but are writing here that you should be paid what your job paids and nothing else. sometimes a tip rather than the nasty keep every dollar life ever gave you may save you. The cab driver who sees you into the building he dropped you at in a marginal neighborhood. Care and comfort because you needed it in the form of an extra towel or blanket. I’m so glad that the money that I help others with has also help me simply by giving it. Money isn’t always the medium of exchange. The people who work in places that we claim we would not work in can’t give us a dollar or two for showing up. Wow how about the unseen amount of effort to ensure we have an uncomplicated visit or meal. What about a safe comforable ride to and fro. What about looking out for us when we can’t for ourselves.

By: barbie45

barbie45 — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 21:04:28 +0000

tipping in South Florida is extortion; this is a service oriented part of Florida;when you tip there is no thank 99npercent of the time ; just a look gee could you not have tipped me more; even on delivery on which there is a delivery fee you are often asked how much change you want back; whenever thaat is said i say all of it; some places like Publix have a no tipping policy ; however when i find the service exceptional i will tip; i am fed up with tipping period; if you are unhappy with your job find a better one.

By: Istok

Istok — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 18:15:31 +0000

Why on earth would your tip be based on room rate? So if the room is $200 you leave 2$ and if it $500 you leave $5?!!!! OMG talk about stupidity. So the person that works in the high end hotel makes less so they need more tip? I am not following this.
I think 2$ at checkout for one nights stay is a decent amount. If I stay more than one day and I am having my room cleaned during my stay I will walk up to the cart and ask for some toiletry and than ask if they will be cleaning my room and give the person $2 ahead of time. I do not have the room cleaned daily, I am not a pig.
I worked for many years in the hotel industry and the housekeeping staff are just shit on all the time by everybody unknowingly. Then the guests go out and pay some order taker/salesman (yes that is what waiters and waitresses have become in the corporate restaurant industry) 20% for trying to push some overpriced drink and appetizer. They do not even bring the food to you anymore. So they get $5 for yapping while the housekeeper gets $5 for cleaning your toilet, washing the tub (don’t forget changing the curtain), sheets on the bed, junk on the floor, vacuum,…all this IF THEY WORK IN A $500/NIGHT HOTEL. If they don’t than they get $2 but the waiter still gets 5$ because he suggested those buffalo wings and that pint of margarita.
16 rooms a day= 20+ minutes of busting ass per room
If it really came down to who deserved it more, who do you think should should get a tip?

By: robin

robin — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 16:34:29 +0000

I have been a housekeeper for over 4 years. and while i don’t exspect a tip it sure does make the day a little better knowing that my back breaking work is well appreciated. as for the one comment above from bela that we make more than min. wage. WRONG!! And not for the lack of our work either. I bust my butt daily to give people a comfortable, clean room to stay in. I have also found that the ppl who make the least amount of mess are the ones who tip. So, no it’s not required to tip, however next time you stay in a hotel and love the clean room, it’s nice to throw a buck on the pillow as a way of saying hey, your hard work is appreciated.

By: Marilyn

Marilyn — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 20:15:01 +0000

I am a hotel housekeeper . From my viewpoint, I found many of your comments demeaning and incredibly self centered. I work in mid-size hotel. I make 8.25 an hour, That is the standard wage for every housekeeper that works for this chain of hotels whether or not she has put in one year of service or twenty, I have no health care, no dental plan, no sick days. I do have two weeks paid vacation. I, and all my fellow housekeepers work our butts off cleaning your room in the prescribed time allotment- often skipping our breaks and meals to meet quota, risking injury lifting heavy mattresses over and over daily so we can ensure you have a nice clean bed . (By the way-I don’t know of any hotel chains who only change sheets weekly-ewwww….! We change them every second day or daily if the guest requests it be done, and many do) . We scrub toilets, and wash floors on our hands and knees just like the gals on TV who are doing ‘hard time”- but they don’t have to buy their own groceries.We breathe in the vapour from at least four noxious cleaning sprays. We bend over so many times in a days picking up clutter and trash its a wonder our backs don’t give way like a summer twig. We have to be incredible perfectionists-ensuring that when you see your room for the first time-its spotless. We worl hard because we don’t want to get fired, we all need the money we earn, and we feel terrible when a guest complains because we rushed and missed something We WORK damned HARD for little pay and practically no recognition. We always have to be accomodating, polite, and dutiful, even when a guest is being fussy and we know that accomodating his desires will make us fall behind on our time for the day. Yet… we take real pride in providing you with a nice clean room. We take pride in making you as comfy as possible EVEN if you cannot reward our efforts with a small tip. We don’t expect tips-we really don’t. When you leave a tip just makes our day a whole lot brighter . And we always tell the other girls, “Mr. so and so in room 107 left a tip”! You can bet Mr. 107 get’s GREAT service when we know he is back in town. Mr. 107 is special, he’s a rare bird, and we don’t forget it when someone is simply kind. TIps are rare for us to receive and it makes us feel like we are appreciated when some nice guy or gal leaves a small gratuity. We are providing you with service-its a simple as that, and in a huge slice of North America – it is standard to tip for a service. If you don”t like that, please join a housekeepers lobby group so we can get a higher wage and smaller workload .

Yes, from a financial viewpoint, this is a crappy job but someone HAS to do it -we are the foundation of the hotel industry. Yep, you are right, anyone with a good education or super duper self esteem probably won’t be found cleaning toilets. But we all are incredibly hardworking, HONEST to a fault, and if you are not-you are ALWAYS immediately let go. We really do strive to make your stay pleasant and enjoyable-even if you don’t see our faces most of the time. Do we deserve better pay? YES! Are we likely to get it? NO! (we have no voice you see) Do we expect a tip? NO! Do we deserve a tip if we deliver good service! YES!

By: Bill Rowell

Bill Rowell — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 12:15:22 +0000

SERVICE industry….. I repeat SERVICE industry ……. right. I average 280 nights a year on the road. I travel with a 70lb tool kit, a suitcase with 5 days worth of work cloths and a 35lb computer bag. I stand 6’2″ and weigh 220. I can move my bags VERY efficiently and prefer to load them myself.

While in LA once, I was going from National car rental to LAX (D*** I HATE rental car buses!) I stepped up to the bus and had to fight off the bus driver to load my bags, and I mean EVERY BAG, I told her I could do it, held on to my bag, had to work my way around HER. Mentally I’m going “Lady, do I LOOK like I need your help???”.

When we get to the terminal, I yank both of my big bags off a bus in about 3 secs flat and then return for my computer bag (I’m good at this, I do it EVERY DAY), She’s standing in the aisle with her hand out. I pretend not to notice and get off the bus, stack my bags and look back, she’s STILL at the top of the stairs WITH HER HAND OUT!!!!

I make a good living, sure, but I still know exactly when payday happens. If I were to tip every time somebody touches my bags, cleans my room, GIVES ME A PAPER TOWEL IN THE TOILET (Geesh, don’t you LOVE Charlotte Airport!). I could rip through my $35 per diem, before I eat a bite! I refuse to backcharge my company for tipping, I tip for Good Service and Attitude. I’m starting to find that I really appreciate my trips to Korea and Japan where tipping is almost an insult.

By: Brandon

Brandon — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 13:38:14 +0000

I’m a little shocked by the comments from the cheap seats here…$2 a day is extortion?!

Sure, they SHOULD have better wages, they SHOULD have a union, they SHOULDN’T need tips…but hotel owners and management are brutal when it comes to thinning the margins, and that includes what they pay the housekeepers and staff.

Similary, we SHOULD have healthcare for all in the U.S., and we SHOULD have the lowest infant mortality rate of any industrialized country (instead of the highest)…but reality is oh, so different than it SHOULD be.

I use the Do Not Distiurb sign for my entire stay, no matter how long, and I still leave $5 to $10 depending on the length of the stay.

It just seems fair, to me.

By: J Mathews

J Mathews — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 12:13:51 +0000

I come from the UK, and regularly travel on business to the US. Unless a housekeeper does something exceptional I NEVER tip. Why should I?? I pay my bill, and the housekeepers are NOT my employees.

Tipping is for exceptional service – for which I always tip hansomely.

I think over the past few years America has kind of lost the plot with tipping. It has actually turned into bribery. For example if you want a decent coffee at your favourite global coffee chain in America – make sure you pt a tip in the jar at the till when you pay. To me, that is just bribery.

And as for tipping bartenders in Manhatten at 2 dollars a pop – that sucks!!

By: Stephanie

Stephanie — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 23:07:21 +0000

I’m so sick and tired of people in the hospitality industry feeling ENTITLED to tips. Tips are earned by exceptional service. Not something to be expected as part of your pay.

Someone who would be so dishonest to raid the mini-bar of a guest’s room and stick them with the bill should be fired for theft – plain and simple.

If you don’t get what you feel is a reasonable tip, then step up your game next time.

By: Alex

Alex — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 21:24:16 +0000

Tipping is appreciated by hotel staff, but it’s definitely not mandatory. I travel often for work on the order of 2-3 days per trip and I always leave the “do not disturb” sign up. Unless I spill something in the room (which is never) I do not leave a tip. I find it wasteful to have to clean my bathroom every single day, make my bed, and change my towels (towels left on the hook letting them know NOT to change it are in my experience always changed anyway). I’m very low maintenance and I can take care of myself. I don’t need to be coddled and frankly am not in my hotel room except to sleep and shower and watch a little local TV. So, if you really want to avoid tipping just leave the DND sign on your door.

By: Lily

Lily — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 22:38:20 +0000

I work as a housekeeper and a host at an upscale Bed and Breakfast, and yes, tips are greatly appreciated. It’s appreciated when a guest has been staying with us for a few days, and we’ve changed sheets, cleaned showers, etc. It’s not such a big deal to skip a tip when you only stay for one night, but please, if you decide to pee in the shower before leaving, or have a period mishap all over the sheets be kind and leave a couple of dollars for the person that has to clean up something unexpected!