Do you tip your maid??

[orv]

Question is just that. When you stay in a hotel, Do you leave a little $something$ for the housekeeper?

[sueshe]

$5 per day

[gourmetsue]

absolutely. We always tip on a daily basis rather than at the end of the stay in case it is a different person. $5 a day, sometimes more if they have gone above and beyon

[Jbird]

We do when we stay at resorts in countries such as the Dominican Republic, often leaving a tip and some little goodies, pencils, crayons, and things for the maid's family.

[vibrantflame]

When I first read the title, I thought you meant like your personal maid that cleans your house! I was like, you can afford a maid?!?! LOL

I always leave a small tip and a note (so they know it's for them).

[KrazE]

I worked in the hotel industry (housekeeping) when I was a teen during the Oka Crisis; the good tippers were the RCMP that stayed in the hotel, otherwise people barely left tips, and those that did left pennies which was about the rudest thing ever.

Unless you have worked in the industry, you have no idea how much work it was to clean 15+ rooms a day which includes the requirement of scrubbing the bathroom floors on your hands & knees as you are not allowed to use mops so when people left nothing but some pennies, it was a rude gesture.

This wasn't some slummy hotel either, it was upscale and the rooms were all newly renovated & quite fancy.

[Shwa Girl]

Question is just that. When you stay in a hotel, Do you leave a little $something$ for the housekeeper?

Yes!

Like gourmetsue, we don't leave it to the end of our stay.

We give the money in their hands - we do not leave it in the room. Personal touch. You would be surprised at the extra wonderful service you get. The maids appreciate it.

On the last day, if the service has been consistently wonderful, there is an extra tip. If it has been average, we give the same amout as the days previous.

Sometimes the maids have it hard - cleaning up rooms where there has been a massive and messy party. They don't get extra time for this. Some of them must report how long they spend cleaning and preparing a room - timed by their bosses to work faster.

It's not an easy job. I feel for them.

[deevious]

Absolutely yes!! Oh, and a small note of gratitude too!

[orv]

I recently started housekeeping(Will be a month this week) and it is HARD work. like someone else mentioned 15+ rooms a day. You have a 25 min time limit per room. And some of them are gross. You can't leave behind a SINGLE hair. I am not sure if its the person going in the room before me stealing the tips(Someone strips the beds of the blankets), or if people are just really cheap now a days. But in my 1 month of work I have cleaned well over 200 rooms(im horrible at math lol) and only twice have I got a tip. Once, a loonie. And once a toonie. Seems kind of cheap if you ask me. When you consider how much a server gets for simply bringing you food, you would think you would leave a little something for the person sanitizing your filth? lol Sorry for the rant. It just so frustrating and almost insulting when you see a few pennies and nickels sitting on the dresser when you walk into a room. Id rather see nothing than that. Ugh. lol

[orv]

By the way, you are ALL more than welcome to come stay where I work ANYTIME!!! lol I promise you won't find a single hair in your bathroom. Pinkie promise. The note idea is so sweet. I could only dream of walking into a room with something so thoughtful!!!

[KrazE]

I recently started housekeeping(Will be a month this week) and it is HARD work. like someone else mentioned 15+ rooms a day. You have a 25 min time limit per room. And some of them are gross. You can't leave behind a SINGLE hair. I am not sure if its the person going in the room before me stealing the tips(Someone strips the beds of the blankets), or if people are just really cheap now a days. But in my 1 month of work I have cleaned well over 200 rooms(im horrible at math lol) and only twice have I got a tip. Once, a loonie. And once a toonie. Seems kind of cheap if you ask me. When you consider how much a server gets for simply bringing you food, you would think you would leave a little something for the person sanitizing your filth? lol Sorry for the rant. It just so frustrating and almost insulting when you see a few pennies and nickels sitting on the dresser when you walk into a room. Id rather see nothing than that. Ugh. lol

The problem is that it doesn't seem to be the standard for people to leave tips, but I will tell you that I would not be surprised if the person stripping the beds is taking any decent tips when one is left for you.

Why do they have someone stripping the beds before you go into the room? That used to be part of the job when I worked in the industry which meant that you were fully responsible for the room.

I also hated the single rooms because they also had a couch that pulled out to a bed & people always messed those up too!!

[orv]

I kind of wondered why someone else stripped the room as well. Seemed weird to me. Especially when I started never getting tips. Although I don't think the person stripping the rooms would be taking the tips. If anything, I think it's the owner going in first. I hate to assume, and I know its not a SUPER fancy hotel (3 1/2 stars) but I figured at least loonies or toonies would be something I would see occasionally.. not once a month.. lol And the one time I got the two loonies, was an unstripped room I walked into WITH the owner...(just realized this now, I belive the toonie was also overlooked as it was up on top of the entertainment center) Thanks all for your input, Kind of sucks knowing I'm getting ripped off.... lol I have been saving the piggy bank change anyway. One day it will add up to something. Thinking happy thoughts for christmas.

[Shwa Girl]

Especially when I started never getting tips. Although I don't think the person stripping the rooms would be taking the tips. If anything, I think it's the owner going in first. I hate to assume, and I know its not a SUPER fancy hotel (3 1/2 stars) but I figured at least loonies or toonies would be something I would see occasionally.. not once a month..

Yup.
That's why we gave the money to the maid in person.
We actually introduce ourselves as the people staying in room 425 (or whatever)
No doubting then, if the tip got to the "right" person.

Sorry that you haven't gotten the tips you deserve.
Hopefully this thread will make a difference in how maids are tipped.
Just hoping...

[travel-mum]

My husband and I always argue over this. He thinks I undertip ($5) and I think he overtips ($10) per day. What does everyone else think?

[Shwa Girl]

My husband and I always argue over this. He thinks I undertip ($5) and I think he overtips ($10) per day. What does everyone else think?

Personal decision on how much to tip.
Depends on the hotel.
Depends on the service.
Depends on how much is in your wallet.