Do you tip your cleaning crew during hotel stay?

Do you tip your hotel maid service?

  • Never. It's part of the price I paid up front.

    Votes: 10 29.4%
  • Only if the service is above and beyond normal expectations.

    Votes: 7 20.6%
  • Always a couple bucks for each night.

    Votes: 17 50.0%
  • Always a ten or so for each night.

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    34

vraiblonde

Board Mommy
PREMO Member
Patron
If I'm there for more than one night I always put out the "do not clean" sign until the night before we are departing. I don't expect them to make the bed and vacuum and such each day. If I want fresh towels I exchange old for new. Right before check-out I make sure all used towels and floor mats are in the tub, make sure all soaps and other stuff such as empty or used bottles are in the trash can. I make sure the dryer cord s wound up and the dryer put back under the cabinet. When I leave everything is back in its place and the stuff they have to clean is organized and ready for easy pick up.

I don't leave the room a wreck, either. :high5: :lol: Wanna go on vacation with me?
 

MMM_donuts

New Member
I was a housekeeper for a while in college but I worked at a small, local place. Our most frequent guests were long term construction workers and nascar fans. I was one of two housekeepers. We were paid by the hour (minimum wage) as opposed to per room.

I didn't even know tipping the housekeeper was a thing until I worked there. It was never expected but always appreciated. Oddly, the people with the cleanest rooms were the ones that tipped.

I honestly enjoyed the work. It's pretty active, there's a good sense of accomplishment at the end of the day, and I could listen to music the whole time.

My takeaway was this, I almost always let them exchange the towels or take the trash, just to get credit for the room. Mine was a great place with a cool owner but some of the larger places really abuse their staff. I almost always tip.

My room is always neat and clean. It's easier to find stuff and to notice if something has been touched or moved or is missing.
 

Larry Gude

Strung Out
Based on what you describe, I agree you should tip and you should tip big.

If I'm there for more than one night I always put out the "do not clean" sign until the night before we are departing. I don't expect them to make the bed and vacuum and such each day. If I want fresh towels I exchange old for new. Right before check-out I make sure all used towels and floor mats are in the tub, make sure all soaps and other stuff such as empty or used bottles are in the trash can. I make sure the dryer cord s wound up and the dryer put back under the cabinet. When I leave everything is back in its place and the stuff they have to clean is organized and ready for easy pick up.

You can ask Vrai. I SORTA pick up. But, I'll have gone through all the towels. All the coffee. All the soaps, stolen the aloe. Lost the remote. Trash can over flowing.
 

BOP

Well-Known Member
Based on what you describe, I agree you should tip and you should tip big.

If I'm there for more than one night I always put out the "do not clean" sign until the night before we are departing. I don't expect them to make the bed and vacuum and such each day. If I want fresh towels I exchange old for new. Right before check-out I make sure all used towels and floor mats are in the tub, make sure all soaps and other stuff such as empty or used bottles are in the trash can. I make sure the dryer cord s wound up and the dryer put back under the cabinet. When I leave everything is back in its place and the stuff they have to clean is organized and ready for easy pick up.

Mega-dittos...we could be twins that way.

Typically, we leave $20 - $30 dollars for a week; more if we've been there longer.

We stayed long-term at a place with a kitchenette and the same young lady took care of us over and over. We got to know her fairly well...young, single mom. We checked out not long before Christmas, but before we said goodbye, we gave her $100.00 bonus in addition to the $20 a week we'd been giving her, and bought her a trip to the local day spa. On top of that, we left gift certificates for the local grocery store for the whole staff, small as it was, so everyone could have at least a turkey or ham for the holidays.

It really is more blessed to give than to receive.
 

Blister

Active Member
Usually $5 for a one night stay, a little less for multiple days. We also don't really care for maid service during a short stay, and will just request trash emptied, more coffee, and fresh towels every day. Maybe I feel a little guilty for some of the hotel disasters I was a coconspirator in, in my younger days.
 

MMM_donuts

New Member
I also don't use a housekeeper at home.

.......although, if anyone wants to be my housekeeper and be paid purely through love and attention, I'd be awfully happy to work out a deal.
 

musiclady

Active Member
I've worked the front desk at a hotel. I pity the poor housekeepers for some of the rooms they have to clean. Many people are decent, but some.... Crap (literally) flung on walls in bathroom, condoms on the floor, needles IN the bed. Yuck. We don't usually get that kind of clientele, but you never know. The worst messes are left by the contractors who live out of the hotel short term. Beer bottles, food crushed into the floor. Burn marks on sheets, blood from drunk fighting, overflowing trash, spilt beer. Some bring grills inside the room and cook spicy foods. Try to get that smell out of the drapes. The foreign guys try to rent one room and put 8 guys in a room, until caught! The sweat smell is unbearable.

Anyway, the housekeepers are paid minimum wage. The one who cleaned your room one day many not be the one who cleans it when you check out. So tips left in an envelope do not necessarily get to the right housekeeper. I'd try to get the person's name and leave it at the desk.
 
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