# How much do you tip the hotel maid? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 17, 2014, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-you-tip-the-hotel-maid/695730 "2014-08-17T01:39:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![arseNal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@arseNal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/arseNal)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2014, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-you-tip-the-hotel-maid/695730/61 "2014-08-18T21:15:42Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > True story, about 25 years ago and freshly divorced I was staying at an all but **abonedoned** motel in an almost ghost town in the california desert. The desk clerk was the maid and the manager and the daughter of the owner. We struck up a frienship that led to a little bit more. _That’s what she s… !_ Never mind. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2014, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-you-tip-the-hotel-maid/695730/62 "2014-08-19T02:18:34Z")
> [@TimeWinder](#): > > $5 a day (on the pillow). It’s never occurred to me to leave extra on the last day; it seems like all that’s doing is rewarding an employee at random. I guess I don’t have a problem with that, just never thought of it. The idea behind leaving extra on the last day is there’s a bit more effort in making the room ready again for a new guest, more than just tidying up for the same occupant. ---
**Author:** ![flatlined](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb9ed0/32.png) [@flatlined](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flatlined)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2014, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-you-tip-the-hotel-maid/695730/63 "2014-08-19T03:08:31Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > I’m surprised by the number of people that apparently have always done this. I’d never heard of it and it hadn’t occurred to me to do so. I do tip pretty good for everything else though so I’ll try and remember to include hotel maids as well. I didn’t learn about it until I was in my late 20’s. It was a real :smack: moment for me. Of course one should tip the person who is cleaning your bathroom…she is working a very hard job for minimum wage and no benefits. I don’t tip for the free shampoo, I do it because its a shit job. However, I do grab all the shampoo and stuff…not because I use it, I usually don’t…but because homeless shelters love it. Interesting answers here, thank you everyone. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2014, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-you-tip-the-hotel-maid/695730/64 "2014-08-19T03:26:38Z")
Only time I’m in a hotel-staying situation is when the Postal Service sends me to one of their schools (shortest was one week, longest was six) in Norman, OK. The training center there has a housing facility run by Marriott. They take pretty good care of me, and I leave a couple of twenties with a note saying “Thank You” on the day of my departure. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2014, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-you-tip-the-hotel-maid/695730/65 "2014-08-19T03:47:30Z")
$2 per day, a little more for each additional person in the room, an extra $5-10 if I needed something extra done due to my sloppiness (e.g., a pie of pie falls to the carpet) rather than their sloppiness (e.g., receiving a lipstick-stained towel). ---
**Author:** ![shiftless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@shiftless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shiftless)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2014, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-you-tip-the-hotel-maid/695730/66 "2014-08-19T12:51:34Z")
About $2 a day. At the end of the stay I’ll go $2 a day then add some more if I think the service was good. I should know better, I was the house man at a fairly nice hotel for a while in the 70’s and a buck a day was considered standard then. Some of the stuff chambermaids have to do is so disgusting, no tip can make up for it, but it helps. Like tipping a bartender, if you slip a chambermaid a fiver the first time you make a special request you might find your service improved. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2014, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-you-tip-the-hotel-maid/695730/67 "2014-08-19T14:30:00Z")
$2-3 a day, on the last morning. Tough job, low pay, it’s expected. I don’t leave messes, either. ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2014, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-you-tip-the-hotel-maid/695730/68 "2014-08-19T14:46:40Z")
$2-$5 per day. Leave it on the pillow. If it’s on a nightstand or table with no note the maid will assume that it’s just your spare cash and wisely not touch it. If in doubt there is no need to get an irate call to management over a tip. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2014, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-you-tip-the-hotel-maid/695730/69 "2014-08-19T15:49:18Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > I’m surprised by the number of people that apparently have always done this. I’d never heard of it and it hadn’t occurred to me to do so. I do tip pretty good for everything else though so I’ll try and remember to include hotel maids as well. It’s because when a person checks out, he usually isn’t with just casual aquitances. If you go out to eat with people, you see them leave a tip and that’s how you learn that it’s the way it is done, you’ve probably learned to tip at meals while you’re still a little kid, but most people don’t spend a lot of time in hotel rooms with people they don’t know that well (not that I’m judging those that do).🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Random\_noob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/53a042/32.png) [@Random\_noob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Random_noob)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2014, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-you-tip-the-hotel-maid/695730/70 "2014-08-19T23:23:19Z")
Depends on what kind of services the maid renders…Pay accordingly… If it just normal tasks like making the bed then I say leave them a goose egg because that’s their job. If you had a wild sex orgy perhaps drop them a 20 and leave the room without shame! ---
**Author:** ![F.Pu-du-he-pa-as](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c89c15/32.png) [@F.Pu-du-he-pa-as](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.Pu-du-he-pa-as)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2014, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-you-tip-the-hotel-maid/695730/71 "2014-08-19T23:55:14Z")
Wow, I’d never heard of anyone tipping the hotel maid. Does this vary by country? Because none of the guidebooks I’ve read (either US or other countries) have covered whether you should tip the hotel maid or not, which is what you’d expect if it were as widespread as, say, tipping waitstaff or taxi drivers. Also, for those of you who do tip the hotel maid, is this an expense you can typically get reimbursed for with business travel? If so, how does it work? ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2014, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-you-tip-the-hotel-maid/695730/72 "2014-08-20T00:16:28Z")
I think stuck a $50 in on top of what my wife left (and I hope my wife didn’t fish it out). Our maid was very sweet, told us lots about what was going on near us in Canada, put up with our odd schedule, and was just exceedingly nice. Honestly? she was so sweet, I felt like we should have taken our shoes off before going into our hotel room. If I’m ever lucky enough to get to visit Canada again (very unlikely, fortune being what it is), I’d choose that hotel every time. And if she was assigned our floor? I’d feel lucky. ---
**Author:** ![Jungian\_Camisole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8baadc/32.png) [@Jungian\_Camisole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jungian_Camisole)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2014, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-you-tip-the-hotel-maid/695730/73 "2014-08-20T00:57:20Z")
We are twice-a-year visitors to Las Vegas. The minimum that we tip housekeeping is $5.00 a day, unless we’re upgraded to a suite. In that case, we bump it up to $10.00 a day. While we are generally neat people, we also understand what goes into cleaning that type of room. I could not do the work that they do, and I appreciate their efforts. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2014, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-you-tip-the-hotel-maid/695730/74 "2014-08-20T14:18:36Z")
> [@F.Pu-du-he-pa-as](#): > > Wow, I’d never heard of anyone tipping the hotel maid. Does this vary by country? Because none of the guidebooks I’ve read (either US or other countries) have covered whether you should tip the hotel maid or not, which is what you’d expect if it were as widespread as, say, tipping waitstaff or taxi drivers. > > Also, for those of you who do tip the hotel maid, is this an expense you can typically get reimbursed for with business travel? If so, how does it work? It’s not as common as tipping waitstaff, but it is practiced in the US. Below I’ve linked to an article that talks about tipping culture in the US and mentions hotel maids under optional. In some hotels, they make it much more clear that they are hoping for tips, I’ve stayed in hotels where the maid left a handwritten note telling me what a pleasure it is to service the room and I think Kimpton hotels have an envelope out that says Tips for Housekeeping on it. When I travel for business, we follow the US government standards, which do not reimburse for tips. Each day you get a certain amount of money for Meals and Incidentals on top of the cost of your lodging. That money would cover the cost of the tipping. [http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g191-s606/United-States:Tipping.And.Etiquette.html](http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g191-s606/United-States:Tipping.And.Etiquette.html) > [@](#): > > Other optional tipping situations common to travelers include: > Hotel housekeeping/maid service: $2-3 per night up to $5, more in high-end hotels. Also more if there are more than 3 people in a room or suite. Leave the tip on your pillow or in a similar obvious place with a note that says thank you. Leave the tip each day when you leave the room, ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2014, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-you-tip-the-hotel-maid/695730/75 "2014-08-20T14:44:53Z")
I’m more motels than hotels; couple bucks a day for the former and about the same for the later but more often “end of stay all at once”. If I’m somewhere and have a more local gift card I didn’t use, I’ll often leave that as well with a note explaining. For example, I was down Virginia for work and was given a gas card ($25) for a chain I’ve never noticed up north here. My tank was full, didn’t want to risk forgetting I had it, so I included it with my tip. Nice thing about tipping places I stay regular - staff remembers what my luggage looks like and I do get slightly better treatment. I’m fussy on a couple points (pack my own pillows) and it helps. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2014, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-you-tip-the-hotel-maid/695730/76 "2014-08-20T14:57:16Z")
Also, if I’m in another country, on the last day I’ll commonly toss in whatever I have left in the local currency, of which I never have all that much anyway. The US dollars too, they’re good almost anywhere. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2014, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-you-tip-the-hotel-maid/695730/77 "2014-08-20T15:33:10Z")
I always intend to leave money for the housekeeper before I check out, but I almost always forget. Sorry, ladies. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2014, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-you-tip-the-hotel-maid/695730/78 "2014-08-20T16:36:30Z")
In motels that I stay at, the maid is almost always a member of the Asian family that owns the motel. It is not the general practice to tip the owner of an establishment. ---
**Author:** ![eenerms](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cdc98d/32.png) [@eenerms](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eenerms)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2014, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-you-tip-the-hotel-maid/695730/79 "2014-08-20T20:42:11Z")
Anytime I stay over one day I tip two to five a day depending on the place. I’ve stayed at places where the housekeeper has a little envelope with their name on it. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2014, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-you-tip-the-hotel-maid/695730/80 "2014-08-20T21:16:53Z")
Apparently I suck. I didn’t know about this. I hardly ever stay in a place more than one night, for what it’s worth. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-you-tip-the-hotel-maid/695730.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-you-tip-the-hotel-maid/695730.md?page=5)