Never have, no matter where I’ve stayed in the world. Can’t see the logic of it. I’ve paid to have the room and associated services and as long as they are provided that’s the bare minimum I’ll expect.
If something is not right I’ll politely ask for it to be put right (but no tip)
If I order room service and there is a gratuity included in the price, no tip. If no gratuity included, I’ll tip.
If I ask for something out of the ordinary, I’ll tip.
But the maid? no, never enters my head. If I ever saw an envelope expecting a tip it’ll be going straight in the bin, but I’ve yet to come across that.
When I was 21, and just starting to work as an interpreter, and also had only stayed in a motel by myself (which is to say, without my parents, only friends my age), maybe four times, I got an assignment to work with a woman who was training to be a maid in a chain hotel, probably a 3-star, or so. I found out what really hard work it was, what kind of crap they got paid, what kind of crap benefits they got (it was a national chain, so at least the full-time people got some benefits), and just generally that it was really hard and kinda demeaning.
I also learned that some people tip, and some people don’t, and that when people tip, it totally makes the housekeeper’s day, because their budgets are stretched really thin. One of them was on food stamps (which should tell you something, because she was working full-time, and still got food stamps), and was overjoyed when she got a tip, because she was out of something she really needed at home, and food stamps weren’t due for another couple of days. Another asked me if I’d give her a ride home, because she got tipped, and could offer me some gas money. I told her she didn’t have to give me gas money, of course I’d give her a ride home.
I’ve worked in hotels as an interpreter, or with disabled people on a work crew with a job coach, and it’s really a thankless job.
Hey, I sucked too. I only learned about it from the Board myself. Made sure to practice it on our last trip to the US a couple of years ago. Our previous trip in 2005, we stayed at a federal research facility in Honolulu that didn’t have maid service and a small B&B on Kauai where the house owners themselves took care of everything, so if I’ve pissed anyone off over this, it’s been a long time.
But I’d been thinking the standard was $1 per night per person (a total of $2 a night for the wife and me) plus $5 on the last day. Should it be $2 a night per person? That’s what I’m feeling from this thread.
If it’s a standard business or short-stay budget hotel/motel, then I do not tip. I also don’t tip in nicer “downtown” hotels. Even if I didn’t decline housekeeping (which I do), it seems weird to me to tip in those cases. The service is standard and non-personalized, and the staff rotate around (meaning I’m not even getting the same person each day). If I tipped every time I encountered a poorly paid service professional providing non-personalized, repetitive service, I’d be doling out singles left and right. I should say that I tip super generously in the “normal” tipping situations.
On the other hand, if it’s a bed-and-breakfast or mom-and-pop type place, or if there’s some expectation of (or request for) personalized service, then I tip.
For your run-of-the-mill stays at the Red Roof Inn or the Marriott or whatever, I have to imagine that the tippers are way in the minority.
The standard in the US is not tipping (cite). It’s a nice thing to do if you want, but it’s not expected and you’re not some kind of boor if you fail to do it or don’t leave the exact proper amount.
I would say $1 per night per person, but with a $2 minimum, and an extra dollar if you had pets. If you refuse housekeeping for the visit, you should make sure your trash is bagged up, or in the cans, your used towels are in the middle of the bathroom floor, unless the hotel request is something different, and the bedclothes are on the bed (no need to make it, though) and the TV remote is either on the TV, or on the nightstand between the beds. The maid should not have to spend time hunting for it. Then you should tip at least $5. More if you had pets, there are diapers in the trash, or you had several special requests. If you refused housekeeping once, but not the whole visit, you should probably put in an extra dollar the next day.
If you had sex in the bed, there are an excessive number of used condoms in the trash, your kid peed the bed, or you got your period, and bled on the sheets, plus there are pads or tampons in the trash, leave a few extra dollars.
If you were that guy when I was working training that Deaf maid, who left his poopy underwear (BIG turds) by the bed, you should have tipped like $25. No one should have to literally pick up your shit. You could have flushed the turds and thrown away the underwear, dude. You were a fully-grown man who was staying by yourself. There was no excuse for that.
I’m surprised by the opposite, but I’ve got to admit that environment/culture must have something to do with it. I grew up in a “city” that was based entirely on the tourism industry, and every person I knew growing up worked in a hotel or restaurant, as did most of their parents. At the very least everyone did some time in their teenage years (usually starting by 14 at the latest) and/or during summers home from college. of course, a large % of those jobs depended on tips, and almost everyone who worked for tips also tipped generously. So the chances were very high that you had a parent or other close relative who waited tables, cleaned rooms, ran a beach stand, or something similar. So you’d be intimately familiar with the economics and work functions of those jobs.
I’ve always kind of wondered what the maid would do exactly to warrant the tip. I never need more of anything, all my trash is in the trash can, and my towels are hung up. I understand that she makes the bed, but it’s not like she’ll launder the bedsheets every day I am there, just when I leave (unless I ever stayed longer than a week I guess). Does she vacuum the whole room or something? Does she scrub the toilet and shower every day? That seems unlikely.
I mean literally when this maid comes in the room all I can see her needing to do (while I’m there) is make the bed, take the bag out of the trash can, and if they’re not one of those “environment saving” hotels, give me a fresh set of towels. Otherwise, all she has to do is make the bed and take the trashcan bag. That doesn’t strike me as something particularly above and beyond that I should be tipping for. If she didn’t come in at all it really wouldn’t make any difference to me. Having a made bed means absolutely nothing to me.
I dunno. If someone said to me, “she cleaned up after your scuzzy ass” as a reason to tip I’d be perplexed. There’s nothing to clean up after. I’m not tracking mud everywhere and shitting in the bedsheets or something. I can expect her to vacuum the floor, launder the sheets, and scrub the toilet the day I leave because that’s just what they do regardless of room cleanliness but that doesn’t seem outrageous or anything.
Well, if you’re staying for just one day, it’s no big deal either way, unless you make a special mess. But if you’re there for a week, she can be very helpful- extra towels, extra bottles of shampoo, and so forth.
And, this is a terrible horrible reason- but studies have shown that people dont steal as often from those they feel are nice.
I usually tip $3-5 per night, don’t know where I got that, thought it was standard, I don’t know. I generally just leave it at the end of my stay, though I’ve heard its better to leave it every day as the staffing may change, but thats just a little too complicated for me, finding the right bills and so forth as I don’t carry much cash. I think the whole tipping thing is just out of control here in the US, and I live in NYC so its even worse, everyones got their hand out. At the same time I understand the cleaning staff doesn’t make much, and if I can afford to stay in a hotel, I can afford to throw them a few bucks, etc. Wish I could just add it to my credit card, or they were paid a decent wage.
I was under the impression that $2 was the norm for quite a few years. Taking inflation into consideration I’ve been giving $3 to $5 as of late. Depends on the service the hotel provides.