# How much to tip hotel housekeeping? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 5, 2018, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-to-tip-hotel-housekeeping/817331 "2018-07-05T15:57:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2018, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-to-tip-hotel-housekeeping/817331/41 "2018-07-07T05:39:53Z")
Typically, $5/night. One time, in Portland, I happened to be in my car in the parking lot as the cleaning staff was making its rounds. I watched the manager take the tip money I had left for housekeeping. Is that standard procedure? I spent several weeks in a hotel in Colorado Springs and always left a fiver on the pillow. The housekeeper never took it. I wonder if she thought I was trying to set her up for a theft accusation? ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2018, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-to-tip-hotel-housekeeping/817331/42 "2018-07-07T08:33:37Z")
> [@Horatio\_Hellpop](#): > > I spent several weeks in a hotel in Colorado Springs and always left a fiver on the pillow. The housekeeper never took it. I wonder if she thought I was trying to set her up for a theft accusation? This is why I always make it VERY clear that I left the money for housekeeping. I sometimes mention it to the front desk if I think of it. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2018, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-to-tip-hotel-housekeeping/817331/43 "2018-07-07T10:05:22Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > I get the notepad and pen that are always in the room, wrap a piece of paper around the money, and write “housekeeping” on it. I usually leave it in the center of the dresser, by itself. I never heard of leaving it on the pillow. I too leave the tip on the pillow. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2018, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-to-tip-hotel-housekeeping/817331/44 "2018-07-07T12:37:08Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Leftover booze? Never heard of that.😕 While it is something that can be avoided, I know I’ve occasionally bought a six pack of beer and had to leave one or two behind the next morning. I always assumed the hotel staff enjoyed the leftovers. It’s too much of a hassle to deal with a couple of beer bottles if I’m flying out or if I’m driving and don’t have a cooler. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2018, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-to-tip-hotel-housekeeping/817331/45 "2018-07-07T12:39:44Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > While it is something that can be avoided, I know I’ve occasionally bought a six pack of beer and had to leave one or two behind the next morning. I always assumed the hotel staff enjoyed the leftovers. It’s too much of a hassle to deal with a couple of beer bottles if I’m flying out or if I’m driving and don’t have a cooler. Although I prefer a Bloody Mary as an eyeopener, I’d enjoy them with a McMuffin and coffee. ---
**Author:** ![eenerms](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cdc98d/32.png) [@eenerms](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eenerms)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2018, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-to-tip-hotel-housekeeping/817331/46 "2018-07-07T15:02:05Z")
> [@Grumbacher\_Red](#): > > Pffft! I just take what I want off the cleaning cart as it sits in the hallway. Plus, after a few years of living half my working life in hotels, I have way too many shampoo samples. I take all the samples, pack up a bag and give them to the domestic violence center. Most times the women leave with nothing. ---
**Author:** ![Ispolkom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e47774/32.png) [@Ispolkom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ispolkom)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2018, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-to-tip-hotel-housekeeping/817331/47 "2018-07-09T01:30:53Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Leftover booze? Never heard of that.😕 Note the location: Marquette, Michigan. Canadians visiting the US enjoy our relatively inexpensive liquor, but aren’t going to pay the duty to take back a few beers or a half bottle of hooch. They have full bottles up to their limit (and whatever else they hide in secret compartments) when they cross back into Maple Leaf Land. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2018, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-to-tip-hotel-housekeeping/817331/48 "2018-07-09T01:44:18Z")
I leave the do not disturb sign up for the entire stay. I use one towel the whole time. The room pretty much spotless when I leave. It never occurred to me to tip. ---
**Author:** ![nate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nate/32/13085_2.png) [@nate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nate)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2018, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-to-tip-hotel-housekeeping/817331/49 "2018-07-09T01:58:48Z")
It never occurred to me to tip and I don’t hang up the do-not-disturb sign because I like to come in to a nice clean room with the bed made. I didn’t realize tipping the cleaning staff was this common. Maybe I’ll start doing that. But I hate tipping. Not because of the money, but because I never know when it’s appropriate and I never know how much to tip. And I never seem to have cash on me, so that’s a problem. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2018, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-to-tip-hotel-housekeeping/817331/50 "2018-07-09T02:39:40Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > Why more when you are outside of the US when tipping is much less of a thing world-wide than in the States? This. I’d never heard of tipping housekeeping until I started travelling in the States. I stayed at a hotel that had pre-printed envelopes by the telephone that said “Housekeeping” on them, and thought: “Huh. I guess that’s a thing here.” ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2018, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-to-tip-hotel-housekeeping/817331/51 "2018-07-09T06:10:26Z")
> [@nate](#): > > I didn’t realize tipping the cleaning staff was this common. I think it’s more common in this thread than in the actual world. Fewer a third of hotel guests in the USA leave tips for the housekeepers [according to this article](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/30/business/hotel-housekeeper-tipping.html). (And if that’s based on self-reported behavior, I bet it’s even lower, like church attendance.) ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2018, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-to-tip-hotel-housekeeping/817331/52 "2018-07-09T20:31:11Z")
> [@Lord\_Feldon](#): > > I think it’s more common in this thread than in the actual world. Fewer a third of hotel guests in the USA leave tips for the housekeepers [according to this article](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/30/business/hotel-housekeeper-tipping.html). (And if that’s based on self-reported behavior, I bet it’s even lower, like church attendance.) I dont always tip on one nite stays. Otherwise, pretty much all the time. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-to-tip-hotel-housekeeping/817331.md?page=2)