How To Tip a Hotel Maid

I don’t tip in the US as usually the maid is never the same day to day. I do tip in 3rd world countries where I know the maid will receive what I leave for her. I always tip for special requests.

I usually leave about $3 per day or more, depending what kind of hotel I’m in.

We tend to tip at the end of the stay and leave it on the desk in the bedroom.

It’s shameful, but I’ve never even thought of tipping the chambermaid! In Canada, where ones and twos are coins and the first bill denomination is $5, would that be the minimum tip one could leave?

Yes, it should be fine to leave $1 or $2 coins. Don’t feel like you have to leave a whole $5 bill. Just don’t leave a stack of smaller coins in lieu of a larger denomination.

My wife is a maid and she works in a hotel in New York.
Most people never leaves a tip after a stay she tells me.
American are the most generious of those who do. People from Asia usually leave a dollar per day. Those from Great Britin the least likely to leave a tip with the mess they leave behind, but they are the most demanding of services.

There are exceptions to all this, but the British are really cheap skates, perhaps this is why they are still considering them selves as worthy of service from colonist servants as their due. I guess it is a class thing that they carry with them when they leave home. They even carry the empty shopping bags home with them from the designer stores that they come here to get great prices and saving from not having to pay the VAT. My wife said she wonder what they do with them at home.
when a tip is added to the bill at the front desk, maids never get the tip, some floor manager for the maids snak into the room before the maids get there and steal the tips, as do some bell men who remove your luggage for check out.
the best thing is to give it in her hand if you can daily, or leave an envelope daily marked for her.

She works very hard my wife, 14 or 15 room per day. She worthy of you tip. She is very good at her job, tip or no tip

If the hotel is good enough for the price I paid I will leave a tip. But sometimes my experience is just awful and then I don’t care nor do I think they deserve a tip.

I leave $5 each day. For a few dollars more than she might be hoping to get, I can make someone happy who’s not earning very much. Once I even got a Thank-You note from Housekeeping.

To 6: In the UK, there is no tipping required/expected in the hotel. The maids are paid their wage by their employer. It is the same probably everywhere in Europe. So people do not tip quite often because they do not have the slightest idea they should! Also when I’m on a bussiness trip, my employer will reimburse me the cost of the accommodation, but not the tips. Why should I pay instead?

The easiest would be if the US service industry paid decent salaries and tipping came to an end. Pretty much the norm in the rest of the world. The system will fix itself if everyone stops tipping so I think that is the way to go…

I remember a time I stayed at a hotel in Gran Canaria for a few weeks and the maid service was fantastic. I had a bunch of Euros left over so I had the owner of the hotel bar who I’d gotten to know write a little note in Spanish for the maids and left the cash with the note thanking them.

I do not understand why we tip the chambermaids, are they not paid an hourly wage or at least minimum wage? As with any job other than a waitress, who gets paid up to $3 an hour and their livelihood is based on tips, I am failing to understand why they deserve a tip for doing their job. Unless I am misinformed, and chambermaids are paid less than minimum wage, I am trying to figure out why we tip people for doing their job.

For several years I have tipped the hotel maid about $3/day which seemed to be prettys standard. However, when we recently went on a trip I felt it inadequate in light of today’s prices of gas, food and other necessities, so I upped my tip to $5/day.

Servers in the US seem to think that tables are their little profit centers. Well, they are the place where people eat their food! Why should patrons be responsible to pay servers wages? If they were paid properly, it wouldn’t be such a game or power trip for them!

For those who suggests that chambermaids and waiters/waitresses should be paid adequately and, therefore, would not need tips… keep in mind that until (or unless) this changes, they do still rely on tips for their livelihood.

Another thing to consider is that the reason they are paid so little is because employers assume that tips can be relied upon. After all, why should an employer pay so much if they know the employees will be collecting a bunch in tips directly from the patrons?

Given this, a certain amount of control is given to the customers as to the chambermaid’s income. Think of it this way… if you hire a self-employed plumber, you pay him directly what he invoices you. He isn’t being paid an hourly wage… he is paying himself from the money he collects from you. For employment situations where tips are customary (waiters/waitresses, chambermaids, etc…) their income is partly paid by the employer and partly paid directly by the customer. It’s like a cross between a self-employed plumber or a regularly employed worker.

So, when you pay the hotel, you are paying for the upkeep of the hotel, the landscaping, the staff, etc… but only PART of the chambermaid’s income. The OTHER part of the income is expected in the form of tips. By deciding not to leave a tip, you aren’t encouraging the employers to pay more… and you aren’t changing any customs… you’re simply saying that you think the person who cleaned your room should get a reduction in pay, and you are actively controlling this by leaving a tip or not leaving a tip.

to 9: It may not be customary in your country. However, when traveling, it might be a good idea to learn local customs, etc of the country you are going to. It is my understanding that the maids here rely mostly on tips. How much is it to ask to leave even a small amount to try and help brighten someone’s day who works extremely hard for very little money? If you can afford to travel to another country, you can certainly afford it and if your work is footing the bill then that is the least you could do.

I’ve been very frustrated recently. I’d love to know what others think of this situation. Because of circumstances, I’ve needed to stay in a hotel the last two months, about 4 days every other week. Now, since I’m only here four days, and I really need the quiet to study and work, I prefer not to have housekeeping disturb me while I am working. And I also prefer not to have to leave in the morning, especially if I have already started my studies while they are cleaning the other rooms. So I always put the Please do not disturb sign on the door immediately. The hotel is nice – probably about a 3 star – not exorbitantly expensive, but clean and safe. So, I really do like the hotel. But the last time I was here, the maid called me the day before I was to leave and asked if she could collect her tip a day early as she had forgotten her lunch money – even though she had not yet provided any services. I was so stunned, that I went ahead and gave her a tip. The next day, I realized she was off and so felt guilty enough to give the maid that would actually be cleaning my room another tip. This stay: the first day I am here, I walk by her on my way back to my room. She asks if I will be needing services. I smile and say “No, thank you.” As I start to walk by, she laments that she will probably only earn $1 in tips that day. The second day she calls, wakes me from a nap, and asks if I will need services. (The sign is still on my door). Again, I say, “No, thank you. “. Today, again the day before checkout, she calls and says, “Is there any way I can get the tip early?”. Now, she has not entered my room to do any work at this point. As I haven’t gone to the bank yet to refuel my cash supply (today’s agenda), I simply tell her that I don’t have any cash on me. However, I am finding myself outraged at this behavior. It seems incredibly rude and presumptuous to me.

I have always tipped the hotel maid at the end of my stay, but lately I have noticed that hotel maids tend to decrease their room service if you don’t tip everyday. I end up having to call the front desk for items that should have been replenished. I’m not sure how I feel about this. I think a tip should be something that acknowledges a service performed well, but when that service is not performed well, I don’t think a tip should be extracted from the guest just to get the service that has already been paid for with the room. It almost feels like manipulation, and I think this is something hotel management should be aware of and addressing. My first job as a teenager was cleaning hotel rooms, and a tip was always a delightful surprise, not something I felt I was owed.

Many years ago, I worked as a hotel maid. The supervisor always checked the rooms when the customer checked-out. She always pocketed anything ‘good’ that was left. Please leave your tips daily!