Maid Tipping
Nov. 1st, 2006 03:58 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
livingdebHow much should one tip a hotel maid?
Here is my history of hotel maid tipping (not to be confused with cow tipping): 1) Do not stay in hotels (therefore do not tip). 2) Stay in hotels, but ignorantly refrain from tipping. It turns out that, unlike cows, maids do like to be tipped. 3) Tip $1-2 per night.
Now I have been in phase 3) above for many, many years, during which time there has been some inflation. In the olden days, I stayed in $20 hotels and left $1 on most days and $2 on the last day. So that’s 5 – 10% of the cost. Now I stay in $50 hotels ($80 at Disney World). The same percentages would mean tipping $2.50 on most days and $5 the last day ($4 and $8, respectively, at Disney World). But I’ve still been reading that $1 – 2 is still appropriate
Until last week. J.D. of Basic Tips on Tipping: How Much and To Whom?, Get Rich Slowly wrote that maids should be tipped $2 – 5 per night, and this (and other tipping amounts) are recommended based on web research “[a]fter browsing dozens of pages.”
J.D. also says that recommendations vary widely on how much to tip for various things. So I looked around myself. I found that recommended dollar amounts ranged from $1 to $9 per day based on various different factors.
CNN Money says to leave “$2 to $5* per night” with the asterisk directing one to The Original Tipping Page which recommends “$5 a night minimum. More if long stays (over a week) Consider $7 to $9 a night.”
More per night for long stays? I would have guessed this opposite. Is this because we tend to get messier and messier the longer we’re there? Or because of the bribe factor—if you’re there a long time, then better tips will get you better service?
Infoplease says, “Maids are often forgotten about when it comes to tipping because they typically do their work when you are not around. For stays of more than one night, $1 per night is standard.”
Is this implying that for stays of only one night, you don’t need to tip? Because you don’t care about how good a job they’re doing after you leave?
EHow’s How to Tip a Hotel Maid says, “Tip a maid $3 per night in an upscale hotel, $1 per night in other hotels. If you stay for a week, a bit more (perhaps $5 to $7 a night) is appropriate.”
Is the place we’re staying at next considered “upscale,” because it’s pricy, or not, because it’s the cheapest place in Disney World?
The Independent Traveler says “$1 - $5 per night (the messier you are, the higher the tip)”
So maybe if my tips have been sucking, they haven’t been too poorly received when I was neater. I once worked with someone who had worked as a maid before and I asked her about things people can do to make their jobs easier that they might not realize. She told me to leave all the dirty towels together in one place, like on the floor in the bathroom, and I do this.
About.com says, “A wide range is acceptable here, depending on the level of extra service and hotel level, but generally from $1-$5 per night. It is best to do your tipping daily, since you might have different people cleaning your room. (If you are tipping at the end of your stay, some suggest leaving it in pocket change, which would slow you down at airport security anyway). Whatever you decide to leave, be sure to put the money in a sealed envelope, clearly marked, so there is no confusion as to who it belongs to.”
I always just leave the bill(s) on the pillow unless there is an envelope provided. How do you clearly label an envelope? Can one count on one’s maid reading English?
The Savvy Traveler says, “Americans still aren't accustomed to tipping housekeepers. And they may have the most thankless jobs in the place. Leave a few bucks for every day you stay. Better yet, tip your housekeeper in person when you ARRIVE--after all, then you know the right person is getting the cash, and you might find an extra mint on your pillow or bottle of shower gel in your bathroom.”
Support for the bribe theory.
Here’s some information, in the article Tipping Is Part of Travel, So What About the Maid? by Joe Sharkey in The New York Times:
Fourteen to sixteen rooms per day? Now I wonder how many hours they work per day.
TravelSense (“owned and operated by the American Society of Travel Agents”) says, “$1 to $2 per night (extra for upscale hotels or if room was particularly messy).”
I must have been getting my previous information from travel-agent-based sources, who are biased to make you think a vacation will cost as little as possible so that you’re more likely to go on vacation more often (using their services). Creepy.
One way to look at how much to tip would be to look at the base salary. I know wait staff do not make minimum wage before tips, but what about maids? Steve Huettel says “Housekeepers in businesses and private homes earn a mean wage of $8.67 an hour nationwide” in Tip tips: when, and how much. The same column also cites a study of leisure travelers that found that “half never or only occasionally left a tip in their hotel room.” Given that hotels “require housekeepers to clean 15 or 16 rooms a day,” then assuming that those people who do leave a tip are leaving $1 per day, that’s $7 or $8 a day extra; not much. I don’t know how many hours they typically work per day or per week, either.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics says that, in 2004, the median hourly earnings of maids and housekeeping cleaners in hotels and other accommodations was $7.81.
I learned from Kitty Bean Yancey’s Maid for a Day that the 14 – 16 room per day figure is for full-time work. Also, maids do more work on the day you check out than on other days. To me this means you should pay more per day for a short visit than for a long visit.
In conclusion, here are my conclusions.
1) Let’s say I want to make sure that the maid is making enough money. The $7 – 8/hour salary is higher than I expected; therefore the need for tips is not as great as I expected. My employer has raised our minimum wage to $11/hour in efforts to bring it to a good minimum living wage. Since maids do about 2 rooms per hour, I could do my fair share by adding $3 - $4 per hour or a tip of $1.50 - $2.00 per day. Since only half of leisure travelers tip, I can make this “living wage” more likely by tipping $3 – 4 per day. Since that fits right in with the $2 - 5 recommendation, it’s not even that weird of an idea.
2) Let’s say that I want the money to go to the right person. I should continue paying daily because room assignments can change daily. This will also lead to bribery incentives, which I suppose will make it less likely that my glasses are spit-polished.
3) Let’s say I want to pay more when they do more work. Then I should pay more on the last day and keep my costs down by keeping the room clean.
4) Let’s say I want to pay the staff of swankier establishments more. I can use the percentage calculation from the beginning of this entry.
In conclusion, here is my final conclusion. I’m going to start leaving $2 per day on most days and $4 or $5 on the last day. Maybe an extra $1 at Disney World (I’ve been saving $1 bills). And an extra $2 if I’m a slob, like I bring a bunch of sand in or something.
Here is my history of hotel maid tipping (not to be confused with cow tipping): 1) Do not stay in hotels (therefore do not tip). 2) Stay in hotels, but ignorantly refrain from tipping. It turns out that, unlike cows, maids do like to be tipped. 3) Tip $1-2 per night.
Now I have been in phase 3) above for many, many years, during which time there has been some inflation. In the olden days, I stayed in $20 hotels and left $1 on most days and $2 on the last day. So that’s 5 – 10% of the cost. Now I stay in $50 hotels ($80 at Disney World). The same percentages would mean tipping $2.50 on most days and $5 the last day ($4 and $8, respectively, at Disney World). But I’ve still been reading that $1 – 2 is still appropriate
Until last week. J.D. of Basic Tips on Tipping: How Much and To Whom?, Get Rich Slowly wrote that maids should be tipped $2 – 5 per night, and this (and other tipping amounts) are recommended based on web research “[a]fter browsing dozens of pages.”
J.D. also says that recommendations vary widely on how much to tip for various things. So I looked around myself. I found that recommended dollar amounts ranged from $1 to $9 per day based on various different factors.
CNN Money says to leave “$2 to $5* per night” with the asterisk directing one to The Original Tipping Page which recommends “$5 a night minimum. More if long stays (over a week) Consider $7 to $9 a night.”
More per night for long stays? I would have guessed this opposite. Is this because we tend to get messier and messier the longer we’re there? Or because of the bribe factor—if you’re there a long time, then better tips will get you better service?
Infoplease says, “Maids are often forgotten about when it comes to tipping because they typically do their work when you are not around. For stays of more than one night, $1 per night is standard.”
Is this implying that for stays of only one night, you don’t need to tip? Because you don’t care about how good a job they’re doing after you leave?
EHow’s How to Tip a Hotel Maid says, “Tip a maid $3 per night in an upscale hotel, $1 per night in other hotels. If you stay for a week, a bit more (perhaps $5 to $7 a night) is appropriate.”
Is the place we’re staying at next considered “upscale,” because it’s pricy, or not, because it’s the cheapest place in Disney World?
The Independent Traveler says “$1 - $5 per night (the messier you are, the higher the tip)”
So maybe if my tips have been sucking, they haven’t been too poorly received when I was neater. I once worked with someone who had worked as a maid before and I asked her about things people can do to make their jobs easier that they might not realize. She told me to leave all the dirty towels together in one place, like on the floor in the bathroom, and I do this.
About.com says, “A wide range is acceptable here, depending on the level of extra service and hotel level, but generally from $1-$5 per night. It is best to do your tipping daily, since you might have different people cleaning your room. (If you are tipping at the end of your stay, some suggest leaving it in pocket change, which would slow you down at airport security anyway). Whatever you decide to leave, be sure to put the money in a sealed envelope, clearly marked, so there is no confusion as to who it belongs to.”
I always just leave the bill(s) on the pillow unless there is an envelope provided. How do you clearly label an envelope? Can one count on one’s maid reading English?
The Savvy Traveler says, “Americans still aren't accustomed to tipping housekeepers. And they may have the most thankless jobs in the place. Leave a few bucks for every day you stay. Better yet, tip your housekeeper in person when you ARRIVE--after all, then you know the right person is getting the cash, and you might find an extra mint on your pillow or bottle of shower gel in your bathroom.”
Support for the bribe theory.
Here’s some information, in the article Tipping Is Part of Travel, So What About the Maid? by Joe Sharkey in The New York Times:
First of all, ignore the laughable advice from the American Society of Travel Agents, frequently reprinted on Internet sites about travel and tipping, that $1 a day is standard for the maid.
Big spenders, those travel agents. Actually, $3 to $5 a day is more like it.
And keep in mind that hotel maids worry about being accused of stealing loose cash, and sometimes will not pick up a tip if they aren't sure it is a tip.
So leave the tip on the pillow with a note that clearly indicates what it is. I usually write, "For the housekeeper." Mr. Dougans says he merely writes, "Thanks."
He said he marveled at the physicality of the housekeeping job. It has become more intense in recent years, especially as hotels in the upscale and luxury niches have added luxurious new beds and bedding.
Take a look at those swanky beds. They have duvets. They have half a dozen pillows and heavy 300-thread-count sheets — usually three sheets, rather than two, per bed.
Now think about the extra work involved in making those swell beds. Yet in most hotels, the maids are still expected to do the same number of rooms a shift, usually 14 to 16.
Fourteen to sixteen rooms per day? Now I wonder how many hours they work per day.
TravelSense (“owned and operated by the American Society of Travel Agents”) says, “$1 to $2 per night (extra for upscale hotels or if room was particularly messy).”
I must have been getting my previous information from travel-agent-based sources, who are biased to make you think a vacation will cost as little as possible so that you’re more likely to go on vacation more often (using their services). Creepy.
One way to look at how much to tip would be to look at the base salary. I know wait staff do not make minimum wage before tips, but what about maids? Steve Huettel says “Housekeepers in businesses and private homes earn a mean wage of $8.67 an hour nationwide” in Tip tips: when, and how much. The same column also cites a study of leisure travelers that found that “half never or only occasionally left a tip in their hotel room.” Given that hotels “require housekeepers to clean 15 or 16 rooms a day,” then assuming that those people who do leave a tip are leaving $1 per day, that’s $7 or $8 a day extra; not much. I don’t know how many hours they typically work per day or per week, either.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics says that, in 2004, the median hourly earnings of maids and housekeeping cleaners in hotels and other accommodations was $7.81.
I learned from Kitty Bean Yancey’s Maid for a Day that the 14 – 16 room per day figure is for full-time work. Also, maids do more work on the day you check out than on other days. To me this means you should pay more per day for a short visit than for a long visit.
In conclusion, here are my conclusions.
1) Let’s say I want to make sure that the maid is making enough money. The $7 – 8/hour salary is higher than I expected; therefore the need for tips is not as great as I expected. My employer has raised our minimum wage to $11/hour in efforts to bring it to a good minimum living wage. Since maids do about 2 rooms per hour, I could do my fair share by adding $3 - $4 per hour or a tip of $1.50 - $2.00 per day. Since only half of leisure travelers tip, I can make this “living wage” more likely by tipping $3 – 4 per day. Since that fits right in with the $2 - 5 recommendation, it’s not even that weird of an idea.
2) Let’s say that I want the money to go to the right person. I should continue paying daily because room assignments can change daily. This will also lead to bribery incentives, which I suppose will make it less likely that my glasses are spit-polished.
3) Let’s say I want to pay more when they do more work. Then I should pay more on the last day and keep my costs down by keeping the room clean.
4) Let’s say I want to pay the staff of swankier establishments more. I can use the percentage calculation from the beginning of this entry.
In conclusion, here is my final conclusion. I’m going to start leaving $2 per day on most days and $4 or $5 on the last day. Maybe an extra $1 at Disney World (I’ve been saving $1 bills). And an extra $2 if I’m a slob, like I bring a bunch of sand in or something.
Upscale
on 2006-11-02 02:29 pm (UTC)Sounds like a reasonable approach. For what it's worth, I don't think an $80 hotel would count as "upscale."