How do I leave a tip for the maid?
 

Normally we do not leave a tip for maids at hotels. However, we're going to Vegas soon and a lot of the reviews of our hotel on TripAdvisor mention that their rooms either weren't cleaned at all or cleaned very late (6ish). So now I'm wondering if we leave a $20 tip on the first day of our stay and maybe $5 on the following days we'll get better service. If I don't see a maid in the hallway to give it to her directly, what's the best way to leave it in the room? I'm thinking to put it under the little thing you leave on the bed to get them to change the sheets since it seems like I've only seen envelopes for such tips in smaller hotels. Any ideas?

I leave a dollar a day on the bedside table.

We always tip our housekeepers, however, I've never tipped $20.00 a day. I usually lay a few dollars each day on the dresser with a note requesting more coffee, etc or just a 'thank you' for good service.

Leave the tip each day because there are sometimes different chambermaid on different days. The amount you leave should be dependant on what type of guest you are (messy or neat). I leave between $5/day (at standard hotels) and $10/day at upscale hotels.

I also tip $5 per day.

I have to rant...I cannot imagine tipping a housekeeper $1, or nothing as many do. People tip a bartender $1 for drawing a pint or mixing a drink. Total time invested is about 30 seconds to a minute tops. Housekeepers spend about 20 minutes cleaning up after you!

These are not invisible slaves, they are the people who will clean your toilet and fluff your pillow while NOT stealing your watch or computer!

A Traveller has it about right, as far as tipping on different days for different maids. However ...
Choose a daily amount you're comfortable with -- $2, $3, $5, etc.
I always leave a note with the money -- such as "for service." Some hotels forbid maids from picking up money that's "left" in a room, for fear of being charged with theft.

We tip between $2-$5 depending.

What you tip has absolutely no relation to what time your room will be cleaned.

If 500 rooms are vacated, those rooms will be cleaned first for the guests who are checking in that day.

My husband and I always tip $5 per day for hotel maid service. To be clear, I write "For housekeeping - thank you!" on a small sheet of paper and leave it with the money on the bathroom counter far from any toiletries. It's not a job I would want to do (cleaning up after other people) and I really appreciate the work they do.

I'm generally a $5 day tipper also.

Maids/housekeeping, in my opinion, are a lot more appreciative of tips than bellmen or doormen.

Merrytravel,
Is this your first time in the US as it is customary thruout the US to leave a tip for the maid. Unlike other countries, our unfortunate and hard working maids do not make a decent hourly wage and need the extra compensation.
$2. -5. per day, depending also left in the provided envelope.
Good luck!

I leave between $3-5 per day regardless of the "level" of the hotel since I tip based on the service I received.

In some instances I have given the tip directly to the individual when i knew they wouldn't be around to collect it on the day I planned to check out.

There is no "norm" for amounts and for that matter there is no "norm" for leaving anything for housekeeping as you can see.

Having worked as a bellBOY I can assure you they appreciate any tip just as much as anyone else does.

As to tipping upfront: I have found this works best on cruise ships where I always tip the cabin attendant at first meeting and make requests for how the bed is to be made up, etc. I also leave a tip at the end of the trip.

cybor: "Unlike other countries, our unfortunate and hard working maids do not make a decent hourly wage and need the extra compensation."

Which countries?
I sure can't think of any...maybe Canada?

I think the maids deserve a tip more than anyone else in the hotel! I am sure most don't tip, but when I think about the work they do, and the little they make, it's so important to leave something.
And like others said, don't leave a one time tip, because different people will clean on different days.

I am a $3.00-$5.00 per day kind of guy. I leave it on the pillow or someplace obvious on the bed. Most Vegas hotels have an envelope or a note with the maids name on it. I usually put that with the cash.

$20 on the first day is overkill IMHO.

I generally leave 3-5 dollars a day also, depending on the hotel. A travel agent friend suggested leaving it on the bed pillow, so that is what I have always done. I am afraid if I leave it on the nightstand or dresser, they'll think it's mine. I think the suggestion of leaving on the bathroom counter is good, too. I agree to leave it daily, as the housekeeping staff schedule changes.

Hello Joan,
I honestly can't answer your question but would suggest that you check online if wondering which countries standardly tip workers or if it's already included in one's bill.

The crux of the matter that the poster inquired about was tipping maids in the US. Sorry if I sidetracked anyone or hijacked this thread. My intent was to let the poster know that tipping a maid is very standard in this country.

Dukey,

While I am sure yo appreciated tips as a bellboy...with maids it is different.

I'll be almost everyone tips the bellmen for a few minutes work. I'd be surprised if the maids were tipped by more than 25% of guests and the maids clean bathrooms and work with chemicals.

Given the choice, I doubt bellmen and doormen with trade jobs with housekeeping...its dirty work and few tips

$2 per day per person. leave it on the unmade bed.

different people may clean your room different days so $20 at the start doesn't really make sense.

if there is no envelope and you feel the need to do something more, write "thank you" or "for the maid" on a slip of paper and leave it with the money.

Maids (they are generally called housekeepers these days) start making room checks for cleaning between 8:30 and 9 a.m. I always find the housekeeper in charge of our area on the floor and talk to her directly. If she is not the one to clean the room then she will pass the info on to the women who does do it. I always ask for early cleaning (while we are at breakfast) and it is always done. $3 is an acceptable tip. If your room is filthy (I have seen extremely messy rooms when walking down halls) then perhaps $5.

Frequently the same women will not clean your room everyday so it is best to do this daily and find the person directly if you can.

I leave $3 - $5 on my pillow each morning. I agree with Dick, though, and doubt that most people ever leave a tip for the maid.

MerryTravel: You should tip daily as the housekeeper might be different at some point during your stay. I tip $5/day, but I think each person should give whatever feels comfortable to them. I leave the tip on one of the night tables next to the lamp.

I am an ex-hotel guy, although it has been many years.

Housekeeper is/was the person in charge of that department. If maid is no longer the right title, how do you feel about: Room Attendant ??

Man I hate the PC stuff.

I just wanted to add that if I have a room with a kitchenette that I have used, I live a few extra dollars than I would if there weren't any dishes to take care of, etc.

Hi MerryTravel, I used to be a bellman here on the Strip and we get to know the housekeepers because we are also in and out of the rooms. What I found to be the most common for leaving tips for housekeeping was a few bucks each day. You don't really want to leave one big tip at the beginning or end because it may be your regular housekeepers day off, so you want to tip each day ensuring that the one cleaning your rooms is getting the tip. I also found that if you turn the sheets back and lay the money on the bed, they know that this is for them. If you leave it on a dresser somewhere, they are not supposed to take it unless accompanied by a note for them. Since they HAVE to make the bed each day, if you lay it out nicely for them, they will see it and be pleased.

For all lodging $5 on the pillow in the morning. You try making a living as a chambermaid! For better lodging an additional $2-3 on the bed for turndown service.

Works for me, follow your own budget and consience.

They make minimum wage (at least), not less than minimum wage, as do restaurant wait people. If everyone out there tips $2-5 per room, it can make a pretty nice illegally untaxed supplement.

To be clear, I'm sick and tired of paying the wages instead of the employers. I'm paying for a clean room with clean linen. Only if someone goes above and beyond to provide a service not included in the price of my room, will I tip. I work hard for not much money, too, and no one tips me.

"Only if someone goes above and beyond to provide a service not included in the price of my room, will I tip."

Hmmm...just what kind of service might THIS be? I can't think of much that you'd need that's not included in the price of the room, except maybe a maid-massage.

Joe that was crude and uncalled for!!! I too do not like this tipping practice in our country and agree that I should not be expected to subsidize the employers meager wages. However I cannot take the system out on the person. $5 to me is worth a lot less, than $5 to the person in housekeeping. If I felt I couldn't afford it, then I wouldn't tip. It's about what you can and cant afford another person as a gesture for their service.

My elderly parents, who were sophisticated hotel guests in their time, are shocked by the practice of tipping the room attendants. According to them, this was unheard of years ago.

We always leave a few dollars. I also leave Metro cards if I'm not going to be able to use them again.

But has this practice arisen because the minimum wage has not kept pace with the cost of living? When I was young, many of us had jobs as "chambermaids" during the summers. No one ever saw a tip.

I don'[t think my parents are wrong in saying this is something relatively new. If you're over say, 60, have you been leaving housekeeping tips all your life?

Wow, I'm just over 40 and I use the term chambermaid/////doomed I say doomed!!! I feel sooo older than 42!

For me, I started tipping room maids (and yes that is what they are called there) when I first began traveling in Mexico.

uh oh... I put quotation marks around chambermaid because no one was using it, and that is exactly what those student summer jobs were called in the sixties.

But I didn't mean that the word wasn't contemporary... we just seemed to be very careful in this thread with words.

The older part I was referring to was the lack of tipping in my day and in my elderly parents' day. My dad was a huge tipper, and he says he never heard of tipping the maid until I mentioned it in front of him about 5 years ago.

Does having to flip the mattresses once a week, moving furniture, picking up dirty diapers and who even wants to think about whatever else qualify for leaving a tip? Should one bring a check list to validate whether to tip or not? :?

Unfortunately, the systems in place in the US and I would expect it to not change in my life time. It is what it is.
So go ahead, part with the 2 bucks - it will be good for your soul! You may even help make someones' life better - now that's rich! :)

I understand both sides of this issue. I tip accordingly to how big of a mess I leave. I look at it this way: to me it is sort of intimate to have someone come in and clean up after you in these situations so I am polite, tip what I consider to be fair, & try not to leave any of my "unmentionables" laying around. Besides, if I leave something behind maybe they will turn it in to lost and found. There have been a couple of instances where we went to visit family staying semi-near and were talked into staying all night in their hotel room with them. I make sure to leave a tip especially in those situations just in case the host was not planning to leave one. (Reinforces or educates).

What gets me is the tip jar at Subway or some other fast-food place. How else am I going to get my food? Drives me nuts.

We are over 60 and have been tipping the cleaner ever since we've been traveling. We do it in Europe too--are you saying it's not customary there?

I started tipping the housekeeper when I suddenly became annoyed that my husband was tipping the valet parking attendant (usually a guy), the doorMAN, and the bellhop but not the woman that was cleaning up after us. It just didn't make sense to me so I fixed it and always leave a tip now.

I will admit that I never even thought of leaving a tip for a hotel maid until I saw something about here on Fodors. When I was growing up my parents who always left a healthy tip for food servers, never left a tip for the maid. I just figured it was like not tipping a sales person in a store, or any of the other service type jobs that don't get tips. I do leave change in the cup at Starbucks or Subway, if the counter help is friendly and efficient...those jobs suck as much as some of the others! I travel frequently and stay at better hotels and I don't leave a tip. I have asked several of my frinds who are generous tippers when dining out etc, and they also say they don't tip and had not ever considered it. I usually clean up before leaving the room. All they need to do is make the bed and leave clean towels if I don't put them back on the rack.

Well, I'm glad to see some of the more recent posts. I kinda felt slammed by my $1/day tipping. First, let me tell you that the maids have been VERY appreciative. Secondly, I stay mostly at mid-range hotels (Hampton Inn, Holiday Express, LaQuintas) most of the time, and most of the time for one night only. If I'm there for more than 1 night, my room is clean while I am there or I put the "do not disturb" sign on the door. I look for the maid to let her know and sign off my room on the checklist if needed. She seems relieved to have 1 less room to clean that day. I may switch out towels and empty the trash if there is anything in it. If I'm there for several days, and I'm leaving stuff scattered all over the room, the "Do not disturb" stays on the entire stay - because I do not want anyone going through my messes (stacks of paper, work stuff, etc).

I don't leave a messy room for the maid. I'd tip more if I did. I guess I have tipped more at higher end places - but am not sure I really have. I DID tip a maid $5 at a Ritz for something special and she'd give me handfuls of turndown chocolates every time I saw her and left extra toiletries in the bathroom. She must have REALLY appreciated the $5 :-)

I would venture a guess that a VERY small percentage of folks tip at the hotels at that hotel price point. I know that few of my co-workers tip hotel maids.

Next time you are in a hotel (large or small) and are walking down the hall while the housekeepers are cleaning rooms glance at some of the rooms as you go by. Filthy is how some people leave/keep the room. Beyond filthy in some cases. Last month I was at the Mirage in 'Vegas and was talking to the housekeeper who did my section of the floor. She said sometimes you just want to put plastic all over yourself and pray you do not get germs while cleaning the room. They do wear plastic gloves, but in some cases I don't think that is enough.

I do not know what housekeepers make at the major hotels in Vegas but I am guessing it is more then Motel6 along some interestate someplace. We stay at the Mirage and Treasure Island often and always try and talk to the housekeeper - in many cases they have told me they have worked there 4-5-6-whatever years because the major hotels pay better wages/benefits then they could get doing similar work elsewhere.

Does this mean they earn enough not to warrant tips ? No ... believe me, most of us on this board would NOT clean some of the rooms I've seen as I've strolled down the hallway to the elevator. Of course, I suspect the people who leave the rooms looking like a hurricane just hit do do tip.

As I said earlier, I always ask for early room cleaning (right after 9 a.m.) It's a request so I give the housekeeper $3 every day and let me tell you I always have EXTRA towels (lots of them), EXTRA kleenix, EXTRA shampoo/soap/lotion .. I've even had them hand more a few extra bottles of shampoo at the Mirage "here, take this home with you" :-)