I'm glad I asked because this has been an interesting discussion. My husband and I travel quite a bit, we just never thought of tipping the maid as standard. Apparently it's something we need to discuss since we're generally very clean, but I do love bringing home as many bottles of toiletries as I can carry. Thanks for all the helpful comments and advice.

Hello Mary2go,
Would you really want to stay in a room that only had a towel and bedsheet change only prior to your arrival?

I think it's all to easy to forget that someone needs to scrub the tub, toilet,tiles and sink, wash the floors, vacuum, dust, wipe off and polish furniture, empty trash etc. etc.
That's not even including maintainance issues like flipping mattresses, climbing up high to clean lights, cleaning blinds, etc.

If you choose not to tip, please be aware of what these hard working souls do indeed have to do much more than you think.

My point is, if you work for Minimum Wage, you shouldn't expect a tip, nor should you be expected to tip. Workers legally paid less than the legal minimum wage on the expectation of tips is a different bird (and they are taxed on the expected "wages"). To wit:the following are minimum wage jobs for beginners:
The guys at the local drycleaners are working in horrible conditions in the heat and smell in the back. No tip.
The burger flippers/fry makers at McDonalds, ditto: No tip.
Clerk at the department store on her feet all day: No tip.
Landscaping workers (legal or no)out in the elements all day: No tip.
My son, painting outside all day every day one summer, roofing all day the next: No tip.

I both tip and clean up before I leave the room! I don't make the bed, but I pick up and throw away any trash, gather towels, and put cups back where there supposed to be. I'm sick, lol!
But I'm a full time housekeeper in my own home, and I know what drudgery it is, and how underappreciated people are who do the most necessary, basic jobs.

Sylvia, do you realize that most housekeepers are not "beginners," but instead poor women who are likely supporting families. Your son, the painter, would probably not last long doing the work of a hotel housekeeper.

At minimum wage, you are maknig about $11,000 a year. Maybe that's enough for your son, but if he had a wife and kids, he couldn't make it.

Have a little bit of compassion and leave them a couple of dollars.

I'm a cleaner-upper too. For some reason I just can't leave a messy room for the maid. I leave them three to five bucks because I think we all need a boost at some time in our lives and if I couldn't afford it, I wouldn't be staying in a hotel. Sometimes I don't even have them clean the room, just ask them to hand me some new towels and cups, and send them on their way, just to give them a little break.

In some places I do worry that the "housekeeping supervisor" (or whoever that person is that walks around checking all the empty rooms), will steal the tip.

From this article: http://tinyurl.com/ymde6g

"According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average hourly wage of maids and housekeepers at all hotels is $8.32"

Obviously some make more, some less, but it's probably safe to assume the nicer the hotel, the higher the wage. For example, unionized room cleaners in San Francisco made an average of $15.09/hour in a survery published in 2004. Therefore, all of you who insist that we should tip the cleaners "to help them out" should start staying at the cheap hotels to spread the wealth to those most in need.

Just wondering, those of you who clean your room before housekeeping gets there - do you tip yourself too?

I haven't read all the replies; however, I agree with GoTravel that what you tip has nothing to do with when your room will be cleaned.

I also agree with everybody who said that housekeepers deserve a tip for their hard work.

If you want your room cleaned before a certain hour, call housekeeping and make your wishes known. A good hotel will honor your request if they can.

Well, Mike, I guess I just have to say "boohoo"; I've been working all my life, some good jobs, some not so great, some truly awful. I only earned tips as a waitperson. Many people work lousy jobs for little money to support themselves or a family--I dont see why I have to tip them just because of that. Where do you draw the line? And no, I don't like having to tip waitpeople either: the employers should be paying them an adequate wage.

"Well, Mike, I guess I just have to say "boohoo""

Wow. Pretty cold. Good luck to you.

Sylvia,
Unfortunately your point is redundent, as it's already customary to leave a small gratuity for the cleaning person. If you don't want to leave one, then don't, simple. Complaining about it won't make it go away. Perhaps you could start a grassroots effort to make it happen.

Same with wait staff, the systems in place and as much as it stinks it's here to stay.

You could, of course, dig yours heels in deeper and commit to travelling like the 'Chowda people' who come into my town, have a cup of chowder, a glass of water, complain about the prices and then stiff the tip. These folks also carry large bags that they fill with pks. of sweetner and salt + pepper shakers. Gotta love um

Wow! What a converstaion! I agree with sylvia3 about no tips for others and I agree that maids are suppose to get some...now I am all confused.
I am usually leaving money at the end of my stay because i thought they are having a jar and dividing at the end of the day all tips between them.
I do not know who told me that.

OK now should we tip beauticians? Taxicab drivers? All people we CAN tip?
I guess the answer would be:
if person's job can be improved with tipping then yes.
If waiters weren't hoping for tips I can not imagine how many restaurants would be out of business.
Hoping for tipping does does wonders doesn't it?
So opinions are split! Who will win?

Mike, I'm not cold, I'm a working person who is tired of being expected to subsidize other's salaries. It gets worse and worse all the time.
Cybor, I always tip waitstaff because I've worked those jobs and was not paid minimum wage. I disagree, however, that it is "customary" to tip for hotel room services.
(Perhaps we should all carry dollar bills around and throw them at every person one encounters who looks like they work hard for little money: I'll be the one saying "thank you kindly")

sylvia,
don't worry, you weren't COLD...some people just like to whine about anything. All sylvia said was the truth.
Tipping IS custom gesture for EXTRA good service above expectations.
Bed can be hardly made 'exeeding expectations' and YES all of us immigrants came to this country and worked min wages. If we were tipped to a VP slaries we would be all satying in hotels and taxicabs but we did not thank you all for listeniing.

"I disagree, however, that it is "customary" to tip for hotel room services."

Well, except that almost everyone here says it is customary. Just because you don't want to do it doesn't mean it isn't customary. There are other people who make more than minimum wage who are customarily tipped, like hairdressers and concierges.

We just stayed at a Wingate hotel and found a note from the maid asking for a tip! Basically, she indicated that she would be happy to get us anything that we needed if we called and asked for her by name and that tips would be greatly appreciated if we felt so inclined. Never had that happen before. We do typically leave a few dollars each day for the housekeeper ($3-$4 depending on what bills I have at the time) and I usually just take the stationary and envelope that the hotel leaves in the room desk and write "for the housekeeper" on it, put it in the envelope and leave it on the bed. Usually they will write "thank you" on the envelope. As someone in an above post indicated, I never thought about it until a few years ago reading about the idea here on Fodors.

I don't know where y'all live but around here housekeeping makes more than minimum wage and gets tips.

I live in a tourist town and you absolutely cannot hire someone for minimum wage.

My husband's dishwashers start at $12.50 an hour and most of his cooks make over 30K a year.

Yes, it would be nice to live in a tip-free world. But that's not the case.

And expressing appreciation to someone who is CLEANING UP AFTER YOU is hardly out of line.

We have left something for the hotel maid for years...unfortunately, I'm feeling like a piker as we are typically in the $2 category - on the other hand, in most cases, I'm talking about one-night stays, with no special requests.

I think it comes down to: would I want to have to do the job they do? No way! So I think a bit of appreciation is certainly in line. And - has been pointed out - we are talking about low-paid women on the low rungs of the economy. The difference between dropping a buck on a male bartender for mixing a drink or handing a beer or a male doorman for tweeting a whistle, and not wanting to tip the woman who is cleaning your toilet and sink and tub, etcetera....well, it makes no sense at all.

Well, frankly, I wouldn't want to be supporting a family even on "...over 30K a year", GoTravel. I don't know how the custom starts as to who gets tipped, but I have no problem tipping for people who do service jobs, especially things I would hate doing. It's a little harder to tip folks like waiters in high-end restaurants and high-end hairdressers, who I'm sure make a pretty nice salary, but nevertheless, that IS the custom in the US.

A single USD a day per person seems great except in NY; CA; UK, and Euro dominated western Europe, imhpo.
That includes private homes with maids and gardeners.
M (SMdA, Gto.)