Tipping- Am I an asshole??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I tip housekeeping staff routinely but based on this thread, I will do so only if I stay at a hotel for several days or housekeeping provides some sort of exceptional service.

I really thought it was the done thing to tip housekeeping staff.

PP's point about tipping the staff at work who clean the bathrooms is also valid. Why would there be a distinction between housekeeping staff at a hotel and those at my place of work? I doubt the latter make much more than the former in wages from the employer.

Why would you now stop tipping? Because there are people who are saying they don't? But many are saying they do!

[Anonymous]

Interesting discussion.

It looks like there are three schools of thought:

First, tipping is intended to reward an employee whose regular wages are based on an assumption that the employee's income will be supplemented with tips to raise it to a reasonable level eg waiters.

Second, tipping is warranted when service is over and beyond what would be expected. In this instance, tipping is not the norm but it is a recognition of extraordinary service.

Third, tipping is a form of "social equalization" where the goal is "wealth sharing". It is better explained in last paragraph of the following article.

http://www.wisegeek.org/why-do-we-tip-for-some-professions-but-not-others.htm

Most of the disagreement on this thread seems to emanate from the "social equalization" aspect. Posters pretty much agree that the first and second rationales warrant tipping.

[Anonymous]

I don't tip hotel staff. But then I rarely stay in super fancy hotels (Hilton Garden Inn is my usual). I also don't allow the cleaners into my hotel while I'm staying there. I just thought it was wasteful how they always give me new towels when I didn't need them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't tip hotel staff. But then I rarely stay in super fancy hotels (Hilton Garden Inn is my usual). I also don't allow the cleaners into my hotel while I'm staying there. I just thought it was wasteful how they always give me new towels when I didn't need them.

They don't change sheets and towels daily anymore unless you ask, or if you stay longer than 3 nights.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't tip hotel staff. But then I rarely stay in super fancy hotels (Hilton Garden Inn is my usual). I also don't allow the cleaners into my hotel while I'm staying there. I just thought it was wasteful how they always give me new towels when I didn't need them.

They don't change sheets and towels daily anymore unless you ask, or if you stay longer than 3 nights.

They still change towels daily. I travel constantly. I even left notes telling them not to. It's just easier not having daily housekeeping. Unless they wanted to leave me chocolate on my pillow. I would tip to get that service

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not tipping because one believes management should pay higher wages is simply unfair to the worker. Your message is not landing with its intended audience.

Not tipping because one believes the employee should "get a better job" is a dick move by a person who is not fit to live in a civilized world.

This wouldn't bother me if the people who do that were involved in organizing workers for better pay. But as you say, pp, failing to tip and then not even mentioning this issue to the hotel management isn't getting a message across to anyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Always tip housekeeping. I do it by the day, used to do it at the end but was informed that staff can change day to day so leaving it on only one day may stiff some staff, so I do it daily.

So those of you who do it by the day, how do you make it clear that it's for the housekeeper and not some change you left out? Do you put it on the unmade bed?

I leave it with a note (the hotel notepad usually) saying "For housekeeper, thank you." So there is no question that it's not misplaced, forgotten, etc., housekeepers are often very careful/wary of dealing with cash, etc., lest they be accused of theft, so best to be explicit that it's for them.

Thanks, pp. I will now tip on a daily basis instead of when I'm leaving for good. Appreciate your advice.

[Anonymous]

Wow. I guess many of you have never worked in the service industry. My summers waiting tables in college clued me in on a few things -- tips ARE part of wages. Like someone noted in a prior post, the prices are lower because the customer is paying part of the wage. I'm not sure about hotel workers, but when waiting tables, you are taxed on projected tips. So, no, they are not some "reward," they are actual wages.

As others have noted, these are low-wage jobs and very hard work. Tips are part of the f-ed up compensation system. This isn't Europe where tips are built into the bill -- you have to actually pay them, regardless of service.

As for the original question, I have stayed in a lot of hotels for work. I used to leave one big tip at the end of my stay until housekeeping folks told me that it was more equitable to leave money each day since the people cleaning the room rotate. A note is good too as others have pointed out. I leave $2-3/day unless I made a huge mess, in which case I leave $5. I don't use concierge services, so I don't tip, but I do tip the valet parking guy and the bellman a couple of bucks.

To those who don't tip -- stop being so selfish and cheap! If you don't want to tip, don't use the service.

[Anonymous]

I never realized it until this thread but this issue has been controversial for a while as indicated by the discussion and heated arguments on another forum:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/travelbuzz/1338108-would-you-tip-housekeeper-20-30-per-day-5-hotel.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow. I guess many of you have never worked in the service industry. My summers waiting tables in college clued me in on a few things -- tips ARE part of wages. Like someone noted in a prior post, the prices are lower because the customer is paying part of the wage. I'm not sure about hotel workers, but when waiting tables, you are taxed on projected tips. So, no, they are not some "reward," they are actual wages.

As others have noted, these are low-wage jobs and very hard work. Tips are part of the f-ed up compensation system. This isn't Europe where tips are built into the bill -- you have to actually pay them, regardless of service.

As for the original question, I have stayed in a lot of hotels for work. I used to leave one big tip at the end of my stay until housekeeping folks told me that it was more equitable to leave money each day since the people cleaning the room rotate. A note is good too as others have pointed out. I leave $2-3/day unless I made a huge mess, in which case I leave $5. I don't use concierge services, so I don't tip, but I do tip the valet parking guy and the bellman a couple of bucks.

To those who don't tip -- stop being so selfish and cheap! If you don't want to tip, don't use the service.

So when I check-in into a hotel, what does the rate I pay for the room cover?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I never realized it until this thread but this issue has been controversial for a while as indicated by the discussion and heated arguments on another forum:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/travelbuzz/1338108-would-you-tip-housekeeper-20-30-per-day-5-hotel.html

The people on that forum are notoriously cheap

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People I tip:

Restaurant servers
Bartenders
Food delivery
Hair dresser
Housekeeping
Bellhops if they carry bag
Ballpark vendors, although that's usually just rounding change
Movers

People I do not tip:

Coffee baristas (they make decent money)
Ice cream scoopers (ditto)
Takeout food
Business owners (i.e., photographers, landscapers)
Grocery delivery
Newspaper delivery (I would if it were a kid, but not the adults).
Sanitation workers

I tip all these people. Because who knows, some day I may be in their shoes.

All of them work harder than I do. All of them make less money than me. It seems like the least I can do to tip them in exchange for their hard work. For me, a few bucks a day doesn't make a difference. For some of them, it might. It just seems like good karma to me to tip them.

This.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe we need some guidance on who we should not tip:

How about the women who clean my house? The guys who mow my lawn? Sales personnel who get minimum wage? Fast food workers?

All of these people barely make a living wage even if they make minimum wage.

I tip my house cleaners each time they come to the house. They work for a company. Doing the math...they don't get much.
Holiday tip to my lawn and yard crew.

[Anonymous]

If it is not tipping housekeeping staff, it is how much to tip after a pedicure................

http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/373033.page

I am just amazed that tipping and how much to tip can create so much controversy and obnoxiousness.

[Anonymous]

I don't understand the "they don't make much money" argument. All kinds of people work hard for not much money.

If you worry about this there are all kinds of ways to deal with it: campaigning for more tax credits, raising the minimum wage, providing free education and healthcare or whatever. I don't see how leaving a few dollars on a pillow for one particular person is a serious solution to this issue.