For a one-night stay, we do nothing. If it is longer, we try to find the housekeeper and give a small amount. Nothing big, but it is something.

We rent the same house every year for one week, I always leave a tip.

Yes, I do leave something for the housekeeper. Cash, that is. One night stay or longer, I leave a tip for each night I've had service.

Although I've left my 5x magnification makeup mirror more times than I'd like to admit. I'm so used to it on the vanity since I can't do eye makeup without it, it does not stand out as something to pick up when I'm packing to leave. I now have a bright red ribbon tied to the gooseneck of the one that lives in my overnight bag, alerting me to putting the darned thing into my bag when leaving ;0)

I just did that! I loved my hotel so much, I left a note that said thank you on the towels with a bill, left a note at the front desk and way over tipped the wait-staff. First time I've ever done that. Because I could. And they were good.

Yes, I always leave a tip for hotel maid whether its one night or more.

For an overnight stay in a chain hotel/motel? Never! Unless I needed to call on housekeeping for something extra. Otherwise there is no extra service that you need to tip for....it is just their standard room cleaning after a guest stay. At a B&B or when the stay is extended for several days to a week, then yes I do tip because I am receiving extra services. And I always tip for room service.

It depends on the size of the room, if we have any special requests and our location. . Usually our request is an earlier clean. We like to have our room done by noon when we are in the caribean or east coast beach area . . We usually leave $10 every day . If the request is not meet then we leave $5. For one nighters at a standard hotel while traveling we leave $5.

I do. Maids are underpaid, and it is a job I would not want to do, so if the room is clean when I arrive, I leave a tip.

Jim, how do you find the overall housekeeper, when you are leaving bright and early as I am prone to do? (And will she/he pass anything on to the person who was / will be actually cleaning the room?)

Everyone, glad about your insights.

Same as Jim...not for 1-night stay. But, never just leave it in the room for them

either.

A gratuity or tip is generally given in exchange for some sort of personal service. How is expecting a clean room when checking into a hotel/motel for an overnight stay "personal" service? It is just the standard, nothing more, and I do not find it to be deserving of a tip. Requesting and receiving extra towels or pillows or other non-standard services is something else and requires extra effort on the part of the housekeeping staff and those things I would tip for, either at that time or when vacating the room (usually it is the same maid/housekeeper that tends to the same rooms each day, so I leave the tip on the bed pillow).

I generally leave $2 - $5 per day in the room with a thank you note. The amount depends on the level of cleanliness. I don't leave a tip at AirBnB-type locations that already charge a cleaning fee.

I view what Gardengal sees as 'standard' and not 'deserving of a tip' as the same way as a server in a restaurant. It is expected that the server will serve my food to me and so that would not be 'deserving of a tip' if viewed in that way.

I think there are some professions that in our current society are commonly considered lower paying jobs that we tip for. In my personal opinion I see some of those jobs as food servers, hairdressers/barbers, hotel maids, nail salon techs and I'm sure there are lots of others that I just can't think of right now.

I am pleased to tip a hotel maid who is cleaning dirty toilets and handling dirty linens as I think she/he may appreciate a little extra money and recognition.

Timely thread, as I've just checked out of a hotel. I generally tip $5 a day, and sometimes more. Those who clean, serve, etc. don't generally make a lot of money, so I like to give extra, especially in large cities with a high cost of living, which is where most of our hotel stays take place.

I leave some cash every morning that I am in the room. They work hard & I appreciate what they do. I have been doing this since my first cruise.

In answer to the above question, we rarely leave early. Now that we are in our 70s, early doesn't work. My experience has been than most of these housekeepers begin their shifts about 9:00 a.m.. It is an easy task to locate them, and give the cash gratuity.

If we stay only one night, the room needs to be cleaned, no matter what. Nothing.

We do something special only for the women (usually) who work around our schedule and our messiness (What? Me?).

Before the missus and I were married (almost 24 years ago) and I was on-the-road selling, I did nothing. I assumed that their job was similar to mine. . . you get up, do the job and go home.

Overnight I tend not to leave anything. However if the person is older like the 70's appearing woman who was cleaning my row of rooms on my last trip or they take the time if they see me in the hallway to asked if there is anything special, extra towels/shampoos, etc they can do for me I do play lady bountiful and leave extra. For more than one night $5.

Recently I read that some hotels will allow you to add a tip to your charges which while handy I doubt if the staff ever sees much of that money.

I always tip the housekeeper, because it is a minimum wage job that mostly women do, and mostly mature women who may not have skills for other work and are supporting themselves or maybe children, too. Many immigrants do the work and some have limited English, which also limits their employment options. I feel like $5 isn't going to break me and if 10 or 20 rooms leave $5, it is a nice supplement to a low salary.

I never worry about tipping the actual person, because I imagine it all evens out over time between them.

Once I left a tip for the housekeeper and left for the day. I came back, the room had never been made up, but the guys who refill the mini-bar had come in and replenished the water and helped themselves to the tip. Grrr.

Yes. I tip a few dollars a night. If the room is done right upon arrival I will tip the first night. At smaller places where I "know" the one or two housekeepers I will wait until the last day or so I will leave or hand them a larger amount of cash at once. I actually find myself preferring to stay at smaller or boutique hotels rather than at large chains.

We just got back from a vacation at a resort in Turks & Caicos. We had the same woman clean our room every day - we chatted with her several times and she did an excellent job - we left her $100.

But a one or two night stay at a chain hotel, have never thought about leaving a tip. Hmm guess I should!

Whether you pay a per-visit amount for a cleaner at an airbnb or Vrbo or you pay a room rate at a hotel, you are paying for housekeeping. (Cleaning a condo is much more work than cleaning a single hotel room and bath.)

Some workers on a cruise ship have paid a bribe for the opportunity to earn tips.

Chisue, since I know the cleaning fee for an Airbnb-type place goes directly to the owner/manager and is usually greater than the cost of a housekeeping visit, I have no qualms about skipping the tip.

All ways. $5 a night.

Yes, I do. Usually a couple bucks per night, which probably isn't enough, in cash. For a few days one summer during college, I was a hotel chambermaid, and it paid minimum wage. It isn't always the same person cleaning your room, so if you wait until the end, someone may get cut out.

$5 / night. I leave it daily because the maid servicing my room can be different every day.

I always leave a cash tip, somewhere between 5 and 10 dollars. I know everyone doesn't do it (some people are clueless) and I hope it brings a smile to his or her face to receive it.

Sometimes but not usually. A few times the tips were still there when I returned to my room.

I've never left a tip for housekeeping.

I also, after an unfortunate incident in my early 20s where I had some much needed pain medication swiped from my room, always request no service.

I don't need or want some stranger in a room with my belongings.

I always do a trash sweep and gather all the laundry into a pile before I leave.

I do this both to help housekeeping and to make certain I don't leave anything behind.

I tip based on where we are, how long we stay, and whether I like the service. At some places, not much is done to the room. In Fiji, we stayed for a long time, got to know the maid, and so I gave her a tip. I know wages are low there. Occasionally in California I will take to the maids in Spanish and also give them tips, but at one place in Mexico (Palenque), I had money stolen from my room. I had left money in the pocket of a pair of pants that I had left in the suitcase, which I also locked, but someone picked the lock to my suitcase, went through my clothes, and stole money from one of the pockets. I had a 500 peso note and a 1000 peso note, and they stole the 500 peso note and left the 1000 peso note. I believe that 500 pesos was equivalent to $20 back then (around 1979), and I was on a tight budget, and so I was very aware of exactly how much cash I had. I was grateful that they did not steal the 1000 peso note, but if they had, I most certainly would have reported it. Since they only stole the smaller bill, I did not bother to report it. After that, I never left any money in my room, even in a locked suitcase.

Yes and No. If we stay at a hotel that we spend more than 1 night at and our bedding is changed (not just make the bed), and we are given clean towels then yes, I'll leave a tip. But if it's a one night stay and we never see anyone: no. Why should I?

Yes, always. 5.00 per night in a hotel, more if we stay longer. I appreciate what housekeepers do, and I certainly don't want to do it. If it's horrible service, I won't tip. I don't usually leave a tip at an airbnb, but we always leave the place spotless and I've already paid the cleaning fee.

Fun2BHere -- I'm missing something here. You pay the hotel the room rate, which includes the cleaning fee, and you tip the cleaner there. You pay the condo owner or booking agency the cleaning fee, but you don't tip the cleaner there. ???

FWIW, we charge guests $135 cleaning fee per stay, which is what we pay our cleaner. Regardless, the cleaner gets nothing extra in either circumstance unless the guest leaves one. (I once tried including the cleaning fee in our nightly rate and watched our inquiries dry up. We didn't look 'competitive' with other condos *at first glance*.) We tip our cleaner at Christmas -- $400 last year. We have a lot of repeat guests. We want to keep our good cleaner!

It's been a long time since we stayed at a hotel, but we never tipped housekeeping unless we asked for special service. Bellboy, yes. Room Service, yes. DH never tipped housekeeping when he traveled for business. We are both low-maintenance guests. We always tipped the room steward on a cruise, but that involved more service and over a longer period of time.

The difference between tipping at a hotel and not at a vrbo is that the housekeeper is an employee of the hotel and only makes an hourly wage. Vrbo hire independent cleaning companies or self employed individuals. They are not employees of the vrbo.

I tip $10 cash each night, in an envelope marked "Housekeeping". I worked as a maid for years during college, and it is not a pleasant job, and can be back-breaking. Not everyone has the capacity to get a job in an office, so I really appreciate the people who do the jobs I do not care to do.

I make sure I leave the room in very clean condition. All garbage is collected, nothing is left strewn about, and used towels are in one pile on the floor in the bathroom.

I tip in restaurants because servers make less than minimum wage. Housekeeping, while also grueling work, is paid at least a minimum wage. I feel (personally, for me) that if I start tipping everyone when they provide me a service "just because" they make a low wage....I'm not sure where to draw the line. I buy coffee almost every morning through a drive through - I'm sure they make minimum wage but I don't tip them. What about the people who serve me french fries at McDonalds (my guilty pleasure, don't judge me :) ) ?

What makes housekeeping different than any other minimum wage job that I encounter?

It honestly never even occurred to me to leave a tip for housekeeping until I read this post. Now you've all made me feel guilty and I'm reconsidering my stance. But as I said above - where do you draw the line for it?

patriceny, I agree with you :-) I will tip for some sort of personal service. A clean hotel room for a single night's stay is not any sort of personal service....it is what you pay for with the price of the room and is expected. Nothing out of the ordinary. I also seldom tip for any walk-up service - drive through windows, or ordering something at the counter. Unless it is a big order, like coffee for the whole office or a multiperson lunch run.

Always leave something, they deserve it.

When we stayed at the Banff Springs Hotel, one of the first things they told us when we checked in is, "tipping is NOT allowed" as it's included in the overnight stay. Considering how expensive one room can be for one night, I would hope so. They said their staff is also well paid. The service was impeccable.

Gosh, I really hate the whole tipping custom. I do it but I hate it. Right now we're on a cruise and I know a fairly healthy tip for our cabin attendant will be expected. My feeling, however, is why give someone extra for doing their job? They're getting paid at least a fair wage and in exchange they provide a service. And, now it's becoming expected in countries where it didn't used to be.

When we remember we do leave something for hotel housekeeping. I suspect restaurant servers and housekeeping are two areas where their pay and service are not equitable so we don't mind tipping in these instances. From talking with the crew members on various cruises, I'm under the impression they are well compensated for their services so, as I said, we'll do it but I resent the expectation.

No & I carry my own luggage & insist we find out own room. But I did leave my jewelry box out and the maid helped herself to my diamond earrings in Philadelphia. I was attending a wedding, needed fancy "things" for later. Then I left my bathing suit hanging to dry in the ladies pool changing room, while I dressed....remembered later and it was "gone"(the hotel was empty, middle of Winter in Glenwood Springs). Anthonys Key Resort in Honduras, the porters raffled through the suitcases and stole clothing, a camera, a sports bra/in a fancy case and that's just what my friend Jeannie was missing. I'd never seen such well dressed ladies in such a poverty stricken town. I asked one of the gals where she'd gotton such a fancy/pretty outfit...she said, "Are YOU accusing me of stealing it?" I said....I think you answered my question.

I offer NO tips....for anything...until were leaving, then I tip the whole crew as were settling up on our dive boat. I did give my Nikon camera, a little one, to an especially nice cook in Belize. If were "on the ground"....I tip individuals the day we're leaving....handing them $ each.

functionthenlook -- I don't follow your logic. Why tip the hotel employee who is paid wages and benefits but not the cleaner of a condo who is paid per job (no benefits). What difference does it make whether a corporation or a condo owner is paying the cleaner or whether or not the pay is per hour? Individual condos take different amounts of time to clean -- always much more time than any hotel room -- that's why the pay is per job. The hotel maid has a regular schedule and can often use public transportation, and the hotel provides cleaning supplies, paper products, and clean sheets and towels. If we are talking about who 'deserves' a tip more, IMO it is the condo cleaner.

whatsayyou18 -- Most cruise lines pay abysmal wages. Some workers pay bribes to get jobs where they can earn tips. Cruises wouldn't be affordable without so many workers from third world countries. (I have a theory that one reason cruise lines sometimes discount fares drastically just to attract enough passengers to pay (tip) their service workers.)

I leave 5 bucks every morning.

They're getting paid at least a fair wage and in exchange they provide a service.

Sad to say, I think most such employers count on tips to bring their employees up to a "fair wage", or closer to it.

chisue. We vrbo a place for our family vacation once a year. WE pay $221 cleaning fee for the week on top of the over $3000 rent. There is no one that comes in every day to change our towels, make the beds, vacuum, clean the bathrooms etc every day like in a hotel. I am getting no special service other than a clean place when I get there. And we always leave the place clean. If a cleaning person for a vrbo feel they need to make more money they just increase there rate and that is passed on to the renter not the owner. . An hotel employee can't do that. You are getting away cheep with the $400 a year tip. That only comes to under $8 a week tip.

During the winter hubby and I either go to Aruba or St Maartens all inclusive hotel for a week. . The hotel we always stayed at in St Maarten (until it blew away) paid their staff like $6 an hour. During high season they work 6 days a week. During low season they may only work 2 days a week. Their tips are put in an account for them to supplement their income during the low season. In the US depending on the state unemployment laws some hotel staff can not collect unemployment for the low season either. The one big reason we tip housekeeping, bartender, , and wait staff well is for GREAT SERVICE. We always have our room cleaned first like we want, plus a lot of little extra perks the non tippers don't get. We never have to wait for our drinks to be refreshed at the bar (heck the bartenders even bring us drinks even if we are not sitting at the bar and didn't order one) or have to stand in line waiting for a table to open up at the breakfast and lunch buffet during busy times. When they see us they pull us out of line and seat us right away.

The people who bitch the most about service are the ones who don't tip and don't know the words please, and thank you.. We are not wealthy by a long shot, but a few bucks in tips isn't going to put us in the poor house.and the return on those few dollars is well worth it. As the old saying goes "you get what you pay for".

Yes. $3-5/day. My grandmother was a hotel housekeeper, she had a lot of stories, many not good. I tip everywhere, even countries where you’re not “supposed to” tip because they pay a living wage. Every day.

I always leave a tip for the housekeeper. I put the cash in an envelop or on a note marked, "For the Housekeeper", to eliminate misunderstanding.