this post was submitted on 14 May 2024
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Is it a 'thank you for prepping my room' or 'please clean my room today'? If you tip post cleaning, it's likely going to someone else the next day. Many hotels now only do housekeeping on demand. How do employees feel about this - do they miss the tips or are they happy for a less stressful workday?

ETA- I'm in the US. Does the rest of the world tip housekeeping? I always have when traveling because I do at home, but I don't know what the norm is.

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[–] [email protected] 72 points 6 months ago (2 children)

My dudes in North America really have the most unstructured social support system.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 6 months ago (2 children)

Don't look at us. I'm north american and have been in hotels plenty of times and have no clue what this dude is talking about.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 6 months ago

Tipping people or not tipping people isn’t what’s perpetuating the system. Those who do tip aren’t at fault, it’s the ownership class exploiting workers so hard that they’ve delegated even their one, most basic duty off onto the customer: paying their fuckin employees.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 6 months ago (1 children)

You still have a 20% tip at restaurants, it’s insane

[–] [email protected] 5 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (2 children)

The 20% is relatively new. It was always around 10%, and then restaurants started "suggesting" higher tips on the receipts, and basically guilting people into tipping more. It was pushed up to 15% in the mid '00s, and then only pushed up to 20% during Covid. I have been called a piece of shit human on multiple occasions because I didn't buy into the restaurants randomly changing it on me. There is immense social pressure here around tipping.

The restaurants have a financial motivation to want the tips to be higher, so I feel like it's a conflict of interest for them to be suggesting the tip amount. I think the government needs to get involved and regulate tipping or even outright ban it at this point, because restaurants aren't going to stop pushing the envelope at 20%.

[–] JayJay 3 points 6 months ago

The company has gotta compensate for inflation somehow, right? They dont want to actually pay their employees, no no no, that would cut into profit. They have to make even more money so they push it onto the customer. Agreed honestly fuck this shit.

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[–] Today 2 points 6 months ago

That's exactly it. We recognize the failures in the pay structure and try to help people in the service industry, but it's gone completely overboard. A couple of dollars here and there is one thing, but 15-20% in a nice restaurant can be $50 and that seems ridiculous. If we stop tipping, we're only fucking the worker. We need for more restaurants to advertise that they pay a living wage.

[–] [email protected] 51 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (1 children)

Never tipped housekeeping at hotels for standard, other then change that I didn't want to take on a plane ride. Travel in the EU, Asia, Americas.

For longer stay places at non-hotels, I have tipped for service outside the standard level. i.e. extra towels, change sheets every day, do laundry

My thinking is - if tipping is required, it should be in the room price. Plus business travelers don't have a ability to expense house keeping tips (unlike food tips which are normalized in US expense reports)

[–] QuarterSwede 11 points 6 months ago

I was about to say, for work trips I absolutely can’t and don’t. I’m not paying for it, I probably don’t want to actually be whenever I’m at anyway. I might for exceptional service on a holiday or if I want quick service again but never do as a standard.

[–] victorz 43 points 6 months ago (1 children)

No, not in Europe. People get paid for their work here.

[–] Asudox 6 points 6 months ago

I was surprised when I first heard about workers getting tipped regularly in america. It's crazy.

[–] [email protected] 37 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Tipping housekeepers is not the norm. You shouldn't feel obligated to tip, ever.

[–] Chainweasel 23 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (6 children)

The 15% of a meal thing never made sense to me either. Does it take any more work to carry a $60 steak to a table than it does a $15 steak?
It's not My job to pay some company's employees a living wage when I don't even make a living wage myself.

[–] Today 10 points 6 months ago (1 children)

I feel that way about bars - expensive wine is not harder to open than cheap wine. Had a fight with my husband about it because he once ordered a VERY expensive drink and then started to tip 20% on it.

[–] 13esq 4 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

In the UK a few pubs have started the "how much would you like to tip?" When you pay by card.

When I see that, it's always the last pint I buy from there.

Tipping is not customary here. People tip if they think the service is exceptional or they might "buy the bar tender a drink" if they want to build a relationship as a regular. I'm not OK with this shitty American culture creeping in.

[–] MrVilliam 4 points 6 months ago

I'm not defending restaurants or owners, but I feel the need to say for the sake of servers that their hourly wage is usually "minimum tipped" which is lower than minimum wage and the business must make up the difference between minimum tipped wage and minimum wage if the worker didn't make enough in tips to cross that threshold. Minimum tipped here in VA is $2.13/hour. My wife and I are DINKs in a 2BR apartment that charges $3k/month for rent and fees, no utilities included. We're obviously not servers, but wouldn't it be nice if it were a liveable wage here so that servers wouldn't need to commute long distance from somewhere cheaper and farther away? Full time work in an area should be able to afford living in the area. That might help with the staffing issues which cause complaints, which would make customers have a better experience and be more likely to tip.

TL;DR: Servers don't make shit without your tips, and your service is spotty because there are staffing shortages because nobody wants to work for peanuts and right now there's a loophole that allows tipped employees to be paid peanuts.

Vote to remove the loophole and raise the minimum wage so your service can be better and we can remove the tipping culture you hate so much. Idk who is running with this policy in mind, but if you're passionate about it and it's nobody yet, run for some political office in your area. Change for the better starts at your local level.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 6 months ago

if your getting the same service at a place that charges 15 vs 60 a steak that's pretty bad. it's not just carrying the food.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 months ago

It's a percentage because the $60 steak was assumably at a nicer restaurant where you received more in depth service.

Fine dining servers may only have a couple of tables at once, or even for the entire night. You're paying more for more individual attention.

It also scales in reverse. A server on a shift with a $10 blue plate special will probably have 10 tables before things go off the rails. They'll also put serious work into getting your ass off that table the minute your plate is clean.

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[–] [email protected] 31 points 6 months ago

I don't tip at hotels, ever.

[–] [email protected] 29 points 6 months ago (1 children)

I've never heard of tipping housekeeping at hotels, why would you do that? They get paid by the hotel

[–] [email protected] 3 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Because it's a shit job with minimal pay, physically demanding, and the hours are usually cut in the off-season.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 6 months ago (3 children)

While it's nice for the employee to get some extra bucks, tipping only supports minimal pay for the job because "they'll make up for it in tips".

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[–] [email protected] 22 points 6 months ago (1 children)

I live in the US and I have never tipped housekeeping, nor have I ever heard of someone doing it.

[–] dingus 3 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

Same tbh and I'm in the US. I didn't realize it was a common thing until I heard about someone doing it one day.

Sorry, but I only tip people that make a tipped wage like servers. I do not tip hotel staff. Many hotels have stopped servicing rooms every day unless you specifically request it anyway.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 6 months ago

I don't tip housekeeping normally.

[–] evasive_chimpanzee 13 points 6 months ago (2 children)

I personally don't want anyone going in my room while I'm there. I thought covid finally changed this when hotels started only doing housekeeping between customers, or if requested, but unfortunately it seems like they are changing this back. It just seems like a waste of labor to have someone else make my bed.

I've never tipped people going into my room. I'd do it if I made a mess or something, though.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 6 months ago

When you check in, just tell the desk that you don't want housekeeping sitting your stay.

[–] Today 4 points 6 months ago

I sometimes leave out the do not disturb sign and then just grab fresh towels at the desk.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 6 months ago

This should hardly be a controversial norm: tip because you feel like it, period.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 6 months ago (9 children)

Tipping isn't a thing in my country, to the extent that if you left money lying around your room it would most probably still be there when you got back.

Unless maybe you were staying somewhere that gets a lot of tipping tourists.

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[–] lemmefixdat4u 10 points 6 months ago

On multi-night stays I tip if I want anything special, like extra coffee, or when my drunk friend destroyed the toilet. The only time I tip when leaving the hotel is if the housekeeper did something above and beyond normal expectations. Like when my wife started early and soiled the sheets. Left a note apologizing, a $20, and just expected fresh sheets. Nope. She replaced all the bedding and the mattress too. Left her another $20 and a thank you note when we checked out.

[–] TheCelticPirate 9 points 6 months ago

Yes. I tip regardless of how long my stay is. I leave money on the dresser or table when I check out.

[–] Marcbmann 8 points 6 months ago

I don't even let them in the room. Housekeeping left the door to my room open once for the entire day. I was across from the elevator. Thankfully nothing was stolen, but ya know, fool me once

[–] gimpchrist 8 points 6 months ago (1 children)

I was a housekeeper and most Asian folks leave a toonie on or around the pillow everyday in canada it was really sweet

[–] BackOnMyBS 4 points 6 months ago (1 children)

American here. What's a toonie?

[–] [email protected] 8 points 6 months ago
[–] [email protected] 6 points 6 months ago

I usually only let them in once every 3 days just to replace towels. I make my own bed, and don't trash the place so I don't need much from them.

I wasn't aware I was supposed to tip. I pretty much never have cash anyway.

[–] kcop 6 points 6 months ago

I'm in the US. Personally I always just leave a tip out in the morning before stepping out for the day, whether that's the day of checkout or before a mid-stay cleaning. That way I know it's always going to whoever ends up cleaning the room.

[–] SexDwarf 5 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

Depends where I'm staying. In no-tipping countries i wouldn't tip at all, but if it's common/expected, I'd leave some change on the bedside table in the morning when leaving the hotel/checking out.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 6 months ago

I've never tipped hotel workers/housekeeping unless we're at an all inclusive resort, which I feel is standard to tip there. Maybe I'm wrong though reading comments here.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 6 months ago (2 children)

Wait, are you supposed to tip housekeeping staff in hotels in the US?
Now I feel embarrassed. I don't tip elsewhere because it's not expected, but I try to fit into the local culture when I travel.

[–] evasive_chimpanzee 4 points 6 months ago

I don't know anyone who does

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 6 months ago

Tip or don't tip, don't ever feel like there's an expectation to. Not always but I often leave 1-3 bucks in change usually when I check out, especially so if say the floor or bed gets a bit sandy or I check out at 11:10, something like that.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 months ago

Depends on where I'm at. In the U.S. (where I'm from), I would personally tip. I also tipped in Mexico when I vacationed there recently. I wouldn't tip in a no-tip/offensive-tip country (e.g. France).

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