Tipping Mousekeeping

[disney4life2008]

This is so true, therefore; how do you make sure the money you are leaving for the right person???

If you tip on a daily basis, chances are you are still not leaving it for the person that cleaned your room the day before. If you tip at the end of the trip, there is absolute possibly that the money is NOT given to everyone that was involved with cleaning your room for the entire trip.

So....how do you make sure the tip goes to the right person whether you tip daily or at the end of the trip????????????

In vegas, we used to leave the print out totals for maids. I usually leave stuff i can't use anymore, unopened bottles of alcohol, food. If a maid keeps it great if not, no loss.

 

[disney4life2008]

I wish there was a way to tip as a way to appreciate good service **AFTER** the event, instead of before. That's the problem I have with leaving a tip in advance of housekeeping service - Disney hotel, cruise ship, or any other sleeping establishment. I want to be able to reward a person for a good job, not just give them money because they have chosen to work this type of job.

Idk about other cruise lines but carnival charges gratuity in advance but you can reduce the amount prior to the end of the cruise. I've never done it though, carnival service is exceptional!

 

[DisneyDreamer08]

As mentioned before that's not really fair to mouse keepers because one person gets the tip when you have likely had several different mouse keepers throughout your stay.

If there are people that find it necessary to tip daily, that's fine for them. The only place I ever tip for cleaning a hotel room is disney. And that's only if the job is done well. As others have said, do you tip the CM trimming the bushes? The one emptying the trash? I don't like being faulted for leaving a tip for a service I am already paying a high price for. I have honestly never heard of tipping daily and I don't know anyone who does.

 

[G00fyDad]

If there are people that find it necessary to tip daily, that's fine for them. The only place I ever tip for cleaning a hotel room is disney. And that's only if the job is done well. As others have said, do you tip the CM trimming the bushes? The one emptying the trash? I don't like being faulted for leaving a tip for a service I am already paying a high price for. I have honestly never heard of tipping daily and I don't know anyone who does.

The reason I tip daily is because I would rather not have the person that cleaned my room all week miss the tip because the tip was left on the last day and someone totally new is now cleaning the room. Mark may have cleaned my room on Friday through the next Saturday but on Sunday (the day we leave) Stacy is in there cleaning and she gets the tips I was leaving for Mark. Not exactly fair.

 

[22YrsDVC]

I tip daily, for the reasons already mentioned. You probably won't have the same person for your whole stay. And rightly or wrongly, I think it gets you better service. Our daughter naps around 1:00 so there's a tight window in the morning for us to have the room cleaned. It may be a coincidence, but I've found that requesting early service at the front desk combined with daily gratuity ensures that the room will always be ready when we get back from the park.
I start at $1 per person per day, so $3 for my family. I increase it to $5 if they're doing an excellent job.
I don't get them every night, but definitely a few times per week. More often, they'll set up my daughter's stuffed animals in some kind of cute scene.
Gratuity isn't purchasing a service, it's saying thank you to someone in a menial service job. It's not about the transaction between you and The Walt Disney Company, it's about the relationship between you and another human being. Try it, it feels good.

When I'm not staying at a DVC on points, I tend towards $5 a day with a thank you note and ask them not to make the bed. That way I save Mousekeeping extra work that I will only have to rip out and then tuck back in when I want to turn in for the evening. Have not had animal towels appear as a result, because they're normally there when I arrive, and I put them up so they can be used again. But I have received more towels and when on one thank you note I asked for a few more soaps, I returned to find about ten different soaps and a half dozen shampoos too. They have a thank-less job that I know would wipe me out. A little thank you and a fiver left is the least I can do for these folks.

 

[DisneyDreamer08]

The reason I tip daily is because I would rather not have the person that cleaned my room all week miss the tip because the tip was left on the last day and someone totally new is now cleaning the room. Mark may have cleaned my room on Friday through the next Saturday but on Sunday (the day we leave) Stacy is in there cleaning and she gets the tips I was leaving for Mark. Not exactly fair.

So people who tip daily are leaving money in the hopes the job is well done? And what if its not? Let's say your trash wasn't emptied (which happened to us a few times our last trip, not fun with dirty diapers) Do you leave less the next day and hope its the same person? Or leave the same amount and hope they do a better job?
I think it makes more sense to think at the end of the week, how well was my room cleaned? Just ok? Perfectly? And then leave a tip based on that.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

So people who tip daily are leaving money in the hopes the job is well done? And what if its not? Let's say your trash wasn't emptied (which happened to us a few times our last trip, not fun with dirty diapers) Do you leave less the next day and hope its the same person? Or leave the same amount and hope they do a better job?
I think it makes more sense to think at the end of the week, how well was my room cleaned? Just ok? Perfectly? And then leave a tip based on that.

If the trash isn't emptied or some other unacceptable thing, I leave zero tip. It's never happened to me at a Disney hotel. I know it's not a perfect system but I think it's better than tipping at the end. When you tip at the end, you ensure that the housekeepers who have Saturday off (or whatever the biggest check-out day is) get screwed.

 

[G00fyDad]

So people who tip daily are leaving money in the hopes the job is well done? And what if its not? Let's say your trash wasn't emptied (which happened to us a few times our last trip, not fun with dirty diapers) Do you leave less the next day and hope its the same person? Or leave the same amount and hope they do a better job?
I think it makes more sense to think at the end of the week, how well was my room cleaned? Just ok? Perfectly? And then leave a tip based on that.

Then don't tip. How fair is it that that person got the tips for the job that someone else has done all week? If you got good, bad, or just okay service and want to tip accordingly then you may have just tipped someone who never entered your room until the day you leave for that good, bad, or just okay service. I see your point. I really do. I get that your not going to tip for an "expected" service level but then I just wouldn't tip. That person that shows up on the last day may get a good wad of tips for a service they never performed. How is that any different?

 

[DisneyDreamer08]

Then don't tip. How fair is it that that person got the tips for the job that someone else has done all week? If you got good, bad, or just okay service and want to tip accordingly then you may have just tipped someone who never entered your room until the day you leave for that good, bad, or just okay service. I see your point. I really do. I get that your not going to tip for an "expected" service level but then I just wouldn't tip. That person that shows up on the last day may get a good wad of tips for a service they never performed. How is that any different?

This is my point exactly. There is absolutely no way of knowing if your money is going to the right person on any given day. What if there are two people working together cleaning a room and one person snatches the tip but doesn't do as much work as the other? What if you leave a nice tip and the person does a terrible job? My thinking has always been my tip is for the resort as a whole, not a specific person. There is no way your tip can be given to specific person unless you physically watch them clean your room and then put the money directly in their hands.

 

[KrzyKtty]

Tipping bell hops, valets, servers, housekeeping, anyone on the buss or at the airport that heps you with your bags, taxi drivers, bathroom attendants, bartenders, spa workers, and delivery drivers are just a few of the standard professions in the USA where tipping is expected for service. If the service was excellent, you leave more. If the service was bad, you leave a small tip to show you're unsatisfied; that way they know rather than think you are cheap. I understand things are different in many European countries, but the USA operates differently. Tipping in one way or another here is being a decent customer and member of the USA society.

If you cannot afford the tips, you shouldn't be traveling or asking for any of these services for help. Carry your own bags. Leave the do not disturb sign up and clean your own room. Cook your own food.

These people work HARD thankless jobs. My tips are a way to communicate to them my thanks for their help, and for a decent or great job. It is also a way to communicate when I am not happy.

I also don't mind showing my thanks with the tip because I personally believe that many of those jobs deserve more than the 7.25 they get in my state.

 

[G00fyDad]

When I'm not staying at a DVC on points, I tend towards $5 a day with a thank you note and ask them not to make the bed. That way I save Mousekeeping extra work that I will only have to rip out and then tuck back in when I want to turn in for the evening. Have not had animal towels appear as a result, because they're normally there when I arrive, and I put them up so they can be used again. But I have received more towels and when on one thank you note I asked for a few more soaps, I returned to find about ten different soaps and a half dozen shampoos too. They have a thank-less job that I know would wipe me out. A little thank you and a fiver left is the least I can do for these folks.

On one trip we made to WDW my son was obsessed with Perry the Platypus. He was buying them everywhere. Small, medium and large. The Mousekeeper kept arranging them in cute configurations like they were having a party while we were gone each day. It was like a Disney Elf on the Shelf. We left him/her around $5 a day and always came back to find the room spotless and smelling fresh and clean. For whatever good it did we went to the front desk at checkout and asked them to pass along a letter I wrote to the Mousekeeper's supervisor telling them what a wonderful job they did and how much more fun they made the trip for my son.

 

[22YrsDVC]

On one trip we made to WDW my son was obsessed with Perry the Platypus. He was buying them everywhere. Small, medium and large. The Mousekeeper kept arranging them in cute configurations like they were having a party while we were gone each day. It was like a Disney Elf on the Shelf. We left him/her around $5 a day and always came back to find the room spotless and smelling fresh and clean. For whatever good it did we went to the front desk at checkout and asked them to pass along a letter I wrote to the Mousekeeper's supervisor telling them what a wonderful job they did and how much more fun they made the trip for my son.

So wonderful. You can also email the letter of thanks to Disney, or attach it to the questionnaire they sometimes send out concerning your last visit. Files are kept, and do help staff. It never hurts to be kind.

 

[xdan0920]

I shouldn't donate to my University because I don't donate to EVERY University

You shouldn't donate to any university because they are a slight step up from an organized criminal outfit. IMO.

I have a mindset that I can clean my own room. Same with restaurants, I refuse to leave more than $4 for someone who only brought took my order. I will say, Ohana servers usually get $10 or more from me as they are amazing.

n vegas, we used to leave the print out totals for maids. I usually leave stuff i can't use anymore, unopened bottles of alcohol, food. If a maid keeps it great if not, no loss.

LOVE THESE TWO POSTS SO MUCH!!!!

$4 tips for wait staff. Leftover food for housekeeping. Holy Christmas.

If the trash isn't emptied or some other unacceptable thing, I leave zero tip. It's never happened to me at a Disney hotel. I know it's not a perfect system but I think it's better than tipping at the end. When you tip at the end, you ensure that the housekeepers who have Saturday off (or whatever the biggest check-out day is) get screwed.

I always thought they pooled their tips. Since it's so common to tip only on the last day. I would be curious if they pool and distribute daily, or weekly.

 

[KrzyKtty]

I always thought they pooled their tips. Since it's so common to tip only on the last day. I would be curious if they pool and distribute daily, or weekly.

It could depend on the hotel? Just like some restaurants pool tips and others do not.

 

[Weather_Lady]

We tip $5/day each day, and then $10 on the last day, for whomever will have to "turn over" the room.

Nonetheless, we try to be respectful of the housekeeping staff by keeping our room neat and tidy (and we re-use towels for environmental reasons), so that all housekeeping typically has to do is make the beds and do a quick wipe-down of surfaces.

 

[drwadadli]

We tip $5/day each day, and then $10 on the last day, for whomever will have to "turn over" the room.

Nonetheless, we try to be respectful of the housekeeping staff by keeping our room neat and tidy (and we re-use towels for environmental reasons), so that all housekeeping typically has to do is make the beds and do a quick wipe-down of surfaces.

Have you notice that no matter if you hang the towels back up or not, you still get new ones??? Disney was one of the first companies to ask guests to reuse towels to help the environment. But recently, the last couple of years, that hasn't been the case. The last time we stayed at the GF, we got new/clean towels everyday even though we hung our towels up nicely. Has Disney changed their environment approach on towels and saving water??????

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Nonetheless, we try to be respectful of the housekeeping staff by keeping our room neat and tidy (and we re-use towels for environmental reasons), so that all housekeeping typically has to do is make the beds and do a quick wipe-down of surfaces.

I put extra clean towels on the floor just to spite the environment. But always in a neat pile for housekeeping .

 

[King Racoon 77]

I always get the butler to wait until housekeeping has been to the room to dispense a tip. Means he can make sure a good job was done and the appropriate tip is given and to the right person. Also means i don't have anything to do with the lower class.

 

[G00fyDad]

Have you notice that no matter if you hang the towels back up or not, you still get new ones??? Disney was one of the first companies to ask guests to reuse towels to help the environment. But recently, the last couple of years, that hasn't been the case. The last time we stayed at the GF, we got new/clean towels everyday even though we hung our towels up nicely. Has Disney changed their environment approach on towels and saving water??????

They may have more efficient means of cleaning them now so they removed the "burden" from the consumer. Just a guess.

 

[drwadadli]

They may have more efficient means of cleaning them now so they removed the "burden" from the consumer. Just a guess.

That is probably true. I didn't think of that. Thank you for that thought. I have posted this question / concern on several different discussion boards and you are the first one to even give me a plausible answer.