Tip Mouse Keeping?

[DisneyMedic]

Hey gang,

I am head out to WDW tomarrow and I am going to be staying on property for the first time. I have a question about tipping. I have always tipped for good service at resterants, bell hop, ect but to be honest I have never left a tip for house keeping at any hotel I have styed at.

My question is, is it bad form to not tip house keeping. Personally I think house keeping is a service that is part of what you are paying for when you stay at a hotel and that basic service is not something you should have to tip. That said I have been known to tip more than the standard amount when I recive awsome service at a resturant for example.

This is the first time I am staying on Disney Property and wanted to see how many of you actully leave a tip for house keeping and if so how much? I am traveling by myself for this trip so any insite you can give me would be great.

Thanks for your help

 

[RiversideBunny]

this has been discussed a lot. the general concensus is that you should tip Mousekeeping something at least. some people leave $5 or so each day; some people leave $20 or so at the end of the trip. others do more; depends on the resort, family size, etc.

we started taking envelopes with us and leaving $5/day in it. each day there was something nice in our room- extra towel animals, etc. and on the last day a small Christmas tree on the window sill with a few tiny Disney ornaments. This was during December.

One day we encountered the Mouskeeper when we went back to the room during the day for a nap. We asked for some extra regular coffee packets and got a lot of them along with a big smile and super 'thank you' look.

Our feeling is that we are lucky enough to afford a WDW trip and should share with those who help make it possible and do appreciate the extra income.

 

[fractal]

I definitely tip housekeeping.


$1 a person per day is a good base and then add or subtract from there depending on level of service.

 

[tigsmom]

Mousekeeping is a service & we tip service people (that includes the valet parking attendant, food servers and bell hops). We do $5/day as there are 4 of us.

 

[majorrfb]

We do the same

I definitely tip housekeeping.


$1 a person per day is a good base and then add or subtract from there depending on level of service.

We start with $2/day (just 2 of us). If something special happens or we request extra blankets etc., we always tip the housekeeper. They make base pay for the most part and a monitary thank you is appropriate. The room also appears to be extra clean and neat each day when we return. :wave:

 

[roaddogg6420]

Tipping

I always leave a tip. Most of the time we do it everyday, and in most cases get better services. We all most always get extra special care in are room when we tip everyday. Five dollars a day is a normal amount, we give a little more when we stay some where really nice.

 

[mickeyforlife]

I tip $3.00 a day. there are two of us. thought that was a fair amount.:sohappy:

 

[DisneyMedic]

Thanks for the info. I was thinking $5 a day sounded right. Thanks for your input.

 

[Shere_Khan]

. I have always tipped for good service at resterants, bell hop, ect but to be honest I have never left a tip for house keeping at any hotel I have styed at.

Me either - which is why I was also confused by whether or not you should the first time I stayed on property.
Most everyone says they do, so I did as well. I only did $1 per person per day however. I think it is a nice thing to do, but like you said, I don't understand it because I have never done it at a regular hotel anywhere else. Maybe I should start?

 

[tigsmom]

Me either - which is why I was also confused by whether or not you should the first time I stayed on property.
Most everyone says they do, so I did as well. I only did $1 per person per day however. I think it is a nice thing to do, but like you said, I don't understand it because I have never done it at a regular hotel anywhere else. Maybe I should start?

We always leave a tip for housekeeping whenever we stay at any hotel and tip the valet staff as well.

 

[loveofamouse]

Maybe Im the minority but I don't. I tip at jobs where people are only getting paid $2-3/hr. Often, the service jobs are getting decent pay. The HK people are probably getting 9-14/hr whereas wattresses only make $2-3/hr. I was a waitress and every waitress I have ever met have hated the fact that people with better paying jobs get tips. They were just talking about this on the radio and in the NY Times. They talked about The Tipping Craze. They talked about how it's now almost expected for people to tip everywhere from coffee shops to McDonalds. In the NY Times, they listed the actual professions that truly rely on tipping for income. They also discussed how tipping is so pressured that people feel obligated to tip, even if they received bad service. For me, if I got a low or no tip, I knew that it meant I didn't do a good job or someone didn't have money. I understood that some people go out to eat and maybe only had an extra $30 and wanted to do something special. It's okay. Personally, I only tip when the profession is tip-based. Also, I start everyone with 15%(ish). If it's great service, I go up! If it was horrible service, I go lower or leave nothing at all. If Im leaving nothing, though, I will either leave a note or vocalize what the problem was so that there isn't any question. Once, there was a waitress that kept putting her armpits in our faces and reaching across our table, etc. I left a 10% tip and a note as to why. Hopefully, it would help her be more aware of what she was doing and maybe answer the question on why she's gotten lower tips in the past(it was horrible! she even kept putting her crotch on my shoulder!)

Now, that said, Im not saying you shouldn't tip. What I am saying is don't feel pressured to tip. It's not a must. It's not expected. If you have outstanding service that you'd want to reward, by all means. Just don't feel like it's a must.

 

[dreamfinder]

If you feel that you have received outstanding service, or your house keeper went above and beyond, then by all means, tip, leave a thank you card, provide a comment to the front desk. Any of the above will help them out. But don't ever feel compelled to tip. If you do tip, remember that the person cleaning your room today and taking the tip, may not be the same person who cleaned it yesterday. So waiting until the end of your trip may mean that the person who cleaned your room all week got nothing, and the person who cleaned it once got the $20.

 

[JimJam]

We stay at the beach club for a week with 6 people so we tip 60 to the maid for the whole stay

 

[ArielLover]

I have heard that $2 per day per person is standard. We tip $5 a day for teh two of us when we go. We always leave the tip per day as you may have a different Mousekepper on different days.

 

[Rob562]

Not going to join the tip-vs-no-tip debate, but thought I'd interject a fact...

Housekeeping in the WDW resorts is considered (by Disney) to be a non-tipped position, and their hourly wage reflects that. (Unlike waitstaff, who are a tipped position, and get a smaller hourly wage because of it)


-Rob

 

[loveofamouse]

Not going to join the tip-vs-no-tip debate, but thought I'd interject a fact...

Housekeeping in the WDW resorts is considered (by Disney) to be a non-tipped position, and their hourly wage reflects that. (Unlike waitstaff, who are a tipped position, and get a smaller hourly wage because of it)


-Rob

That's what I was trying to say in lesser words lol

 

[moonchild925]

For most people in the service industry I would tip 20% without exception, however this is obviously not feasible for mousekeeping. I would plan on $5 a day as a minimum or just rule of thumb. whether it's per diem or at the end is up to you but it's probably better to say that per day will net you the best service. I know that a vacay at wdw is expensive but please always remember that the people making it magical rely on tips for a living and if you can afford to go at all you can afford to tip.....just my 2 cents....

 

[loveofamouse]

For most people in the service industry I would tip 20% without exception, however this is obviously not feasible for mousekeeping. I would plan on $5 a day as a minimum or just rule of thumb. whether it's per diem or at the end is up to you but it's probably better to say that per day will net you the best service. I know that a vacay at wdw is expensive but please always remember that the people making it magical rely on tips for a living and if you can afford to go at all you can afford to tip.....just my 2 cents....

But many jobs are not tip reliant. Housekeeping is one. Also, it isn't fair to say if you can afford to go, you can afford to tip. I know many families who save, save, save all year long and can barely afford to go. Should they cut their trip short just to leave a tip? That's not fair.

 

[loveofamouse]

If you feel that you have received outstanding service, or your house keeper went above and beyond, then by all means, tip, leave a thank you card, provide a comment to the front desk. Any of the above will help them out. But don't ever feel compelled to tip. If you do tip, remember that the person cleaning your room today and taking the tip, may not be the same person who cleaned it yesterday. So waiting until the end of your trip may mean that the person who cleaned your room all week got nothing, and the person who cleaned it once got the $20.

This brings up a VERY good point. The day that tip is left, it could be someone else cleaning the room. It could very well be someone who's not great at their job. They take the money and don't do anything in your room. Next day, you have the person you got two days ago. What if it's two people cleaning at once?

 

[DisneyDadof5]

My family and I tip $5 a day, and leave requests with our tip. We always come back at the end of a long day and find more than we asked for. (Extra towels, coffee, tea, extra pillows, etc).

We stay in the suites, so we always end up with extra food and beverages. I spoke with Disney Management at the resort, and we leave a letter stating that we enjoyed the housekeeping service, and that they are welcome to take the remaining groceries and share them with the housekeeping staff. I know on a hot day that the staff appreciated the case of cold bottled water.