Hotel guests

[ZZ-kai-]

I kinda agree with the Sig here, and all the other people who said "its not mandatory, but if they do an 'above-and-beyond' cleaning, then tip them". Its their job for christs sake. If they don't like what they're doing, get a job somewhere else. But again, if they do a great job, hell, tip them a buck or two.

Why should one be thankful that they don't have to clean up after themselves at a hotel? They are staying at a freaking hotel for that exact reason! You pay $250 a night NOT to clean your own toilet, NOT to change your own sheets and NOT to clean your own room. Housekeepers are there to do exactly that: housekeep.

My fiance always tells me, if you don't like something and you CAN change it, then change it. But if you don't, its your own damn fault.

Originally posted by OohTeenyWahine
I hardly think that a housekeeper's duties is limited to fluffing your pillows.

Perhaps you should think about the men and women who have to clean the toilets you piss and shit in next time you stay at a hotel and be thankful that you don't have to clean up after yourself.

[honeychile]

I have to say that I'm getting a kick out of both this & the Tourist thread! My own 2¢ worth:

1) Tip the chambermaid, and be thankful that you don't have her job. No matter how much you think they're getting, it's not enough when you think how hard she works for that money. This is a woman who is probably making a little over minimum wages to clean other people's commodes, and wipe up vomit.

2) The tidier you keep your hotel room, the faster it can be made up. I'm not saying that you should scrub or anything, but if you have a lot of grooming supplies on the sink, put them all in a ziplock bag or whatever, and the chambermaid can work around them. Ditto for that pile of change you leave on the dresser - put it in a bag, your suitcase, or somewhere.

There are times when you have a LOT of stuff in your hotel room (ie: I just got back from a convention, and I had many prizes etc that I had to get to the right people). In that case, just keep that all together, making it easier to run the vacuum, etc.

[sigmagrrl]

I work for an upscale chain of hotels and I have been on both sides of the coin:

1) If you ARE going to tip, make sure it is clearly marked as such. Housekeepers' honesty is very important and they never want to be accused of stealing. Leave it on a note...You can also leave it with the front desk staff, making sure you ask them to give it to your yhousekeeper (say "I stayed in room 9040, can you please give this tip to ym housekeeper?").

2) I don't LIKE to have housekeepers come in and clean my room/make my bed/etc when I stay at a hotel. I hate having to worry about my "dainties" being away before he/she comes in, so I usually leave the "Do Not Disturb" sign on the door all day. If you feel the same, or don't want to worry about tips, you could take this route.

3) At some hotels, housekeepers get paid a regular wage, some get paid per room, others get paid a wage + per room credits (if they cleaned a 2BR suite, they get paid more on top of their regular pay). So, a tip can be appreciated.

4) If you know you've left a mess for the housekeeping staff, a tip would be a good idea.

Glad I could be of service...

[CC1GC]

*Hotel geust horror story*

About a year ago we had a geust stay with us, reserving a room at 3 nights at a time. Well, after the second night the housekeeper found an odd mess in the bathroom - long streams of blood flowing from the ceilling to the tiles. When the front desk was called to check it out, they noticed large bags of cotton and many books about islamic war in arabic. *Narrator commentary, apparently this man had a very jewish name and appeared/spoke as a typical caucasian male* Messages were left to get this guy out of here the following day, except he managed to reserve another 3 nights when one of our 'lesser-qualified desk agents' was working. Fourth day now, the washroom again resembled a horror movie, so we had to block his room and tell him we made a mistake and didn't have any rooms available. He was livid, so the management decided to find him a room at another hotel closeby and got some poor bellmen to assist his luggage. Before he stormed out the door he left a stiring message..."this hotel will pay....in BLOOD!"

He ended up staying at an elite, chic hotel called The Arc , one block away. According to the bellmen that helped him, all the staff knew him on a first-name basis welcomed him as royalty, "Hey Mr. Geust, How Are you!?!" He then brought out a wad of hundred dollar bills and paid for his room in cash.

[LeslieAGD]

CC1GC, in a case like that, why wasn't the police contacted?

[Eirene_DGP]

Originally posted by docetboy
But I don't think it's expected, especially at our hotel, where the housekeeping staff was Mexicans and legally retarded people (sounds bad, but it was true).

I'm guessing you meant illegal immigrants...If not you need to slow your roll because that was a bit racist.

[CC1GC]

Originally posted by LeslieAGD
CC1GC, in a case like that, why wasn't the police contacted?

That would be against the law, it would violate his privacy rights. Not too mention, he didn't do anything illegal.

[sigmanuzk]

I hate the idea of tipping. But it's one of those things that we do because it would be "wrong" not to. Here's what I do, I see if you've done a decent job and then If I've got a buck or two I'll leave it out, but most of the time i just use my check card and I don't have any cash. I'm not rich, I work hard for my money too, if you want me to give it to you just for doing your job when i've already paid $250 a night to stay at your hotel your nuts. Come to where I work and buy something then give me a tip and maybe i'll feel better about giving my money away.

[Shine]

I've never heard of this custom until I read this thread, and I've grown up staying in $300+/night hotels.

I know my family isn't stingy. I'm not either, I'm always a 20%+ tipper. I'm going to ask my mom about this.

I always was taught to tip waitstaff and pizza drivers well because they make below wage to accomodate for getting tips. I always thought hotel staff got paid relatively well.

And honestly, I'm the type of person that leaves my bed relatively made at the hotel, and keeps my things neat and tidy anyway. I imagine my room is a piece of cake to clean.

[Rio_Kohitsuji]

I'm normally not that messu when I stay at a hotel so I don't tip. However, if there is a substantial mess in the room that I'm not going to clean up, I will leave a tip. Easy as that.

On pizza boys...well...tip them WELL! TKE209 works as a pizza boy during the summers and all the other delivery guys keep a list of bad tippers. The bad tippers get their pizza last and cold. Good tippers, hot and fresh pizza and a lot nicer service. Think of a good tip as "insurance" for your food

[swissmiss04]

Originally posted by CC1GC
That would be against the law, it would violate his privacy rights. Not too mention, he didn't do anything illegal.

Nothing illegal? Then where in the hell did he get the blood? Even if what he did wasn't necessarily criminal (it could be animal blood or something) it is damn sick and maybe he should be brought in for evaluation.
But on topic now...I always tip anyone who does a service for me, even if their salary is "adequate". I'm not so arrogant that I can't appreciate what someone does for me. It's not going to kill me to show some kindness by shelling out a few bucks and making sure I leave a fairly decent room. People remember both the kindest and the rudest faces they encounter. I'm sure it's obvious what we should all try to be.
And to those working in hotels, I have a question. Is it true that it's easier for the housekeeping staff to make up a room if you have not made up the bed? Just asking.

[Roseblum15]

Originally posted by swissmiss04
Nothing illegal? Then where in the hell did he get the blood? Even if what he did wasn't necessarily criminal (it could be animal blood or something) it is damn sick and maybe he should be brought in for evaluation.
But on topic now...I always tip anyone who does a service for me, even if their salary is "adequate". I'm not so arrogant that I can't appreciate what someone does for me. It's not going to kill me to show some kindness by shelling out a few bucks and making sure I leave a fairly decent room. People remember both the kindest and the rudest faces they encounter. I'm sure it's obvious what we should all try to be.
And to those working in hotels, I have a question. Is it true that it's easier for the housekeeping staff to make up a room if you have not made up the bed? Just asking.

Personally for me it is a little bit easier if the bed isn't completely made because then you don't have to pull the comforter back and straighten out the sheets and all that little stuff. The best rooms are ones were the beds are just slept in, not completely tore up but just kinda left. Some hotels have their little trademark things that they do, like at the Hilton we had to do a toe tuck thing at the end of the bed, so it was easier if guests just left the bed unmade.

[CC1GC]

Originally posted by swissmiss04
Nothing illegal? Then where in the hell did he get the blood? Even if what he did wasn't necessarily criminal (it could be animal blood or something) it is damn sick and maybe he should be brought in for evaluation.

But that's not how hotels operate...police cars in front isn't good publicity, lol.

We'd rather just get rid of this guy than piss him off even more, as mentioned, he was very, very, strange.

[CC1GC]

I don't think it's a widespread standard. people are still quite ignorant that a lot of geusts don't tip when parking their vechicles...hey buddy, i can't pay my lunch with thank yous.

[DZHBrown]

This is the first I've ever heard of tipping the housekeeper. Like someone else said, I tip according to the service when it comes to servers in a restaurant, etc.