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Thread: Tipping at a motel?

  1. #1
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    Tipping at a motel?

    Is leaving a hotel tip a thing now? We are staying one night in a way too expensive 140sf motor court style motel room while on a road trip. There is an envelope on the table asking that we tip the help. Would you and what is standard?

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    Senior Member iris lilies's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by pinkytoe View Post
    Is leaving a hotel tip a thing now? We are staying one night in a way too expensive 140sf motor court style motel room while on a road trip. There is an envelope on the table asking that we tip the help. Would you and what is standard?
    Yikes. I have not encountered that and I stay in a motel 4-5 times a year.

    I dont even remember tipping at the 5 star hotel in Europe or in the several small and simple hotels there.

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    Senior Member jp1's Avatar
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    Supposedly the standard is ~$5/day. If it’s just me on a work trip I generally don’t muss the room much so I’ll leave up to that amount depending on what cash I have at the moment. If SO and I are on vacation SO tends to make a bigger mess so we’ll pretty consistently leave $5/day.

    I assume housekeepers have higher daily room counts at non-union hotels. The standard at union hotels is 1/2 hour per overstay room and 1 hour to clean a checkout room. Supposedly around 25% of people tip housekeepers so my $15 for a three night stay ends up being about $4/hour that the housekeeper is being tipped or roughly $8,000/year assuming they work full time. If most stays are shorter that number could be somewhat lower. That’s enough to make a meaningful difference in their life considering how low the pay is and how physically demanding the job is.

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    It's new to me after decades of travel. But then even grabbing your restaurant order from a counter, they ask for a tip now when you pay.

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    We've always left a tip for the cleaning staff - it's one of the few "must tip" situations that I've always been aware of. We generally leave $1 per person per day, and there are usually 3 - 4 of us in a room, a bit more if I'm a little more flush. I tip the staff working the free breakfast room too. (Cheap hotels tend to have the best free breakfasts.) One of my cousins was a hotel housekeeper for a very short time, and it is hard work for little pay. We try to leave a tip each day instead of waiting until checkout, as I'd hate for the person doing the work to be stiffed by a sub or something. I am surprised that people are surprised, because I'm usually way behind on what's kosher. Like, I didn't know one was expected to tip for a haircut! We did used to tip the checkout boys that carried groceries to the car, but that's a thing of the past, anyway!

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    Senior Member catherine's Avatar
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    I always tip. Maybe it's because I traveled for business so much, but maybe it's just because over time I realized a) how hard housekeepers work for very little pay and b) how men hotel workers have more visible jobs and they get tips (valets for instance). If a guy can get 5 bucks for opening a cab door for a guest, a housekeeper should get $5 bucks for cleaning pubic hair out of a guest's shower.
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    Senior Member jp1's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by catherine View Post
    I always tip. Maybe it's because I traveled for business so much, but maybe it's just because over time I realized a) how hard housekeepers work for very little pay and b) how men hotel workers have more visible jobs and they get tips (valets for instance). If a guy can get 5 bucks for opening a cab door for a guest, a housekeeper should get $5 bucks for cleaning pubic hair out of a guest's shower.
    Yes. This! When SO was working in hospitality the doormen at his hotel made more than him once tips were counted. And SO was probably the fourth or fifth highest paid executive in a building with 1000 employees…

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    Senior Member rosarugosa's Avatar
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    We've always tipped housekeepers at hotels/motels, and we leave at least $5.00 per day (we used to do $1.00 per person per day). We really aren't messy at all since tidiness is kind of in my DNA or something.
    Catherine: My DH said something very similar, that valets get a couple of bucks every time they move your car, so the person who is cleaning your toilet should get more. It is kind of a classic case of how "men's work" vs. "women's work" is valued, isn't it?

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    Senior Member catherine's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by rosarugosa View Post
    Catherine: My DH said something very similar, that valets get a couple of bucks every time they move your car, so the person who is cleaning your toilet should get more. It is kind of a classic case of how "men's work" vs. "women's work" is valued, isn't it?
    Exactly! 80% of my reason for tipping housekeepers is just because I feel it's proper protocol, but 20% is definitely a gesture of sisterhood.
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    I always operated on the $5/night rule, unless we leave a room in an especially messy state, in which case I leave a lot more.

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