Comment on FIFY
poopkins@lemmy.world 23 hours agoAs a European, I had no idea this was something I needed to do. Man, I have so many questions.
How much? Is it a fixed amount per night or a gesture amount for the whole stay? Do I only put money in the envelope when I’m leaving or do I get a new envelope every day? Is it always the same housekeeper? Do they pool the money and divide it among themselves? If there’s anything the matter with the housekeeping, do I dock it from their tip? Are there envelopes for the bus driver, too?
So, this varies wildly, but my understanding was that, barring some sort of shenanigan, it's generally only 'needed'/expected to tip housekeeping when you make a mess outside of normal usage of the space (like a 'oops, I'm sorry I left trash everywhere, I was in a huge rush and didn't have time to tidy up before I checked out' sort of thing, like a slob tax).
For bus drivers, our street gets together and gets them a gift basket/gift card at the holidays.
Whole stay, when you’re leaving. What the housekeepers do is up to them. It isnt like restaurant tips, the expectation isn’t as engrained. Maybe 5-10 per time your room is serviced maybe more if you’ve left a real shitshow for some reason.
No on the bus driver. A hotel shuttle you can give a couple to if they help with the bags but generally not.
I wasn’t aware about this specific way that corporate America is creating cultural habits that benefit them at the expense of the consumer. I’ll confess that it’s odd to learn about them from a fellow consumer.
It seems to me that hotels should be more upfront about their staff being unpaid and clearly post the guidelines you’ve shared about donations from guests. Although, I suppose that if they cared about the well being of their staff, they would pay them a livable wage in the first place.
As for me, I’m irked that I’ve evidently been a cheapskate over the years. I’m generally a very tidy person—I make my bed, take off my shoes when entering the room, and neatly organize my things in my suitcase and in the wardrobe. I find it awkward and unnecessary for housekeeping to attend to my room daily, and now I feel torn and more awkward about having to pay somebody extra for something I don’t want or deem necessary.
So its not like restaurants where they can legally be paid under min if tips make it up but rather that housekeeping tends to be immigrants (often illegal) and thus underpaid. Most hotels will allow you to opt out of room servicing but when you leave they still have to “turnover” the room. Those neat sheets and clean towels all get thrown in the wash. The carpet still gets vacuumed, etc.
All that said I don’t really follow through on this all the time especially as I don’t carry cash as much nowadays.
I thought people typically researched this before going on a trip tbh
druidjaidan@lemmy.world 1 hour ago
US citizen here. Stayed in many hotels. Never once tipped for housekeeping. I’ve tipped for lots of small extras, like bag service, valet, etc. I know it’s a thing some people do, but it’s certainly not standard or expected. Cleaning the room is part of the stay price.
poopkins@lemmy.world 6 minutes ago
Thanks for sharing. Honestly it’s been nagging at me because I’m coincidentally on a business trip. It occurred to me whether I should tip the gas station attendant (or whatever it’s called, the person who refuels your car in some states). He didn’t seem to expect it and I didn’t, but I’ve begun worrying about whom I should be tipping.