Marriott Encourages Guests to Leave Housekeepers Tips
Vadim Liberman September 16, 2014
Marriott International has partnered with nonprofit group A Woman’s Nation to launch a campaign to encourage guests to leave tips for room cleaners.
Everybody knows that it’s customary to leave a tip for housekeeping at the end of a hotel stay, right?
Actually, everybody might not know. To nudge guests to leave tips, Marriott has partnered with A Woman’s Nation, a nonprofit aimed at empowering women, to launch a new campaign this week called “The Envelope Please,” according to a press release from the hotel chain. Throughout the U.S. and Canada, Marriott will place envelopes in 160,000 rooms at 750 to 1,000 of its brand hotels, including Courtyard, Residence Inn, Ritz-Carlton and Renaissance.
“The Envelope Please was born from having conversations with women I’ve met who have taken care of my room during hotel stays,” A Woman’s Nation founder Maria Shriver was quoted in the press release. “Their stories of hard work and perseverance inspired and informed me. They told me that room attendants, who are often the primary breadwinner for their families, are often forgotten when it comes to tipping, unlike other front-of-house employees, since most travelers don’t see them face-to-face. I hope this gratitude initiative will make these women feel seen and validated.”
Each envelope will feature the name of the person who cleans the room, along with the message: “Our caring room attendants enjoyed making your stay warm and comfortable. Please feel free to leave a gratuity to express your appreciation for their efforts,” according to The Huffington Post.
Offering a tip on how much to tip, A Woman’s Nation and Marriott both point to the American Hotel and Lodging Association’s (AHLA) suggestion that guests leave between $1 and $5 per night. Many guests don’t leave anywhere near those amounts, or anything at all. Thirty percent of people stiff their room cleaners, according to research by Michael Lynn, a professor at Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration.
In the press release, Marriott CEO Arne Sorenson pointed out that other hotel workers receive larger tips than housekeepers, with whom guests do not typically make personal connections.
While groups like the AHLA and the National Domestic Workers Alliance praise the new initiative, others are not so quick to applaud. “It is not Marriott’s responsibility to remind customers to tip; it’s their responsibility to pay their workers enough so that tips aren’t necessary,” said Barbara Ehrenreich, author of the 2001 book Nickel and Dimed, which chronicled her undercover work as a hotel maid, among other low-paying jobs.
Travel writer Will McCough wrote about his disgust with tip envelopes earlier this year on HotelChatter. He explained that he tips fairly but doesn’t appreciate a hotel implying that tipping is a requirement. “This is America, we all know the deal,” McCough wrote. “If your guests aren’t tipping housekeepers, valets, doormen, etc., perhaps you should focus less on envelopes and more on what’s encouraging them not to cough up those singles.”
Still, many travelers are seemingly unaware that tipping housekeepers, many of whom earn minimum wage, is an expected practice. The Huffington Post cites Scott Lazerson of Sundance, Utah, who said he “feels stupid” for not knowing all these years.
Meanwhile, Jessica Lynn Strosky of DuBois, Pa., said she earns $7.75 an hour cleaning hotel rooms and that only 1 in 15 or 20 guests leave a tip, and even then it’s usually just a dollar or two. Strosky told The Huffington Post, “I’ve talked to lots of people who say they don’t know they are supposed to tip.”
[Photo: Marriott]
Is Marriott still the largest purveyor of in-room porn? Maybe the sanctimonious Marriott family could share some of these profits with their employees. Hypocrites.
Yeah, I'd be more than happy to tip, and I do when I have small bills. However, the suggestion of using an ATM to get cash for tips is a bit short sighted - I'm not tipping a $20 bill on a one-night stay. Inevitably I have to buy something with that cash (soda, pack of gum, etc) and then use the change to tip. The front desk does not reliably have the cash to break a $20. That also assumes that the ATM is fee-free... if not, I'm stuck paying a $1-$3 fee to get cash. If there was a gratuity line on the folio at checkout, I would tip 100% of the time, no questions asked. Perhaps Marriott should look into that if they are concerned about their housekeepers getting tips regularly.
I always leave a tip. Sometimes I get annoyed when I have to go down to the front desk for small bill; however, I do it any. I figure $3-5 (per day) isn't going to change my life but it would be a big deal to the housekeeper, especially if she gets a handful a day. I leave a note the clearly indicates "For Housekeeper" on the pad of paper with the money tucked underneath hanging out. I will admit I get annoyed when I do not get a "Thank you"; however, I often think that may be due to language barriers....at least I hope.
Let me check my expense system fields. There is a space for Hotel-Lodging. There is a space for Internet-Hotel. There is nothing for a hotel tip. Perhaps Marriott should explain to my employer that tipping is customary and include it in the expense system. I wonder if my employer will tell me to tip or tell me to find a different hotel? Marriott and other hotels should eliminate tipping by increasing room rates and passing that on to maids. This has multiple advantages: 1. It increases price transparency. 2. It ensures that tips are provided. 3. It allows governments to receive appropriate taxes on the stay and the income. 4. It allows hotels to more effectively bid for labor by offering higher pay.
Doesn't the cost of a hotel room include cleaning?