Originally Posted by
jsnydcsa
I've had similar situations (see above, re: staying at someone's house).
No, I have my anti-flame kit on, so I'm ready. Here's my two cents on the matter:
I don't consider myself a resident of SA. Though 3/4s of my family are from and live in SA, I've always been a guest there. Admittedly, I've stayed there LONG periods - well longer than 4 weeks at a stretch - in folks' places where they have staff - maid, washing wendy, garden guy, some live in staff, some not, etc.
When I've been there for long stretches, I ask the host for a rough approximation of the staffperson's weekly wage. Based upon that, I take it to about 50-60% of that and that's approximately how much I tip for each week of staying. One family I stay with has a regular maid during the week, plus a washing/ironing lady who comes in twice a week. In this case the maid is cleaning up after me, making the beds, cleaning up extra dishes, etc. etc. and the washing/ironing lady is taking care of the laundry. I'd tip both of them.
You're only talking about one load per week. So maybe a little less. With the exchange rate nowadays, it's not too much to stretch to be generous.
Oftentimes, the garden guy (if my hosts aren't using a garden services) will polish my shoes, wash/clean the rental car, kick the ball around with the kids, etc. Same deal, about 50-60%, those guys tend to work their butts off for me, I really appreciate it.
For the longer stays, I'll often offer to "help" the staff out as best as I can. Because they might leave the house at the end of their day before the homeowner (my host) returns, I'll offer to drive them down to the taxi pickup or train station if I'm going that way. I know some of them pretty well by now (they've met and cared for my kids during family visits) and I try and do little things for them. One is a grandmother, and she was very pleased to get a school photo of my kids. She could have trashed it 30 seconds after my departure for all I know but it was nice to talk to her about kids (I guess its a global thing). Another appreciated the leftover (unused) items from various flight amenity bags and hotel items (shampoo, etc). I gave one gardener my multi-tool and he loved it. Things such as the ride, or the "that's a cool tool" tend to come up in conversation (I'm alone with them for days on end, sometimes) and I just feel like ... Oh, hey, remember we talked about that, here... or Why don't I ...
I'll re-caveat all of this by saying (1) I've always talked it over with my hosts first, just to be sure it's OK with them and nothing's changed, (2) I'm the beneficiary of great exchange rate so it's easier for me to be generous, (3) I'm trying not to be charitable/donative in my effort, just being nice and compensating them for the extra work, and (4) I'm prepared for the comments and criticisms that'll follow this post.