Originally Posted by
offerendum
I would say it´s the door man. I´m from Europe and not that much in tipping, even in the US. I tip (outside the restaurant) the person who brings my luggage, who shows me the room, the maid (twice a day if I return to the room) and the valet when bringing my car. Other persons if there is special service (f.e. room delivery of whatever). At 5 stars properties I normally even in the US have the Impression the staff is behind tips, would be a no-go for me.
I tip the person who brings my luggage but not someone (often a front desk clerk) who just shows me the room. [Some European colleagues have told me that the rule is whether the service is for the guest versus for the hotel, and the front desk person is there to check that everything is OK in the room, which benefits the hotel rather than the guest, although those same people say not to tip room service for breakfast delivery in those small European hotels that include continental breakfast from room service as the only option.] In some small European and Asian hotels, the front desk person handles the luggage too, which is an ambiguous (IMO) situation in places where tips are given.
In many hotels you really should tip twice for the luggage: the person who brings it from the vehicle or street into the lobby and then the (different) person who brings it from the lobby to your room.
For this reason, unless I have a lot of luggage, I try to hang onto it and take care of it myself, which also avoids the sometimes lengthy luggage delivery delays. If I tell the airline it's carry on, I should be able to carry it myself a few steps in the hotel, and wheels tend to make this easy unless there are stairs that you can't avoid.
BTW, I wouldn't greet someone who simply greets me and shows me to the front desk. In fact, in some situations (such as when you arrive using the hotel's car service), it would be an assistant manager or some loyalty or guest experience manager.