Made me think of Harry Bosch’s line: Everybody counts or nobody counts. Couldn’t resist.

I just saw my first "please tip the housekeepers" envelope at a US Marriott. I do not stay at many US Marriott properties. I'm not going to go into a whole US versus the rest of the world rant. It is what it is. But I do think it is disgusting that the Marriott corporation engages in this practice. It makes me want to stay less at Marriott in the US.

Was the location providing daily housekeeping by default?

I respectfully disagree.

The hotel did its job of preparing the room for the guest. A clean room is expected as part of the room rate.

I will gladly tip for housekeeping services provided during my stay.

Yes, normal housekeeping.

FWIW, more than likely Marriott is not engaging in anything. Maybe the property you stayed at is corporately managed but even then, the ability of Bethesda to have direct knowledge of something like this is a longshot at best. Unless something extreme is happening the parent company usually has no clue and/or does not get involved since ownership of the building and the prevailing work rules/handbook are outside of their jurisdiction.

One thing I know about Marriott corporate is that they are very strong on pushing company standards on all hotels. I know a GM who is on daily and weekly conference calls with corporate about standards and housekeeping is right near the top of the list. If it was only one or two hotels engaging in this practice, you might be right. But this thread seems to suggest that it is more than one or two.

That plus the Marriott name and logo are on the envelope. And today in my room I found a card with the logo and registered trademark symbol for Marriott. Yeah, it could be faked, but I doubt it. This is all blessed by corporate IMHO.

I'm not sure who "the hotel" is that "did its job," but rooms are cleaned by people, not hotels, and housekeeping is a tipped profession in most of the United States. Between stay room cleaning is no more or less included in the room rate than room cleaning in between stays.

The most frustrating part of this discussion is not that some people feel they are exempt from the norms about compensation of hospitality workers, but that they find recognition of the norms of the society they participate in offensive. You may not like tipping, you may think tipping culture is bad, you may think that housekeepers dont deserve to make money. But suggesting housekeepers or Marriott are offensive when they acknowledge the societal norms and make it easier for those of us who participate in them and *want* to tip, hoo boy.
Anyway, two months later and this thread is back, and some things never change.

I think that anything that makes tipping easier is great. There have been so many times when I've had to rush around trying to find some cash so I can leave a tip in a hotel - and I'm sure I'm not alone. Being able to do it by QR code means that workers will get more money. That's a good thing.

The American tipping system is awful - it's designed to allow employers to pay workers less. But it is the system we have and workers rely on it. To choose not to participate because you think it's a bad system just screws over the already poorly-paid workers. Until we get rid of tipping entirely, I will tip generously, because I can easily afford to. And the reality is that every one of us can easily afford to tip the $5 or $10 a day that we should be leaving housekeeping staff (plus the additional tips for all of the other workers in hotels and restaurants).

I don't see any point in insulting Americans nor rest of the world. Neither side is going to change their minds, because their way is embedded in their culture. People talk about the evils of cultural appropriation these days, but what is worse is trying to force your culture on another people. It would be best to accept that they are the way they are for a reason.

Americans will go on tipping and most of the rest of the world will not. Just accept it.

But when it comes to the Marriott corporation, which operates globally, their stance in this matter is unacceptable to a huge portion of their clients. If people want to tip housekeepers, let them. If they do not, let them. Marriott should not take a formal stance in cultural differences.

What is their "unacceptable stance"? That it should be easy to tip workers who are paid via tips? Is this really "unacceptable" to a "huge portion" of clients? What number of customers are even mildly bothered by a QR code to leave a tip at US properties? And what percent of those customers would be complaining about something regardless? I'm sure more people would find it unacceptable if rates were increased.

If you find the notion of tipping offensive, you can stay at an Airbnb or just not come to the US. (Which is also *not* the only country where classy travelers tip.)
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​​​​when I visit other countries, I do not complain that their customs are offensive.
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I suspect that the number of customers bothered by this is higher than you think. It's tacky, and manipulative. Even as an American, it leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I would find it far more acceptable if rates were increased a few bucks a night and I knew that staff were being paid a reasonable wage without trying to guilt me into chipping in to cover the shortfall.

By no means was I suggesting this is a one or two hotel practice or even that it's contained to Marriott because it's not.

Let me give you some TMI examples:

The Hilton Suites and the Doubletree property in Ocean City Maryland are both owned by the same family. You will see tip envelopes at both properties. None of the other Hilton properties in OCMD that I'm aware of have them. The HIS I currently work at will not do tip envelopes because the owner of the building thinks it's tacky. A good friend of mine is the GM of a nearby CY and she likes the idea of tip envelopes but the management company will not allow it. If they were to start it tomorrow, Bethesda would have no clue. I spent a long time at a HWS that had three ownership changes and it swung from allowing tips to firing people for soliciting tips. My first job in the industry many years ago was at a corporately managed RI and the tip policy changed based on the GM even though it was usually a no.

The point is that in all of these examples over the past 23 years, the local hotel or franchisee home office was making the call, not the parent company who either had no idea or turned a blind eye of indifference.

As for "standards", I worked for two corporately managed properties and Marriott does a great job with emails, conference calls and webinars. There is also a large disconnect between that and the day to day operational reality of what goes on at A LOT of properties. For most places your only corporate boots on the ground is a once a year half-baked QA audit. A lot of stuff goes on before and after the auditor leaves that does not come close to jiving those "standards" and there are thousands and thousands of posts of this site non-stop detailing as much let alone what goes on for the 99.9% of the population that has never heard of FT or that is not vigilant about anything regarding benefits.

​​​​​​You can write to Congress then.

Of course, as others have pointed out, some of us find this a convenience to help us tip hospitality workers, not "guilting" anyone. If you find this so upsetting, it seems like you really just don't want to be reminded that you should be tipping, when you have decided not to.

When you go to a restaurant, what do you do when there is a suggested tip at the bottom of the receipt? Is that tacky and "manipulative" too?

​​​​​​as for the suggestion this is some new cheap ploy, when I first went to hotels (in the Catskills) with my parents in the 1980s, tip envelopes were standard. My parents at that age taught me $2 a night. I guess some people didn't receive that kind of rearing.

OK I wasn't aware that other chains were doing this. But I still maintain, as a matter of experience as someone who has over 3000 hotel nights over the last 25 years, and who has worked on the inside a few times, that corporate is aware of what is going on. I don't have smoking gun proof or anything and I would surmise that you do not either. It's just an educated guess on our parts and I respect your experience as that counts for a lot.

However I did have the time just now to take a photo of the card laid on my night stand today. Like I said above, they could have faked this to look like a Marriott published card, but I suspect it is authorized and real.