I understand the point that you are trying to make, but your example fails to set out a persuasive argument. We don't know what other sources of revenue the family may have such as other familial assistance, the deal/debt that they got on their home, and the sources of financial aid for college that they received. More importantly, we don't know if any of these would have been possible without tips.

A more persuasive argument would be for us to know how much a housekeeper makes before and after tiips.

Business travel - I leave 0$ about 99% of the time. Sometimes there will be something that they will do which warrants a tip and this tends to happen more so with concierge lounge attendants rather than with maids.

Pleasure travel - I leave a tip...2-3$ per day.

I'm bothered ever so slightly by the whole tipping thing....Perhaps part of it is my personal experience with going from poverty and living on foodstamps and not having many luxuries in life to a half decent job and life style, that I look at it as a personal choice they make.

If they want to be successful, they can be and there's no need for me to subsidize their lack of desire for a better future. I tip usually because the person is doing something I don't have the skillset or desire to do. If they are providing a service they are employed to do (be it a Starbucks barrister to a maid) they are only doing their job.

Ditto. I leave it on the pillow, and on the few occasions where I tipped in the UK, I'd return to my room and usually find that the tip had been declined.

To quote yourself, "your example fails to set out a persuasive argument". Since you want to argue logic and linguistics, we is a collective term of which I would be a part of that collection. I DO know these things, as previously stated I have a personal relationship with this person, so it is in fact YOU who does not know not we. Or is the implication here that I am a liar? So go back to tipping your housekeepers and quit trying to dictate what I do and don't know about my own life.

Although earlier in my traveling life I did not tip, I have changed that attitude and am in the $1-2/day camp.

I greatly appreciate the daily tip idea as most of my stays are 6 nites and I do realize that this is not fair to the maid that has been there all week. I shall break a $20 at the beginning of my stays and begin to tip daily

Perry

Dude, Chill. Your reply is ridiculous and your linguistic parsing is wrong. WE refers to the readers of YOUR post. WE, in this instance, does not include YOU.

"We" is actually an ambiguous form which cannot appropriately be used to exclude me without some qualifier which you did not provide (as in fact intent cannot be properly relayed under these circumstances). Since the FlyerTalk community is in fact one and not divided into sects, an ambiguous use of we would include everyone on the boards, which yes would include myself. An appropriate wording to further your case could have been along the lines of "those of us reading your posts" however the manner in which you initially presented it was linguistically inappropriate. I have no problem arguing linguistics. English is in fact my third language and I take great pride in my mastery of it. If you want to continue to argue semantics the go right ahead but I say we keep in the helpful nature of FlyerTalk and put it behind us

I will even go so far as to say I'm sorry for my earlier post as I will admit I was a bit quick and brash to fly off the handle...

Agreed. We should let the linguistics drop. And congratulations on English being your third language. ^ I would never have guessed. I wish I had your skills in mastering foreign languages.

To bring it back on target, does anyone know how much housekeepers are paid?. My recollection ( which is often wrong ) is that in San Francisco major hotels, they were making about $11/hr at the expiration of the last contract. Not great money, especially for the Bay area, but not poverty, either.

It really depends but if the housekeeping is just doing their normal job i.e. ignoring the DND sign on the door etc. I don't tip.

Would you consider America to be a developing country?

I am happy to be a member of the same minority.

Surely the idea of a tip is to give a personal thankyou for a job well done, whether or not you can claim it on your expenses should not come into the equation.

Why single out housekeepers? Everybody should get paid enough not to have to depend on tips.

Thanks. Actual pay scales are generally privileged information so I doubt you would be able to find out many exact pay rates out there, but I can say that based on what you've said it doesn't seem to be very much below the pay scales for front desk staff. As a night auditor in Irvine (which is only marginally cheaper than the Bay Area) I was being paid a $1 premium over day workers at something like 11.75 and hour.

Sidetrack, I just got $500 in Dollar Coins directly from the US Mint and starting to travel with a $25 roll in my bag for tipping purposes. No tax, shipping cost and it shows up as a purchase earning me 500 MR points as well. Just a novelty that might work since I never seem to hold onto paper singles very well.

Nice!!!


This topic, tipping not the girlfriends, has come up a bunch over the years. I'm a 20%+ guy when dining but have never really left a top for a maid. I'm not against it per say but I truly travel with no cash most of the time so I don't think about it.

What an excellent suggestion. Very short and to the point. May I suggest "not applicable based on service received".

Good idea. But if you're paying by credit card, make sure you check your statement. Other posters have reported that their credit card statements have occasionally reflected a higher tip than what they had left at a restaurant.

Back on topic. I tip $1 to $2 per night and leave the tip on the pillow.