Housekeeping: Prefer tips or skip cleaning the room?
 

Hello,

Do you think Housekeeping would prefer to service a room and receive a tip or do you think they would prefer to skip the room if you didn't require it? This is supposing they get paid the full time no matter how many or how little rooms they have to service for the day.

I'm adding the qualifier to the question, as Yoshi212, and LadyPheonix below has brought up a good point that may happen at some properties. - Obviously IF Housekeeping only gets paid by the hours they work and not for the full 8/Hours per day that I assume a full time employee would get, they would prefer more work.

I'm not a messy person and in fact like to tidy up my room before I check out, so most of the time I don't need housekeeping service, and if I do I always leave a generous tip. I've worked in the hotel industry before but have no knowledge of the housekeeping department. I've heard that most hotels have a maximum time allotted for cleaning each room so I'm wondering if you think housekeeping would prefer to service a room and receive a tip or if you think knowing they can skip cleaning a room would be a welcomed relief?

Indicating on your response if you personally know the answer from experience, or if you are working or has worked in the hotel industry would be very helpful. Also if you personally know which Brands/Properties do not pay housekeeping for the full day if they do not have enough rooms to service, that would also be good to know.

Thanks everyone!

PS- Mods if this should be posted somewhere else please let me know.

Money in hand vs maybe going home early and not getting paid for that time...I think most people would take the money.
I tend to tip on the last day of my stay and skip house keeping service if my stay is just 2 nights.

There's a 50% chance of a tip being left for a housekeeping staff member when he or she services the room. But there is a 100% knowledge of what that staff member will get if the room is to be skipped: less work. Based on that, I believe they would rather skip the room.

With respect, I have never understood why some choose the last day to tip instead of tipping each day. There is no guarantee that the staff member from Day 1 will be the same one throughout the course of one's stay.

[/QUOTE]Money in hand vs maybe going home early and not getting paid for that time...I think most people would take the money.
I tend to tip on the last day of my stay and skip house keeping service if my stay is just 2 nights. [/QUOTE]

Thank you, Perhaps I should put that as a qualifier in the question. I didn't know that at some properties they might leave early and not get the days pay.

I tidy up after myself.

Housekeeping refreshes the coffee, makes sure the room is stocked with enough toilet paper, empties the trash cans -- even if I've tidied up. And the folks that do that work, they do harder work than I do, for less money. I can afford to leave a couple of bucks, even if there isn't a whole lot of work to do.

So to answer your question, I leave the money AND lessen the workload.

^Agreed, since you never know which person will be there on which days, when requiring housekeeping services, it's best to leave a tip everyday.

Because it's a PITA to have the right amount of money around all the time, getting worse as I use cash less and less often. I wish hotels would just pay their staff a decent wage and charge me for it in the room rate (seriously, I would go out of my way to stay there), or barring that include a service charge in my bill. Until that time comes it's a lottery who gets my tip when I check out.

Since tips are an expected supplement of really low wages, I believe they'd prefer the work.

Agreed. That is what I do. I also make a point of telling the cruise stewards/ess that they do not have to turn down my room at night. Less work for them, they get a few more precious minutes so they can get off duty earlier and I get to skip a chocolate on the pillow. When I stay at hotels that offer turn down I put the do not disturb sign on the door so they don't have to come in and turn down a bed that I am perfectly capable of turning down myself.

Something else to keep in mind, housekeeping is also one of those jobs which is classified as being tips based which means your housekeeper probably isn't getting the full minimum wage.

Housekeeping: Prefer tips or skip cleaning the room?
 

Or if everyone just stopped tipping, they would either demand higher pay or quit and find new jobs.

Housekeeping: Prefer tips or skip cleaning the room?
 

It's never even occurred to me to leave a tip in a hotel room, but I am British and deeply uncomfortable with the whole tipping mentality, particularly the expectation.
Do you leave it on the side and if so, how would they distinguish a tip from cash you've just forgotten to pick up or tidy away?

I don't get housekeeping daily so I only ever tip on the last day.

Tipping culture in North America has gotten completely out of hand, but that's another discussion... It is currently the expectation, and those workers do need tips to supplement their below-norm wages, so it's up to the individual whether you leave or don't leave a tip.

I leave the cash on the bed (usually by the pillows), so it's clear it's for the housekeepers, not my left-over cash.

Some places pay them by the room, so you're not helping them to have them skip it. Why not just ask them?

FYI, you will find hundreds of pages of tipping debates in the archives of FT. Happy reading.