"plus gratuity" in the hotel rate?
 

The Super Saver rate for the Radisson LAX (cheap but refundable) states the following:

82.00 US DOLLARS PER NIGHT +TAX +GRATUITY FOR 1 NIGHT

What is this "plus gratuity" B.S.? Does this mean I don't qualify for the rate if I don't tip the maid? (which I never do)

:rolleyes:

Tipping the maid is obviously not required. This has been on that particular website for quite some time and I have no problem with the management providing a little encouragement on behalf of these employees. You might want to reconsider your practice of never tipping the maid. It is a nice gesture that is very much appreciated. Speaking generally, these are people who work very hard for relatively meager wages. Frequently, they are not folks with a lot of great career options.

Even better, management should consider paying them more!

QL

Radisson's system always puts that into rate descriptions, even for non-US hotels. It really has no meaning and should be disregarded.

Thanks! I will go ahead and book this.

As an aside, why is the Radisson LAX so cheap? It appears to be a nice hotel from the pictures and description.

Lots of competition at LAX. I routinely stay at the Westin and Rennaissance for about $100/night and both are very nice hotels.

One night stay: Why tip the person cleaning up after me?
 

When the room is a one night stay, I don't see it practical to tip the person cleaning up after me. Why? so the room will be extra nice for the next guest? If I could designate a tip for the person who cleaned the room for me, I'd reconsider.

In the cases of multi night stays, and the housekeeping staff is the same, I can see tipping, either as you go or at the end, as reasonable. But that seems rare.

Just as you tip the waiter at an end of a meal to reward good service (rather than at the beginning to incent good service), it is standard practice (AND THE RIGHT THING TO DO) to tip the maid when you leave a hotel room. Yes, there is a chance that the recipient of the tip will not be the same person who cleaned the room in preparation for your arrival, but (1) the rooms typically are serviced by the same person each day, and (2) even to the extent they're not, it should all come out in the wash (no pun intended).

As another poster has pointed out, these people work for incredibly low wages and rely on tips to supplement their meager wages. It would be nice if they were paid more (which, of course, would translate to higher room rates), but they're not, and not tipping won't help them any. So rather than pay the tip in the form of the higher room rate, why not just give it to them directly?

Obviously the extent of the tipping culture depends on where in the world you are... In the US, I would not fail to leave a tip to those who have served me. However, I would stop short of leaving a tip on the hotel bill.

One useful point about the Radisson LAX is that, if you have little luggage, you can walk from the terminals to the hotel, avoiding the bus transfers which can involve a long wait (and utter chaos) at peak times. You can follow the footpath that leaves the terminal area on the arrivals level, next to Terminal 1. There are a couple of roads to cross, and it's not a 'direct link' by a long chalk, but it saved me an awful lot of time when I was staying there.

It is not standard practice. Standard practice is approximately 15% at a restaurant and $1 for an alcoholic drink at a bar.

Hotels, ice cream parlors, sandwich shops, letter carriers, doormen, etc., are tipped more often than factory workers, but it is certainly not standard to tip them.

I would much prefer to pay $3 more a night and see a big giant sign on the room door that says "NO TIPPING", than to have this odd setup where you leave money to a total stranger you have never seen before and will never see again.

Precisely why I chose it. :) I stayed at another hotel in that area one time further east on that block (Crowne Plaza probably). Extremely easy walk. If I get there before midnight I will walk down to In 'N Out for dinner.