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Old Oct 20, 2005 | 2:21 pm
  #16  
 
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So glad to see this post today. This has been a source of friction between my spouse and me...I always tip housekeeping, usually $3 a day or so. My spouse thinks it's unecessary. Bottom line, I figure folks in the lower paying positions often need the extra income and while we may not be rolling in it, we're not cleaning rooms either! That said, until now, I have always tipped at the end of a stay rather than daily...although a bit of nuisance to do this every day, I will try to do so in future.
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Old Oct 20, 2005 | 2:36 pm
  #17  
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I heard some Europeans say tipping, at least over there, isn't expected or common.
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Old Oct 20, 2005 | 7:44 pm
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I always leave the maid a few dollars a day. Why would I tip the guy who gets my car $1.00 for 2 minutes of work and ignore the maid who does 1/2 hour or more a day on my room?
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Old Oct 20, 2005 | 10:31 pm
  #19  
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Originally Posted by Traveller
I always leave the maid a few dollars a day. Why would I tip the guy who gets my car $1.00 for 2 minutes of work and ignore the maid who does 1/2 hour or more a day on my room?
Maybe because you already paid $100+ for the room plus 10-15% service charge? It should be up to the hotel to pay the employees (an appropriate amount) and check if the work is done right. It should not be up to the individual, already paying, guests.

Having said that, I usually leave some token of appreciation at the end of a stay, but not much.

HTB.
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Old Oct 21, 2005 | 9:00 am
  #20  
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Originally Posted by htb
Maybe because you already paid $100+ for the room plus 10-15% service charge? It should be up to the hotel to pay the employees (an appropriate amount) and check if the work is done right. It should not be up to the individual, already paying, guests.

Having said that, I usually leave some token of appreciation at the end of a stay, but not much.

HTB.
I have to give the guy who gets my car a dollar even when paying $30.00 a day parking. What's the difference?
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Old Oct 21, 2005 | 10:06 am
  #21  
 
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Originally Posted by htb
Maybe because you already paid $100+ for the room plus 10-15% service charge? It should be up to the hotel to pay the employees (an appropriate amount) and check if the work is done right. It should not be up to the individual, already paying, guests.

Having said that, I usually leave some token of appreciation at the end of a stay, but not much.

HTB.
10-15% service charge? Is this common somewhere? I haven't stayed that many places outside the US, but in the places I have stayed both here and abroad I've never paid 10-15% service charge for a room. (10-15% room tax, well, that's another story, but that's going directly to a local government.) If I did, I would indeed think twice about leaving something for the housekeeping folks, but barring that I do tend to leave 2-3 bucks/night particularly if I'm staying more than one night.
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Old Oct 21, 2005 | 10:14 am
  #22  
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Originally Posted by bdabird
So glad to see this post today. This has been a source of friction between my spouse and me...I always tip housekeeping, usually $3 a day or so. My spouse thinks it's unecessary. Bottom line, I figure folks in the lower paying positions often need the extra income and while we may not be rolling in it, we're not cleaning rooms either! That said, until now, I have always tipped at the end of a stay rather than daily...although a bit of nuisance to do this every day, I will try to do so in future.
One piece of advice, from a friend who's the executive housekeeper @ one of the big resorts in Orlando (aka, head of housekeeping)-if you're tipping daily, which is preferred for the reasons outlined before, it's best to do so in a way that ensures the housekeeper knows it's for her/him; her suggestion was to leave it in one of the empty & dry glasses in the bathroom w/a little note that says, "Thank you" to ensure the housekeeper knows it's ok to take it. In many hotels, unless the guest has checked out, the staff aren't allowed to take money just left out on the bedside table or bathroom counter (or on the bed as a previous posted referenced), even if the guest did leave it out as a tip.
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Old Oct 23, 2005 | 7:03 am
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Originally Posted by CrazyOne
10-15% service charge? Is this common somewhere? I haven't stayed that many places outside the US, but in the places I have stayed both here and abroad I've never paid 10-15% service charge for a room.
I've just checked -- it may not be common in the States (picked a random hotel), but quite common elsewhere around Asia:
  • Taipei, Taiwan, Holiday Inn
    TAX: 5% PER NIGHT INCLUDED IN RATE EFFECTIVE 3 NOVEMBER, 2005 THRU 4 NOVEMBER, 2005
    SERVICE CHARGE: 10% PER NIGHT NOT INCLUDED IN RATE EFFECTIVE 3 NOVEMBER, 2005 THRU 4 NOVEMBER, 2005
    EXCLUDES GRATUITY
  • Tokyo, Japan, Interconti Tokyo Bay
    TAX: 5% PER NIGHT NOT INCLUDED IN RATE EFFECTIVE 3 NOVEMBER, 2005 THRU 4 NOVEMBER, 2005
    SERVICE CHARGE: 10% PER NIGHT NOT INCLUDED IN RATE EFFECTIVE 3 NOVEMBER, 2005 THRU 4 NOVEMBER, 2005
    EXCLUDES GRATUITY
  • Beijing, China, Interconti Financial Street
    SERVICE CHARGE: 15% PER NIGHT NOT INCLUDED IN RATE EFFECTIVE 3 NOVEMBER, 2005 THRU 4 NOVEMBER, 2005
    EXCLUDES GRATUITY

Even if the service charge is not (expressly) included/added to the room charge, I'd like to believe that I pay the hotel for providing me a clean room. I will complain to the hotel if the room is not clean. If the tipping franzy continues we may even end up tipping the person who checks us in, or the person passing the room key when we return to the hotel. They all do some kind of personal service, but again: I expect that I pay for that with the room rate.

HTB.
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Old Dec 8, 2005 | 1:25 pm
  #24  
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Originally Posted by htb
Even if the service charge is not (expressly) included/added to the room charge, I'd like to believe that I pay the hotel for providing me a clean room. I will complain to the hotel if the room is not clean. If the tipping franzy continues we may even end up tipping the person who checks us in, or the person passing the room key when we return to the hotel. They all do some kind of personal service, but again: I expect that I pay for that with the room rate.

HTB.
A clean room is included in the room rate, as are all normal hotel services, like concierge, check-in and check-out, etc.

Room service sometimes includes a service charge (and this should be indicated on the bill that comes with the food); no additional gratuity is required.
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Old Dec 8, 2005 | 2:18 pm
  #25  
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I'm looking at going to Hong Kong, which supposedly doesn't have a sales tax.

But they have a 3% hotel tax AND most hotels seem to be imposing a 10% "service charge." But it also says that doesn't include gratuity.

So what exactly is this service charge?
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Old Dec 8, 2005 | 3:23 pm
  #26  
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I was told that you're supposed to tip doormen... but that seems excessive. I mean, they opened a door for me! Does anyone tip doormen?
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Old Dec 8, 2005 | 4:21 pm
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Doormen: only if they go out of their way to help (beyond opening a door - i.e., cab, helping with bags, or something else of merit)

Housekeeping: I always leave a couple bucks/day, in a lump sum, after checking out; will give to the staff member if I see them.

Concierge: Like doormen, only if they go above and beyond with a request.

Valets/Bellmen: Yep, I tip when they deliver something to the room.

Had a convo in Europe recently with a hotel employee who stated flat out that they see Americans as "poor tippers" - Tipping is by no means a requirement, nor is it an expectation. But I feel good about it, so I do it when merited, and it usually seems much appreciated, which makes me happy, too.
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Old Dec 9, 2005 | 12:23 pm
  #28  
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Originally Posted by tdo-ca
Had a convo in Europe recently with a hotel employee who stated flat out that they see Americans as "poor tippers" - Tipping is by no means a requirement, nor is it an expectation. But I feel good about it, so I do it when merited, and it usually seems much appreciated, which makes me happy, too.
I think that the hotel employee must have been sarcastic -- many Europeans (possibly 80%+) do not tip at all for the kinds of things talked about in this thread.

Americans IMHO are the most inclined to tip of any countrymen. And it is (also IMHO) done excessively.
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Old Dec 19, 2005 | 7:01 am
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Hotel Housekeeper: back-breaking work

These days, hotels are trying to out-bed one another with bigger mattresses, duvet covers and bolsters, and the souped-up sleepers are wreaking havoc on housekeepers' backs and arms. At the Oakland Marriott, that was cause for a protest.

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cg...NGOEGA9TE1.DTL
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