It never dawned on me to write a post about tipping hotel housekeepers until I received a tweet from a reader asking: “@JohnnyJet Johnny, do you leave a cash gratuity for room service at the end of your stay? My dad taught me that back in the day & I’ve never stopped. Is that old fashioned? Or still correct? Thanks.” Instead of just replying to Terrell I retweeted: “I tip every day because there’s different housekeepers” to all. RELATED: Should You Tip on Takeout?
What caught me off guard was that I had a number of people reply, including Sree Sreenivasan who is a big-time journalism professor in New York City. He commented: “@JohnnyJet Thanks for this tip, Johnny. I never thought about the different folks on different days, so I leave a single tip at the end of the stay.”
Then someone asked me: “@JohnnyJet Hi Johnny, what is the recommended rate or amount of gratuity per day?”
I replied that it all depends on the room, country and services. I don’t always get my room serviced but when I do, I tip about $5 a day and leave it under the pillow so minibar people don’t snag it.
How Much To Tip
If you’re traveling around the US, then I would leave between $3 and $10 a day, depending on the hotel category and the size of the room. I sometimes leave Starbucks gift cards, which I keep in my carry-on, usually to thank gate agents or flight attendants but when I run out of cash, I will leave them for housekeeping.
Tip Every Day, Not One Lump Sum
I tip every single day instead of one big lump sum at the end of my stay because there could be different housekeepers each day, depending on their shifts and schedules. For instance, you may have the same housekeeper working all week but the a different one on the weekend. It’s not right that they get rewarded for their colleague’s hard work. Also, housekeepers could be assigned different floors each day. At a hotel, it’s not like a cruise ship where you tend to have the same person for the duration of the cruise.
Why I Decline Housekeeping
I actually rarely have housekeeping come in to my room for a few reasons:
1. I don’t want people snooping around my things or risk having stuff stolen.
2. I try to be eco-friendly by not having my towels and sheets washed daily.
3. Some hotels will give guests credit or points if they decline housekeeping.
4. I’m not a messy person.
Don’t Be A Slob
My mom taught me a long time ago to always pick up after myself. I remember when I was kid and we were in a hotel, I thought my mom was crazy because each morning, she would clean up our hotel room, including picking my tissues up from the floor after I missed the “basket.” I now realize she was just being courteous so if I do have housekeeping service my room, I tidy up before we leave for the day. I say ‘we’ because when I travel with my kids, we usually get the room cleaned because they are like two little Tasmanian Devils.
I Use The Same Towel and Sheets
For the most part, I don’t need or even want my sheets and towels changed daily. I don’t do it at home so I’m not going to do it on the road. Unless, of course, one of my kids throws up, which has happened once or twice.
Where I Leave The Tip
I once shared a room with a friend and I left a $5 bill on the counter. We left the room to check out and I remembered that I’d forgotten my toothbrush in the shower. So I went back to the room and noticed that the $5 bill was gone. It turns out my no-good. now ex-friend, had taken the cash. Ever since then, I leave it under the pillow, mainly because I don’t want the mini-bar attendant or a supervisor to come in and grab it. Because if my friend did it, you know others will.
Otherwise, I try to give the tip directly to the housekeeper when they enter the room and then I leave. If I don’t see them, I will sometimes write a thank you note.
Make Friends
I almost always try to make friends with the housekeepers not only so that they will treat my stuff with care but also because I feel bad that they have to clean up other people’s messes. I see the way many guests treat housekeeping. I try to treat them like they’re my mother.
Do Your Research
If you’re heading out of the country, then do your research about what the tipping customs are. In some countries like Japan, it’s rude to leave a tip.
These are my general tipping guidelines but everyone has different thoughts on what’s acceptable and the entire topic of tipping can be divisive. This video below, created using information from CNN Money, which sourced their information from the Emily Post Institute, offers a breakdown of what you should actually be tipping all the different people you encounter during a hotel stay:
@attn Are you secretly a bad tipper? #ettiquette #serviceindustry #tiktoktaughtme #tiktokpartner ♬ original sound – attn:
What do you think? Do you agree with these suggestions?
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I appreciate the tips offered by everyone. Some were new to me. I tip daily, since you may not have the same housekeeper for your entire stay.
This article was thoughtful and useful. I leave a note daily near the TV to ask the housekeeper for coffee refills, toilet paper or other needs, and also to thank them. I put the actual tip in the coffee service area so that they can pick it up while restocking the coffee supplies after having read the aforementioned note.
If the hotel is not doing housekeeping except on request, due to Covid, then I tip the housekeeper who brings supplies to the room.
I also find that if you provide a tip to the person stocking the continental breakfast, it makes them happy. They often do not get much appreciation.
I worked the front desk in a new resort of vacation homes in Washington State. In today’s world, it’s so hard to find a GOOD housekeeping staff let alone ones that show up to work. Most people that stayed with us didn’t even think of our housekeepers, and the fact that in an 8 hour day they were required to clean 6 to 9 complete (anywhere from 2 to 5 bedroom) houses. (yes, they did work in teams of 2 or 3) but that didn’t make the demand any less. Our team didn’t get rewarded for their efforts very often since our company charged a cleaning fee. That cleaning fee went to supplies to replenish the houses and DID NOT go directly to the housekeeping like most thought. I always suggested our guest tip our housekeeping staff when they left. When our HK staff received a tip they felt APPRECIATED. To some it meant they could pick up their childs’ prescription, or diapers, or something to make dinner with. It’s hard work what they do, everyone should have to spend a day in HK so they understand what these gals (and guys) do to ensure YOUR stay is a relaxing CLEAN one… What’s a $20 bill in the long run? Most of you that get paid high wages and salaries won’t even miss it… and isn’t it worth it to make someone feel appreciated?
I clean houses.most guest don’t leave tips.most leave trash all over . They don’t start dishes.they also leave soap bars in shower now u and I both know where that’s been. Piling sheets in one pile .towels in another and starting dishes taking trash out is a wonderful thing to do.also gives us more time to clean other stuff.
Neil, you apparently live in a world most human beings never experience…
Some of these commentators need to get real. A towel once it has been used is a used item and needs to be replaced after use , this is done at home . Why sheets should not be changed is beyond me, if I am paying minimum these days of $500 plus a night plus resort fees of $50 to $125 for my room in Waikiki at the Royal Hawaiian or the Waldorf Astoria in New York. I in all sincerity expect my room to be kept in pristine condition during my stay by housekeeping , would you accumulate rubbish in a waste bin at home, ours gets put out in the garbage, perhaps some of your readers have low expectations
Having traveled on business over 4 decades, I have seen many supervisors going into rooms before the housekeeping staff. I always put my gratuity under the pillow and a handwritten note on the bed thanking the person who cleaned my room. I also do not check in online as requested for a pre assigned room. I call mid morning and request the room I want and ask for an upgrade if possible, hopefully getting the room I want. I remember the name of the person that helped me and tip that person if my request comes through.
Johnny, I LOVE your podcasts. Still learning after 47 years of travel!
That’s AWESOME! Thank you
LYNNE RANNEY Thank you for your comment, you said everything I wanted to say to this person. Often people who earn a good living have no clue what it is like to struggle to survive on a low wage. I always make a point to look at support staff in the eye when I walk by them and say hello, thank you, etc. I also agree with daily tipping to keep things more fair. I would think a note might be needed if leaving the tip by your pillow so they know it is for them and not a mistake.
If you don’t get your room serviced AT ALL during your stay (whether it’s 1 day or 5), do you still need to leave a tip (understanding that there’s never any “need” but it’s a courtesy)? Because you pay for an already made up room when you pay for a hotel room, and the next guest does the same. There was nothing that the housekeeper did WHILE you were there so what do you need to tip them for since it’s their job to make up a room for the next guest? Before anyone goes “yelling” at me, I do usually leave a tip, usually a days’ worth, and I’m not a slob: like Johnny, I use the same towels, sheets, my own toiletries, clean up after myself, put all the towels on the floor in the bathroom in a pile, make sure all the garbage is in the trash, etc. (I like the tip about stripping the bed of its sheets).
Generally it’s just me staying, but even if 2 of us I only use 1 trash basket and not all of them.