When do you tip hotel maid

On vacation, you likely tip the cab driver who picks you up from the airport, the bellhop who carries your bags to your hotel room, and even room service — but have you ever wondered how much to tip hotel housekeeping? Related: More travel etiquette to know. Now more than ever, tipping hotel housekeeping is increasingly important as properties begin to reopen and travel comes back.

From luxury resorts like the Four Seasons to Disney World hotels , new health and safety measures, like contactless check-in and socially distant dining, are being put into place to reduce the spread of COVID Hotels are also ramping up housekeeping procedures to ensure rooms are extra clean, so guests can rest assured knowing that all possible precautions have been taken.

And tip more. Though guests are interacting less frequently with housekeeping—who are largely invisible workers to begin with—it does not mean housekeepers are working less. Between more frequent cleanings in public spaces and more potent chemical cleaners in guest rooms between stays, housekeeping is working twice as hard.

When they cannot regularly tidy a room, just imagine how much dirtier it will be when they get to it. Cohorst adds that housekeeping workers have even been attending to hotel room parties and their messy aftermaths—which surprised me, but makes total sense. With bars and restaurants closed or operating at limited capacities, where else might a quarantine pod go to have a staycation and let off some steam?

People are taking the party to hotels and leaving housekeeping to deal with it. This extraordinary care might go unnoticed, but it should not go unrecognized. The standard tip for hotel housekeeping in the U. It was not universally embraced. The American Hotel and Lodging Association offers a gratuity guide with suggested amounts for housekeeping, room service and other hotel employees.

We can do better. Gratuity envelope or not. Line item on our bill or not. We can make a point to carry cash when we stay at a hotel, and we can leave a few dollars each night for the people cleaning up after us. Anything less is shameful. Join the Heidi Stevens Balancing Act Facebook group, where she continues the conversation around her columns and hosts occasional live chats. Twitter heidistevens Skip to content. A retweet of a New York Times story on hotel housekeeping has sparked a debate about what's fair treatment for the people who do the dirty work at hotels.

Amy sided with Fair Tipper.