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Do you tip hotel maids?  I am not a frequent hotel traveler, but whether or not you tip a hotel maid is a question that many frequent travelers wonder.  Asking the question of how much to tip a hotel maid is one with very strong opinions from all sides!

Side note: I originally had a post about how much to tip a hotel maid in my drafts folder for a long time, but was prompted to finish it off after reading this post from a years ago about the “basic rules of tipping” in the Washington Post (H/T: View from the Wing), an article I found extremely irritating.  For the record, my personal rules of tipping are: 15-20% at restaurants, ~$1 / pizza if I order delivery (I don’t), nothing when I pickup carryout or eat at fast casual restaurants, nothing if I’m ordering water or pop at a bar and I do tip on the full original price if I have a coupon or gift card.

How much to tip a hotel maid

Okay, so back to the original question of how much to tip a hotel maid.

To me the difference between tipping a restaurant server and everyone else is a matter of wages.  Restaurant servers (at least in the United States) specifically get lower than minimum wage and make a good chunk of their income from tips.  I’m willing to be educated on this, but it’s my understanding that (setting aside being paid under the table and other extra-legal scenarios) everyone else is paid at least minimum wage.  Of course many people feel passionately about the minimum wage itself, but that’s a separate conversation.

(SEE ALSO: Tipping on Amtrak – how much and to whom?)

With that said, if you’re going to tip a hotel maid, many people will suggest $2-3 / day, with higher amounts if it’s a higher-end hotel, or if there are more people in the room, or of course if the service is more than usual.

When I asked over on the Points With a Crew miles and points Facebook group, responses varied with several people stating they did not tip hotel maids, and other responses of how much to tip hotel maids went up to $5-$10 / day

Should you tip the hotel maid? How much do you give in tips?

Do you tip hotel maids?  I don’t

So, having said that, personally, I don’t tip hotel maids, unless there is something extraordinary going on.  Generally, we prefer housekeeping just stay out of our hotel rooms when we stay there (typically we keep the do not disturb sign on our room doors).  And when we leave, we basically clean up the room and don’t leave a mess.  When I was just at the Hilton Seattle earlier this week (READ: I’m p*****d I didn’t get upgraded), when I left, I put the trash in the trash, the pillows and sheets on the bed, the towels in the bathroom, etc.  For my 4 day stay, I only had them come in one time (and then of course again when I checked out)

About the only time I could see leaving a tip for a hotel maid would be for extraordinary damages.  Your kid throws up and makes a giant mess, you’re at the beach and you get sand all in the bathtub and over the room, etc.

What about you?  How much do you tip a hotel maid? I’m curious to hear your thoughts in the comments


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