Tipping when staying on points.

[Brigitte Haase]

Just curious. What is the protocol on tipping mousekeeping if you only get trash and towel service on day 4 and day 8?

 

[jekjones1558]

Oh boy. This subject comes up on a regular basis and opinions are very different. Some tip, some don't, so I would say to do whatever you think is right. Even those who tip do different amounts.
Sorry to be so vague but if you do a search you can read the debates on this subject. I hate to get another tipping debate started.
P.S. Have a great trip!

 

[BWV Dreamin]

Please tip your mousekeeper if they come in and clean or do the trash and towel service.

Our last visit to AKV, we requested a special no chemical cleaning. The manager came to our room upon check-in along with the mousekeeper to see if everything was up to our liking and if there were any problems. The mousekeeper looked very scared (she was standing behind the manager). I told him everything was fantastic and she smiled so wide, just beamed!!! She also thanked me along with the manager.

Later, she knocked on the door and again thanked me for the great comment about the room. She said many mousekeepers are fearing for their job, and I guess these room comments are coming down hard on them.

Your tip will go along way towards making somone's day!!

 

[disneynutz]

We don't tip just because they did the job that they are paid to do.

Per Disney and the Union that the Housekeepers belong to, housekeeping is not a tipped position and they are paid extra and given other incentives in place of getting tips.

Even with all of the tips that people do pay, and the millions of dollars that owners pay for housekeeping, we usually have cleaning issues. Tipping to me would send a wrong message.

Bill

 

[disneyfan61]

We have ALWAYS tipped and will continue to do so. I appreciate them & what they do.

 

[AnnaS]

Many tip, many don't, many forget. Do what makes you feel good/right.

We do leave tip.

 

[MouseMomx2]

Official word from Disney is that housekeeping is not a tipped position. Of course if you feel that you want to leave something you are more than welcome to.

 

[SamSam]

We tip, some don't ...it's really up to you. Here's what we do for T&T service:

Studio - $5.00
1-Bedroom - $5.00

For full service we do:

Studio - $5.00
1-bedroom - $10.00

No real rhyme or reason to it, just what we like to do.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Valet, Bell Services and Food Servers are tipped positions and should be tipped. Housekeeping makes more than these positions and not a tipped position. Unless you have a big problem and leave a mess, no need to tip.

 

[myzel]

Do what you would like, some people I guess figure that tipping, even for "non tipped" positions is forbidden. Then some people are too cheap to tip, but funny they will tip the postman at Christmas or the paper person. I think that a tip is a way to say thank you, even if it is for doing their job. How many people leave the change on the counter at their local coffee shop, that is a non tipped position.

 

[Dean]

Just curious. What is the protocol on tipping mousekeeping if you only get trash and towel service on day 4 and day 8?

We tip or don't in general depending on whether people are in a tipped position and what the standard's are. From the info I've seen, housekeeping at HOTEL's are about 50/50 tipped vs non (yes I ask management). I'm not aware of a single timeshare in the US where housekeeping is a tipped position, specific to Disney they are not paid as tipped employees. That assumes they simply do their job; if they do something beyond and special, we do tip and we find that's often the case at Disney. I find it schizophrenic to tip housekeeping at Disney if you don't tip at regular hotels and I find it also strange to tip housekeeping at Disney but not other lowly paid, dirty, hardworking people that have just as much impact on the quality of our stays. Maintenance if they come fix something, gardeners/landscapers, etc.

Do what you would like, some people I guess figure that tipping, even for "non tipped" positions is forbidden. Then some people are too cheap to tip, but funny they will tip the postman at Christmas or the paper person. I think that a tip is a way to say thank you, even if it is for doing their job. How many people leave the change on the counter at their local coffee shop, that is a non tipped position.

It's unusual in the US for a server at a sit down restaurant, including a diner, not to be in a tipped position. For counter service, they generally are not and I use the same rules as above, tip if they do something special specifically for me and mine, otherwise no. I also find that many seem to tip differently at Disney than they do otherwise and I have my theories as to why. I don't see it as forbidden but I do see it as a poor idea in principle. IMO the system itself is a poor one. It creates inequities that aren't necessary and it passes on business costs to the consumer that should come under the employer and does so as an end run. As to the implied idea that there's no downside, I'd disagree. If they convert housekeeping to a tipped position, I think it's likely to be worse overall for them.

Come Jan, 2014 the IRS will start treating automatic tips, such as on larger parties, as a service charge and they ultimately count it as regular salary with withholding (employee and employer) and delayed payment as regular salary at many restaurants. For this reason it appears that many restaurants that now do mandatory tips for larger parties will stop doing so.

 

[Bullseye]

We always tip but it's only like $5 bucks, so no big deal. I think I'm just used to doing that from we stayed at non dvc resorts. Doesn't towel animal ratio go up if you tip?

 

[greengeen]

We always tip but it's only like $5 bucks, so no big deal. I think I'm just used to doing that from we stayed at non dvc resorts. Doesn't towel animal ratio go up if you tip?

No! Let's not perpetuate the myth that tipping will get you towel animals! In almost 100 trips I have seen NO correlation. None.

 

[bookwormde]

We only tip at the end of our stay. Anytime someone is not making a living wage, I make every effort to tip, since if can make a real difference in a persons life.

 

[disneynutz]

We always tip but it's only like $5 bucks, so no big deal. I think I'm just used to doing that from we stayed at non dvc resorts. Doesn't towel animal ratio go up if you tip?

To be honest we rarely see a Mousekeeper except for in the halls. On T&T day they leave fresh towels on the table or in a basket outside the door and usually don't even take out the trash. They also don't try to clean on the correct day and when you call Mousekeeping to let them know, they act like you are making the mistake, not them.

I don't tip for incompetence and only seeing someone every 4 days doesn't really give you much chance to build a rapport.

Bill

 

[skriegerjr]

No! Let's not perpetuate the myth that tipping will get you towel animals! In almost 100 trips I have seen NO correlation. None.

I still cannot believe the number of people that tip in hopes of getting towel animals. WHO CARES? You don't get them at other hotels, why do people mysteriously have to have them at a Disney vacation. We look at them as pixie dust. If we get them, great! If we don't, great, we're still at Disney! Not gonna make or break our vacation!

Sent from my Toshiba Thrive 32GB using the DISBoards App

 

[Dean]

We only tip at the end of our stay. Anytime someone is not making a living wage, I make every effort to tip, since if can make a real difference in a persons life.

I'm curious if you do that in your day to day life as well? Take places like fast food restaurants, the lawn crew if you use one, grocery store clerk, WalMart stocker that helps you find something, receptionist at the business or professional office. Obviously the answer will be no for most of these but the same wages and issues would apply. I'm convinced people will tip on vacation for things and reasons they wouldn't do at home in their daily lives. It's your choice to tip of course but I am pointing out that your stated reason is unlikely to be a principle you follow in your life, just on vacation (or maybe just at Disney for some) and even then you likely pick and chose.

I'd also add that of all of those I mentioned, the Disney housekeepers are likely the best paid overall on average when you look at the benefits package as well.

 

[disneynutz]

For some psychological reason I think that people tend to tip more while on vacation.

Bill

 

[MinnieLee]

Always tip both for T&T and full mousekeeping.

This is and always has been a subject with a varied amount of opinions. I know, as pp, it is a non-tipped position, we always do. It's just DH and myself in a studio and we appreciate what they do - even though I put the towels in the tub and tie up the garbage bags. I do not take into account the towel animals - they would get tipped either way.

 

[DevonsDisneyMom]

We stayed on points for the first time in June and I left tip for mouse keeping on the T&T day and they did not take it. I left the money on the the vanity area with a thank you note and when I came back in the afternoon it was still there. On the 8th day I left it on the bed and they took it.