I’m going to NYC next month, but I’ve never stayed at a hotel before! I’m thinking of tipping the maid at the end of the stay when I check out, but how much should I tip?!
Also is there a way to decline the help from the bellman (I’ll probably will have only 1 carry on, can handle it myself and I dont want to get into any awkward moment)
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Tipping hotel maids is not mandatory and you certainly can decline having someone else carry your bag(s) to your room.
Be prepared for everyone that breathes wanting a tip
You can certainly decline help with luggage… depending on where you are staying, it may not even be offered. (I usually stay at cheaper places where it’s not!)
Tipping housekeeping is per day, probably $3 – 5 per day. Leave it in your room on the last day in an obvious spot with a note that says “for housekeeping.” Tipping housekeeping is not mandatory, but I feel like it’s pretty common, especially if you’re there for a few nights.
Have a fun trip!
leaving a few bills in the room for the maid is considered polite, at least in my family. doesn’t have to be exorbitant, and only leave it when you check out. happy travels!
I leave a five to ten dollar bill per day that I stay. Hotel workers bust ass, and in my opinion are far more deserving of a tip than at lot of places that expect it nowadays.
For housekeeping, I usually tip a few dollars per day, unless I’ve done something out of the ordinary, like if there’s extra trash or something. I leave money every day rather than tipping it all at the end, since you might have different housekeepers every day.
I’ve never stayed at a hotel with a bellman, so I can’t say what you do in that situation.
$2-3 per day on average. A lot of people don’t tip maids, especially now during pandemic times where they clean less frequently, but I think it’s polite.
Generally leave some cash with a note specifying it’s for housekeeping.
I do tip housekeeping as its a tough job and they usually aren’t paid well. I do $5-10 a day in a cheap or medium priced location, $10-20 a day if I’m staying somewhere fancy.
You can decline help from the concierge or bagman with a simple “no thank you”. But if you do use them, depending on how high up your room is and how many bags, $3-5 per bag, maybe a bit more if your room is on a particularly high floor.
*”I’m thinking of tipping the maid at the end of the stay when I check out, but how much should I tip?!”*
LPT; Tip the maid at the beginning and then throughout your stay, They see this and will appreciate it, get to your room quicker, and possibly focus on doing a better rather than a quicker job of taking care of your needs. How much dpends on the hotel but a few dollars a day is common and double that at the end/last day. The bellman is a different dynamic, you can just say “Thanks, but I’ve got it” or give them a few bucks if you want the service.
Source; I’ve stayed in hotels for actual years of accumulated time, often for over a month in one, and often back to the same one for long term stays. The maids and front desk will remember you and act accordingly. A little politeness and respect goes a long way.
I don’t tip house keeping, but I also tend to just leave the do not disturb tag on my door for my entire stay unless it really needs cleaning.
Just to clear up something. Hotel housekeepers are not maids. Maids don’t work at hotels. Housekeeping and being a maid are two completely different things. You treat a housekeeper like a maid and you’re prepping yourself for a bad time and may even get a stern talking too from hotel managment. If you have the housekeeper clean everyday a couple dollars a day is reasonable. If you don’t and leave a big mess $20+ if not $10+. Not many people can handle the requirements for housekeeping in a hotel. My wife used to be a housekeeper. Imagine having to clean 15 – 20+ rooms in between 8AM – 2PM. Now add in late checkouts and messy rooms.
I personally don’t like housekeeping coming into my room during my stay (and I keep things pretty neat and clean), so if I’m staying for more than one night, I put the “do not disturb” sign on the door as soon as I arrive. That means that they only need to clean my room once during my stay, at the end. In that case, I tip $5 or 10 when I leave.
I’ve only left a tip for house keeping once.
That was when I checked out after normal checkout time. Left a tip because I felt I had inconvenienced them.
Tipping the maid is a nice thing to do… $2-5/day depending on how messy you are, how many people staying in room.