Do you tip hotel housekeepers?
Most people would never neglect to provide a tip for a bellman or restaurant wait staff. Yet many people apparently don’t provide for hotel housekeepers.
Surely we can all do better.
One could make a study of what it means to work as a hotel housekeeper, even taking a turn doing so, as the late social critic Barbara Ehrenreich did in her book, Nickle and Dimed.
It doesn’t take a cultivated literary imagination to recognize that hotel housekeepers have a tough job in the best of circumstances. All too often, they face demanding guests on the one hand, heedless supervisors on the other.
Many are nothing short of heroic in their lives and work.
If they serve you well, surely you can serve them with a tip that shows respect and appreciation, acknowledging work well done.
Amount to Tip Hotel Housekeepers
Going forward, make it your practice to tip hotel housekeepers. Ideally, leave them a note, both to express your appreciation directly and to ensure that they can see that the money is intended for them.
Perhaps the amount should vary depending on the hotel and the level of service.
It should certainly take into account conditions such as the pandemic, which was very challenging for hotel staff.
Inflation should also be considered.
You might also set a vital example, as a traveling companion did for me, years ago.
It’s just one thing….. and it may make a tangible difference in a life of often heroic if unheralded struggle and sacrifice.
Tip Hotel Housekeepers