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I am always being criticised by DW for being "over generous" with Mousekeeping tips while staying at WDW!!
My argument is if we show our appreciation for them they will better enjoy looking after us!
My question is, with the different schedule (i.e. not daily!) of Mousekeeping visits at DVC resorts, what is considered an "acceptable" level of tipping? How often do you tip?
Hopefully this will get me back in DW's good books!!
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I don't remember tipping when staying in a DVC resort before. They bring towels and take trash away on the fourth day, that's it. The most we've stayed is five nights.
I always tip on trash-and-towel day, usually $5. I leave $10 when I leave. I'm a solo traveler and pretty tidy, so this may be overkill, but those women work so hard!
Disney doesn't consider housekeeping to be a tipped position (compensation isn't set with the assumption of gratuities.) So I know there are many who don't feel it's necessary or justified. As DVC owners, a portion of our annual dues are already going toward housekeeping. And it's quite a substantial number.
Take Bay Lake Tower, for example. The housekeeping portion of BLT owner dues is $.85 per point, per year. 7 nights in a Lake View Studio during Choice Season (which includes the fall F&W fest time) is 128 points. At $.85 per point for housekeeping, you're already paying $108.80 to have your room cleaned. And all you're getting over that 7-night stay is one full room cleaning (before arrival) and a single trash & towel service.
And BLT is actually one of the cheaper resorts in terms of housekeeping.
Seven nights in a Two Bedroom Lake View at Grand Floridian over Thanksgiving is 551 points. And of the VGF dues. $.9984 goes toward housekeeping--just shy of a dollar per point. The occupant of that room is paying a somewhat astounding $550 just to get their room cleaned once, plus replacement towels mid-week!!!
Granted these fees cover ALL housekeeping expenses: Labor, supplies, management, laundry services, incidentals which are stocked in the rooms, etc. It also covers cleaning of resort common areas which go beyond the guest rooms.
But it's a lot of money for a clean villa.
Now with all of that said, I still do regularly tip...but only if I feel it is warranted. Between the high occupancy rate of DVC resorts, limited cleaning schedule and the large size of many rooms, the quality of housekeeping is often spotty. I don't go over my room with a magnifying glass but before I leave a tip, I expect it to be more than just surface clean.
Tips are for going above-and-beyond. In order for me to tip, I better not find dusty picture frames, missing kitchen utensils or stray debris from prior guests (like a Cheerio that rolled under the coffee table.) Not to mention bigger problems like dirty dishes, dirty bathroom, dirty sheets, etc.
Running the vacuum and making the beds doesn't warrant an extra gratuity. Not when I'm already paying hundreds of dollars in cleaning fees for every single villa stay.
While I agree with Tim in theory, how much of the portion of our dues allocated to housekeeping actually goes to the mousekeepers themselves? It may not be a "tipped position" according to Disney, but it's barely a living wage, if that. I know it's not necessary, but I feel better meeting these women in the hallways if I give them a bit extra in appreciation of their hard work.
While I agree with Tim in theory, how much of the portion of our dues allocated to housekeeping actually goes to the mousekeepers themselves? It may not be a "tipped position" according to Disney, but it's barely a living wage, if that. I know it's not necessary, but I feel better meeting these women in the hallways if I give them a bit extra in appreciation of their hard work.
As soon as I saw the OP, I had a feeling this would eventually come down to a debate over the general merit of tipping... But here is my two cents on the matter.
I am sure that the mousekeepers work very hard at their jobs, and I have had only a few complaints over the years. But does hard work necessarily translate into deserving a tip? Laurie says that the mousekeepers are making "barely a living wage." I really have no way of knowing whether or not that is true, but they certainly are not slave labor and can choose to take this job, or not. Since mousekeeping is not a "tipped position," there really shouldn't be an expectation of additional compensation in the form of tips. If once in awhile they get tips, great for them! What bothers me is the sense that many people have that tipping cleaning staff is obligatory. After all - my local garbage collectors work awfully hard, as does the janitorial staff in my office; I don't see anyone rushing to tip them at the end of the week...
Having said all of this, I almost always tip the cleaning staff when staying on vacation. The way I look at it, after spending so much on park tickets, expensive meals, etc., it really isn't much of a hardship for me to leave a little something.
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"Esprits et fantômes sur vos fièrs destriers, Escortez dans la nuit la belle fiancée." -- Madame Leota in Phantom Manor, DL Paris
We don't tip for trash and towels at a DVC resort. Actually I don't ever tip housekeeping unless they go out of their way to do something for us. I won't go into the reason why I don't but tipping is a personal choice and you should give as much or as little as you want.
Our habit really hasn't changed going from non-DVC and daily mousekeeping to DVC and every fouth-day service.
What we liked about daily was that if we wanted something extra (shampoo, coffee,etc) we had that same day gratification. We always left $4-5 a day for the two of us.
Now we leave the same amount, we still clean up after ourselves of course and we get less opportunity for extra coffee and shampoo. so typically it's the $5 every 4th day and $20 at the end. We are fortunate that we can go for a couple of weeks a year so the response we get from the initial requests we have does affect how much we leave on the 8th and 12th days.
Cheers,
--john
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Last edited by jendahl12; 10-11-2014 at 05:58 PM..
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What bothers me is the sense that many people have that tipping cleaning staff is obligatory. After all - my local garbage collectors work awfully hard, as does the janitorial staff in my office; I don't see anyone rushing to tip them at the end of the week...
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