Or is this weird? (Hotel)

[napalmskies]

So twice I’ve come back to my room on holiday and the maid has already been (clean towels, bed made etc)

Then I’m just getting a drink and getting changed and I hear a knock at the door and someone just walks in (don’t give me chance to open the door) and says house keeping, how was your service?

and then they quickly leave

I always worry how much to tip. When bring bags? If left every day in Europe would worry couple of euros? I'd really hate to be insulting. I've always left decent tip to share at the end with reception but never sure it gets shared

If you leave it till the last day and give one big tip you only get bog standard service

The only service I want is that the room is left clean and tidy and that things like tea supplies are topped up, which is what happens irrespective of whether I tip or not. I absolutely don't want or need my nightclothes laid out for me, and it would be a pain in the neck having to disentangle a towel sculpture before I could have a shower.

Unfortunately I have found the The Do Not Disturb sign is no guarantee of privacy as you will still get some staff who let themselves in regardless and sometimes even without knocking just walk straight into the room.
Another person who prefers Self Catering because of this.

Unfortunately I have found the The Do Not Disturb sign is no guarantee of privacy as you will still get some staff who let themselves in regardless and sometimes even without knocking just walk straight into the room.
Another person who prefers Self Catering because of this.

@MotherOfGodFella

Yes all hotel threads bring out the same low opinions of cleaning staff. You know we all clean the mugs with the toilet cloth and wipe round the bath with used towels? Probably touch the clean linen with germy hands as well. And leave other guests urine in the kettle.

To be fair, many of them may have had their opinions influenced by this documentary:

www.dailymotion.com/video/x2rp8a6

They could be wanting a tip but also they could be doing room inspections.
We were in the USA last year and our room had to be inspected every 24 hours on top of housekeeping coming in aswell. They told us it was because of the recent news stories of people keeping guns etc in their rooms or doing some kind of criminal activity

How do they know it's a tip and not just your loose change?

I leave it on the pillow and on a table at the end of the stay with a short thank you note.

Well it’s a shame posters can’t apply a bit of critical thinking and not tar all housekeeping staff with the same brush. Or maybe the paranoid ones are the type to cut corners or be dishonest in their own jobs so simply assume everyone else does it in theirs.

We never get tips in our hotel. And any money left in the rooms after the guests have checked out goes into a charity collection box. So if you are leaving a tip please make it clear!

God I had no idea you were meant to tip hotel service people. How much is the going rate and are you meant to just leave it on the side? I usually just put do not disturb.

I would assume it’s a supervisor checking the room has been serviced.

Very common in housekeeping for someone to do a quick sweep to make sure a room hasn’t been missed which is very easily done if guests are in and out and ask you to come back later.

I always have the chain on when I’m in a hotel room.

It would never occur it to me to leave a tip daily! At the end of the stay, sure.

I worked in several hotels cleaning rooms, never once had a tip. I was one of the best cleaners according to feedback so it wasn’t because the room was poorly done.

Also worked as a supervisor and my job was to go in to rooms that were cleaned and check they were done properly. If someone was in, I asked if the room service was ok.

I work in a hotel and this sounds to me like a housekeeping supervisor inspecting your room to check the maid’s standard.

Well it’s a shame posters can’t apply a bit of critical thinking and not tar all housekeeping staff with the same brush

Amen.

Ok so I didn’t know about the tip. I haven’t done that before. Although in Egypt I did bump into the Male housekeeping staff who asking me many times was my room ok, I knew he was after a tip, but I was only wearing my wet swimsuit and a towel. No spare change on me and was heading for the hotel room for a (urgent) peaceful bathroom moment.

Not exactly the same but on holiday in Jamaica a few years ago I went back to my room during the day to collect something just as the chambermaid was leaving. She couldn't get out of there quick enough and it was because she'd obviously been spraying my perfume ( and God knows what else) she did NOT get a tip.

Ours used to change bedding and towels and then come back to clean and tidy, could it be that?

Motherofgodfella, I don’t have a low opinion of hotel staff at all - however the only time I heard about cleaning the mugs with the toilet cloth was directly from a girl I know who had a holiday job cleaning in a v expensive 5* hotel. I was astonished that this would happen anywhere, but especially in a hotel where a night would cost me several weeks salary!
I’m also a bit astonished by all the tipping going on, I had no idea this was a thing. I worked in a hotel in Germany for 6 months and found a tip in the room once. As with waiting staff, hairdressers and everyone else who provides me a service I would far rather pay a bit more on my bill and feel confident that everyone working there is being paid a living wage. I would be very uncomfortable at someone just letting themselves into my hotel room for any reason while I’m in it.

Never had that before, it is an invasion of privacy unless it was a supervisor checking. Must be looking for a tip which we do not leave until the last day but would be a good reason not to tip.

Bet it was some supervisor came to check how the room been cleaned. I used to be a housekeeper in a 5 * hotel and we always have been checked.
Someone asked above where to put the tip for the house keeping. Please put it under the bedding or under pillow as if you put it to the side the minibar people will take it.Thanks

Probably coming in to make your towel into an animal sculpture

Call me a terrible person, but I don't tip housekeeping staff as a matter of routine, it's just never occurred to me to do so.

But I did tip a hotel receptionist a reasonably generous sum once because I needed to bring in some very bulky and pretty much irreplaceable work equipment into my room, and my simple request of if they had a trolley led to her personally searching the entire large hotel for a trolley and helping me move all the equipment.

She seemed so astonished when I offered her the tip and I had to argue with her to accept it. But I did so because she really did go above and beyond, she wasn't simply doing the job she was paid to do.

Have never tipped hotel cleaners. Had no clue it was something that was done. But then I'd prefer them just to leave the bed the way I've made it, not touch my pyjamas and definitely not do the turn down thing. Just clean the bathroom, run the Hoover round and replace the cups/glasses and tea/coffee.

I had an experience similar to Kelp's. I was at a London hotel for a business course & I got back to my room one day to find that the eye shadow I'd left out now had a huge, deep finger swipe across it. As it was a new one & I always gently used an applicator to apply it, the chambermaid had obviously had a go at it.

But much worse happened to a guy on that course. He went back to his room during the day & surprised the chambermaid, who had opened his holdall & was going through it.

And I have to agree about tipping every day. I got this wrong in America, intending to tip on the last day. This just seemed to wind up the breakfast waitress, who got more & more unpleasant until I finally skipped brekkie on the last day because I was worried what she'd do - so she didn't get a tip at all.