I was recently traveling overnight and was excited that I had discovered a new hotel. It had many great features at an extremely reasonable rate of only $89 per night.
When my taxi pulled up in front of my destination I gave the driver a $5 tip on a $30 fare and requested my receipt. As I was exiting the taxi, a doorman opened my door and welcomed me to the resort. He was full of smiles and immediately reached for my bag. Before I could stop him, he had it in his hands and was leading me into the check in counter. Too late, I thought. It would be rude to grab it from him now, so I followed him to the front desk as he placed it on the luggage trolley. As he turned and smiled to me, I reached in to my pocket and handed him $2.00. Seemed like an insignificant amount, but how much work had really transpired here? The whole event took maybe 60 seconds. Hmmmm. That equates to $120 per hour. Not bad work, if you can get it.
At the front desk, there were more bellhops standing by eager to check my baggage. However, I was lucky and my room was ready. With card key in hand, another seasoned and friendly gentleman escorted me to my room enthusiastically pointing out the various room features. Finding the thermostat, TV, light switch, and mini bar would have taxed me beyond exhaustion were it not for his assistance. As he placed my bag in the closet, he turned to ask me if I needed anything else. This, by the way, is code for "It's time to tip me if you have any etiquette at all". I handed him a fiver.
As I settled into my room, I turned on the TV (thank goodness its location and the remote had been previously pointed out to me) and began flipping through the room service menu. Room service is one of my most favorite things in life. I wish I had it at home. Enough said! This hotel, by the way, has the fastest service I have ever seen. I am used to waiting 30 minutes to an hour, but this burger, fries, and diet coke had to be delivered within 5 to 7 minutes.
I reviewed the check noticed that in addition to an automatic 18% service charge, there was also a $3 delivery charge, and a line asking for additional tip. Why ask for more tip if you are going to tell me what I have to tip anyway? That's another story. My server seemed like a nice kid. He had already opened my mini ketchup bottle for me and twisted the top of my soda. Now he was hovering over me, waiting patiently for me to sign the check. "Additional Tip" seemed to be flashing out in bold neon and I was choking under the pressure.
The 18% only added up to $2.16. Should I round up to $3? 84 cents seemed like an odd tip. $1 seemed too low. I know that servers do not get the delivery charge, so I decided on $2, after all he had to take the elevator all the way to the 12th floor. And both he and the kitchen were quick. I certainly couldn't risk him going back to the kitchen and telling everyone that the guy in room 1215 was a cheapskate. I might want to order desert later.
Then there is housekeeping. Housekeeping staff are the people that you may see wandering in the halls but rarely have contact with them in your own room. They sneak in like nighttime ninjas to turn down your room and slip out quickly and silently. They fluff your pillows, turn on music, and place that ever sweet square of chocolate near your bedside.
They return in the morning to clean your dirty shower, tub, sink and toilet and change soiled sheets. Yet because they go largely unnoticed, are they any less deserving of a tip than all the bellhops and food servers with outstretched hands?
Many don't tip housekeeping staff, either because they forget, or they just don't know how to do it. I believe the rule of thumb is to either put your tip into an envelope with "Housekeeping" written on it, or at least write a note with the tip next to it and place it on the bed. Otherwise, they are required to turn in loose change as "articles left behind". I like to tip $2 to $3 per day, and I tip daily because it might be a different person each day.
For a one night stay, I got off cheaply. I have stayed in 4 and 5 star hotels where service people would double team me. Its very uncool to "halve" a tip, so in those circumstances, you have to "double" the tip. Ouch!
On this trip, I didn't need any laundry delivered to my room. No special deliveries from the front desk were needed either. Engineering wasn't called to fix a light, and I was also able to avoid the concierge. I didn't even need the front doorman to hail one of the taxis lined up out front. No, indeed, I got off easy.
Final tip tab for a one night stay: Seven Tips Totaling $22.16. Lesson learned: Bring plenty of singles with me on future trips.
When my taxi pulled up in front of my destination I gave the driver a $5 tip on a $30 fare and requested my receipt. As I was exiting the taxi, a doorman opened my door and welcomed me to the resort. He was full of smiles and immediately reached for my bag. Before I could stop him, he had it in his hands and was leading me into the check in counter. Too late, I thought. It would be rude to grab it from him now, so I followed him to the front desk as he placed it on the luggage trolley. As he turned and smiled to me, I reached in to my pocket and handed him $2.00. Seemed like an insignificant amount, but how much work had really transpired here? The whole event took maybe 60 seconds. Hmmmm. That equates to $120 per hour. Not bad work, if you can get it.
At the front desk, there were more bellhops standing by eager to check my baggage. However, I was lucky and my room was ready. With card key in hand, another seasoned and friendly gentleman escorted me to my room enthusiastically pointing out the various room features. Finding the thermostat, TV, light switch, and mini bar would have taxed me beyond exhaustion were it not for his assistance. As he placed my bag in the closet, he turned to ask me if I needed anything else. This, by the way, is code for "It's time to tip me if you have any etiquette at all". I handed him a fiver.
As I settled into my room, I turned on the TV (thank goodness its location and the remote had been previously pointed out to me) and began flipping through the room service menu. Room service is one of my most favorite things in life. I wish I had it at home. Enough said! This hotel, by the way, has the fastest service I have ever seen. I am used to waiting 30 minutes to an hour, but this burger, fries, and diet coke had to be delivered within 5 to 7 minutes.
I reviewed the check noticed that in addition to an automatic 18% service charge, there was also a $3 delivery charge, and a line asking for additional tip. Why ask for more tip if you are going to tell me what I have to tip anyway? That's another story. My server seemed like a nice kid. He had already opened my mini ketchup bottle for me and twisted the top of my soda. Now he was hovering over me, waiting patiently for me to sign the check. "Additional Tip" seemed to be flashing out in bold neon and I was choking under the pressure.
The 18% only added up to $2.16. Should I round up to $3? 84 cents seemed like an odd tip. $1 seemed too low. I know that servers do not get the delivery charge, so I decided on $2, after all he had to take the elevator all the way to the 12th floor. And both he and the kitchen were quick. I certainly couldn't risk him going back to the kitchen and telling everyone that the guy in room 1215 was a cheapskate. I might want to order desert later.
Then there is housekeeping. Housekeeping staff are the people that you may see wandering in the halls but rarely have contact with them in your own room. They sneak in like nighttime ninjas to turn down your room and slip out quickly and silently. They fluff your pillows, turn on music, and place that ever sweet square of chocolate near your bedside.
They return in the morning to clean your dirty shower, tub, sink and toilet and change soiled sheets. Yet because they go largely unnoticed, are they any less deserving of a tip than all the bellhops and food servers with outstretched hands?
Many don't tip housekeeping staff, either because they forget, or they just don't know how to do it. I believe the rule of thumb is to either put your tip into an envelope with "Housekeeping" written on it, or at least write a note with the tip next to it and place it on the bed. Otherwise, they are required to turn in loose change as "articles left behind". I like to tip $2 to $3 per day, and I tip daily because it might be a different person each day.
For a one night stay, I got off cheaply. I have stayed in 4 and 5 star hotels where service people would double team me. Its very uncool to "halve" a tip, so in those circumstances, you have to "double" the tip. Ouch!
On this trip, I didn't need any laundry delivered to my room. No special deliveries from the front desk were needed either. Engineering wasn't called to fix a light, and I was also able to avoid the concierge. I didn't even need the front doorman to hail one of the taxis lined up out front. No, indeed, I got off easy.
Final tip tab for a one night stay: Seven Tips Totaling $22.16. Lesson learned: Bring plenty of singles with me on future trips.
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