I worked as a maid one summer, and it was indeed hard work. I don't stay in hotels very often, but when I do, I always leave the maid a tip--usually at least a couple of bucks per night.

Someone left behind a 12-pack of beer during that summer, and that was the nicest "tip" I got.

You know, these guys aren't cleaning the rooms as a favour. It's a funny little thing called a "job". These funny things called "jobs" have funny little things that come with them called "paycheques".

Maybe I'm an asshole, but I really don't think it's up to me arbitrarily subsidize some people's wages and not others. I don't tip the secretary at my accountant's office either. Should I? Should it be, say, 50¢ per call she answered for me? It's probably a boring job. She probably "deserves" it. Why the maid and not her?

I don't like the culture of entitlement that tipping engenders. Someone suggested that one should tip as insurance against having your toothbrush put into the toilet? really? I don't quite feel right about giving money to a hypothetical scumbag so he is less likely to engage in scumbaggery.

My husband thinks it's weird that I always tip the maid. But some jobs have the expectation of tips built in to their (very low) standard compensation, and if you don't tip the maid, you're cutting down on the compensation for a job that's already not that great to begin with.

Of course you tip the maid. On the un-made bed, so there's NO question of whether you left it behind accidentally.
I try to tip daily, IF they come to the room, which they usually do because I go through lots of towels. Plus different maids work different days, and they all work hard.

@103 . . . I agree that it would be super neat if every job in America paid a living wage and didn't involve dealing with situations ranging from irksome to downright horrific (I was a motel maid one summer back in high school. I have cleaned human excrement off of floors--and this was a nice motel in an upscale resort town. I can't even imagine how badly people behave in cheaper places, human nature being what it is.)

Of course it's your right to not tip your waitress, bartender, hairdresser, doorman, masseuse, hooker, motel maid, or anyone else. But when a few bucks can make someone's day that much nicer, is it really so dreadful?

(As a maid, I always appreciated a nice note too. Some people even left us snacks! One girl claimed she was left weed as a tip, but that never happened to me.)

I ALMOST always tip the cleaning service, and I try to always leave my room pretty picked-up when I go. I don't make the bed, but I will tidy up after myself, putting the used glasses all near the sink, for example, and picking up trash that fell on the floor or is on the counter tops and generally just keeping the room less disgusting for another human being to really "clean".

@Doot, #103, are you Mr. Pink? LOL

Oh, and bundle those dirty towels in a pile on the floor of the bathroom. So much easier than bending and stooping all over the place.

I tip the maid, but I always leave the tip at the front desk. I know there are some reasons to leave the tip in the room, but leaving it at the desk allows the tip to be split between all the people who looked after me-- in some places one person does the check-out rooms, so they would always get all the tips, which isn't quite fair.

I leave a tip in my wallet on the desk. Many hotel workers seem to appreciate that.

If you're going to tip, you need to tip every day, not just the day you check out. Otherwise, the maids cleaning your room in the middle of your vacation don't get a tip. I usually leave 2 bucks a day with a note in the bathroom like "Thanks, housekeeping!" so there's no question.

I always leave a tip for the maid. Also, I check here http://www.hotelworkersrising.org/HotelG… and stay at one of these hotels whenever possible. I'd rather stay someplace where I know the staff is getting paid above minimum wage and may be getting health and other benefits. Also, I'm assuming (hoping) that a hotel with unionized housekeepers is going to be cleaner than ones with poorly paid and grossly overworked staff.

@22 and 27 -
These kinda go together, and I always tip housekeeping.

I worked in the "hospitality industry" for about 10 years, and these women have the shittiest job (sometimes literally) of the staff. And if you're visiting in a non-tourist area where the housekeepers are most likely non-union, they're making total crap wages, too. Tipping a little ($2-3) every day on longer stays avoids accidentally leaving a mongo-tip for someone who just walked into your room for the first time the day you're checking out.