Hotels - Not Tipping the Maid - Because You Were Not Trained?
75Perhaps it was because I was raised by my grandparents and my mother had no funds for vacationing. Perhaps it was because I am female. Whatever the case, I was never instructed that when staying at a hotel, you need to tip the maid. When you analyze the industry here in the United States, it only makes sense.
When I traveled overseas, we were coached and specifically instructed what the local customs were. One of our nightly duties between the three of us American females was to figure out the appropriate tips and divide by three and prepare one envelope.
It was on those trips that I learned that service personnel live and depend upon their tips. I felt so ignorant. My Grandmother IF she were alive prided herself on being proper. My Mother prided upon herself being savvy. And my Grandfather was always the consummate gentleman. I know they would be disappointed in my lack of travel savvy.
Yet, today many in America don't consider it necessary to tip the maid. Why? I think they were raised like me with a family that didn't travel. No one informed them. And connecting the dots between the wait staff and the norm of tipping for service and tipping a maid was never considered.
Tipping is a valuable part of the service industry. It provides the merit system that Americans believe in - a job well done deserves a financial reward. It ensures that poor service will be immediately recognized. It provides both the business owner and the wait staff or maid staff with an incentive to do the job to the best standards possible.
In today's new austerity across the world and particularly the United States, do we have a new appreciation for our service industry staff? Do we look at the maid as a real human whom we can relate to? Did the movie Maid in Manhattan open our eyes and our humanity to recognize that maids are just like our neighbors, trying to earn a living to support their family?
As we detailed, the travel industry in the United States employs roughly 25% of our population. It is important as citizens to understand this industry and fund it properly so that the maids of the world can have a reasonable wage and that they can feed and cloth their families.
Traveling is a luxury. If we cannot afford it, we shouldn't be in the hotel room. If we are there anyway, the place to save is not upon the livelihood of the chambermaids.
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Your Thoughts?
Please share your experiences and thoughts on the subject. Learning from each other, learning what each country's customs are is the reason we are here. Please share in the comment section below:
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drbj,
Sadly many of us were not taught the very basics of family budget and of the real cost of travel. It took me a while to learn - had to travel overseas to learn what I should have known but at least now I am wiser about traveling.
Fortunately, I was taught about the tipping in a restaurant is a necessity so I can relate readily to tipping a maid for their hard earned services.
Where I live in Australia maids are paid very well so there is no tipping required. It was the same in the UK where I used to live.
A lot of people from outside the US aren't used to your tipping culture so it is hard for us to understand. Where we come from people feel that a good job should be done because people take pride in their work, not because they are aiming for a tip.
What we often don't take into account though is that maids are paid so little in the US, this makes a difference. It would be good if there were something in hotel rooms that explained this and then I think a lot of overseas visitors would tip more.
I must say though that living somewhere where tipping is not the norm is honestly nicer for everyone because it means that it is easy to calculate the true cost and it means that everyone is guaranteed a reasonable wage just through their pay without having to rely on tips.
The custom of tipping has changed considerably since I was young. I maid my living for years delivering newspapers and customers seemed happy with my service but I didn't receive more than a few dollars a year in tips. In Minneapolis where I grew up people really only tipped when they went to upscale places. I went to Chicago for awhile and everyone expected tips.
A friend who worked as a waiter told me to only tip if the person did something to enhance the experience of the meal he was serving,
If tipping is mandatory than I think the gratuities should be simply added to the bill and the advertised price.
TheFont,
I greatly appreciate learning about the culture in Australia and the UK. This is very helpful. Fairness is always an issue and IF America cannot consistently tip maids, then the practice should change.
I like the idea of the reliability for the maid - it only seems fairs.
Thank you so much for sharing - greatly appreciate it.
Those girls often have to work their asses off. . .and most of them ARE women. I had to teach my poor grandmother that it's not really cool to go get those sonic hamburgers, and NOT tip the young woman who brought them to her. . . .my grandmother didn't have a clue that wait staff DON'T get minimum wage.. . . .
Wesman Todd Shaw,
Isn't it amazing the lack of consumer savvy - we are suppose to know this stuff but we don't - so sad for all of us.
Thanks so much for sharing. I think it is important to know everyone's experiences and viewpoints.
Working in the hospitality industry for the last 15 years in both Operations and Human Resources I can say that Room Attendants as they are called (we don't use the word maid anymore)have not been tipped for a long time. Most of the better hotels and chains have adjusted their hourly compensation to reflect this. I think not tipping the Room Attendant is the norm now sadly.
Alsiha,
Thank you very much for the update both in the operations and in the terminology. Very helpful. I appreciate your expertise.
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drbj Level 8 Commenter 18 months ago
GG - I agree with you wholeheartedly. If one cannot afford to tip, then one cannot afford to travel.