Hope You Enjoyed Your Stay and Don’t Forget To Tip!

In the classic gangster film noir, Reservoir Dogs, a crew of professional thieves having breakfast become embroiled in a heated discussion about how much to tip the server. One of the henchmen, aptly named Mr. Pink, declares that as a rule he doesn’t tip just because society dictates that he has to.

“Why do we tip this waitress and not people who work at McDonald’s, they both serve you food don’t they?

Last week, I waxed cathartically about the woes of airline travel and a social media survey that ranked five carriers in a number of categories. This week, let’s take that one step further and assume that when you finally do land and not too long thereafter, you check into your assigned lodging.

Quick question: When you check out do you tip the people who clean the room?

Apparently more people than you would think do not, as a survey from the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration showed that up to 30 percent of hotel/motel guests tend to “stiff the maid.”

I can safely say I don’t leave them high and dry.

As someone who worked for a number of years in the hospitality field, I appreciate the American custom of gratuities. So whenever and wherever I stay at a hotel, I always remember to leave a little something on the nightstand for those folks who scrub the bathrooms and fashion tight hospital corners.

In an apparent attempt to weed out those tightwads in the 30 percent, a campaign titled “The Envelope Please” will begin in some 750 to 1,000 hotels under such Marriott brands as Courtyard Residence Inn, J.W.Marriott, Ritz-Carlton and Renaissance. Envelopes bearing the person’s name assigned to cleaning your room will carry the following message: “Our caring room attendants enjoyed making your stay warm and comfortable. Please feel free to leave a gratuity to express your appreciation for their efforts."

The next question that invariably follows is how much should one leave?

A food server usually commands between 15 and 20 percent and ditto for a bartender. But their gratuities are predicated on the total amount of the bill. Housekeepers perform “invisible tasks” usually when the room occupant is out so they rarely make that personal connection like a server, a bellman or even a parking valet. The CEO at Marriott Hotels said the customary amount fluctuates between $1 and $5 per night.

Considering many hotels charge forgetful guests $6 for a tube of travel toothpaste, that seems like a bargain.

Unless of course they short sheet the bed.