Do you tip the cleaning staff?

[Don Chance]

I always thought there was no tipping in Asia. The staff are starting to give me the Evil eye, i think they are pushing for a tip.They hardly clean in this old place, sure it is cheap but it has a great view. The staff act really difficult if i ask them to do anything for me. I get it they don't get paid much, but is that my fault?

[Salerno]

Personally, yes. Leave it on the pillow before heading out (and before they make up the room obviously).

 

Edited February 5, 2023 by Salerno

[OneMoreFarang]

11 minutes ago, Don Chance said:

The staff

Who?

The maid in a hotel who cleans your room?

Or the cleaning staff in a condominium who clean the common area?

[Saphan]

Stop asking for freebies then.

[Bill97]

30 minutes ago, Don Chance said:

I always thought there was no tipping in Asia. 

You thought wrong.

[ThailandRyan]

I always give the room attendant who cleans and makes the bed in our hotel room a 100 baht tip, this ensures we get the best service, extra shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, coffee/creamer/sugars and extra water bottles without asking.  It doesn't matter if we stay at a 3 star or 5 star resort.  Of course the GF at one time in her life worked as a housekeeper/cleaner, so she knows how to take care of the people who take care of you....stop being a cheap charlie, what are you a begpacker....

[KhunLA]

No, though never ask for anything, and many times, leave the room as clean or cleaner than when checking in, since travel with a dog.  We clean up pretty good.

 

Actually travel with top sheet & broom, so no dog hair left behind  If spending more than 1 night, staff never clean the room, and we simply ask to restock water & coffee/tea if provide, and soap if needed.  Think most appreciate that.

 

Tax & SC included in Hotel charge.  If not shared with staff, or compensated, good motivation for them to move on to better employment opportunities.

 

All my years of travel, never tipped hotel staff, as didn't know it was a thing, till joined travel forum, and only when in TH, which is a non tipping country most times.

Edited February 5, 2023 by KhunLA

[Bill97]

40 minutes ago, Don Chance said:

I get it they don't get paid much, but is that my fault?

Got to be your fault before you give?  Whata guy!

 

 I’d give you the stink eye too and I’m not staff.

[Stocky]

Nope, but I'm not American.

I usually leave any shrapnel when I check out, but nothing more.

[VBF]

11 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

<snip>

All my years of travel, never tipped hotel staff, as didn't know it was a thing, till joined travel forum, and only when in TH, which is a non tipping country most times.

Not sure where you get that idea. Most places I go in Phuket (especially!) and Pattaya: bars, restaurants, taxis expect a tip. Now whether they get one depends hugely on the level of service I get....as the customer it's my prerogative. A good friend of mine often says "Tips are for us to give, not for them to take" 

 

I regularly stay at the same hotel and usually tip the maid for her good service...that also earns me extra towels, shampoo etc.

[spongeworthy]

25 minutes ago, ThailandRyan said:

I always give the room attendant who cleans and makes the bed in our hotel room a 100 baht tip

Please forgive me. If I knew we had royalty here I would have put on some pants.

 

[Nonthaburi Boy]

You don’t need to tip much in Thailand - it is generally not expected for standard service, other than for meals where there is no service charge. Even then 50 or 100 baht is usually fine. However, many Thais do tip and expect and usually get better service as a result. Some foreigners tip for the same reason, or because they think it is expected.

 

However, if the culture in that place/area is that most tip, you might not be too popular if you don’t. Expectations are that you will. This can certainly be the case in tourist areas. The cow should produce milk! Personally, I suspect this is probably just a bit of a crappy place - there are many in Thailand - but if you like it you might make it a bit better for yourself by tipping. I think you already realise this.

 

“. I get it they don't get paid much, but is that my fault?”

This is going to be a bad attitude in the eyes of most staff. It’s not endearing. You are not wrong about fault but you are not dear either. Being dear is almost as important as being generous.

[BigStar]

1 hour ago, Don Chance said:

The staff are starting to give me the Evil eye, i think they are pushing for a tip.

Problem is, you're seeing the Evil Eye everywhere.

 

 

So best save your tips to pay a shrink to get treatment for paranoia. Or leave to where you don't have the Evil Eye always on you--if there's such a place. Maybe that's what they're pushing to you to do.

 

That said, I like our condo staff, they've been around many years, great characters, and work hard. One served as a witness for my yellow book. Of course, they'e quite poor.

 

So I'll give them a tip now and then just randomly, out of the blue, as a gift. I get great service, too. I can leave my empty 5L water bottle for refilling when I go out for a walk and when I get back 30 min later, the new bottle's there--though it's during their lunch hour. I get immediately notified of any package, etc.

Edited February 5, 2023 by BigStar

[ThailandRyan]

8 minutes ago, spongeworthy said:

Please forgive me. If I knew we had royalty here I would have put on some pants.

 

If you can't afford 100 baht for a few days stay then you are cheap.

[Social Media]

Never have,never will, they already get paid to do the job. 

[KhunLA]

22 minutes ago, VBF said:

Not sure where you get that idea. Most places I go in Phuket (especially!) and Pattaya: bars, restaurants, taxis expect a tip. Now whether they get one depends hugely on the level of service I get....as the customer it's my prerogative. A good friend of mine often says "Tips are for us to give, not for them to take" 

 

I regularly stay at the same hotel and usually tip the maid for her good service...that also earns me extra towels, shampoo etc.

I don't usually do the tourist ghettos, tip happy staff areas, so rarely tip, and only when deserved, which is rare.   Actually leave most paying up to the wife, who does what Thais do, don't tip, or just small tip.

 

Nothing like a Yank 20% tip, which I had a problem breaking that habit when I first got here.

[carlyai]

Get my car cleaned every Saturday. B200 plus B20 for the nitrogen tyre top up.

Up till last year I tipped B20 but this year B40.

Same with pool cleaner farmer. This year B50 increase.

 

[Walker88]

I always tip. The staff are not paid much, so a little gift is welcome. Perhaps this is an American thing, but I also feel it's polite. It's a recognition that you know they exist and what they do is appreciated.

 

During Covid I stayed in the same hotel for more than a year. The staff who did the cleaning learned my schedule, and would clean the room when I went down for breakfast. It probably also had something to do with the fact that my couple hundred room hotel often had only 3-4 guests, so the staff didn't have much to do. If I returned before they finished, we'd exchange a little light banter. It made for a pleasant environment during a difficult time. Because there were so few customers, staff were forced to rotate, taking more days off than they wanted, along with cuts in pay. The daily tip helped make up for their shortfall.

 

I'm not messy, and since I ate breakfast in the hotel cafe rather than use the suite's kitchen, the job was putting on fresh sheets,  providing fresh towels, and doing the Covid-cleanse of floors and tables. The rest of the day was mine, without any interruption.  Everybody wins.

[JimmyJ]

No.

[ozimoron]

Yes. There are three cleaners clean my room every week to 10 days. The condo charges 300 and I tip them 100 each. At Christmas, I gave them a card with 500 each. One of them is very cute.

[scoutman360]

No. This is not America. This is Thailand. Stop the cultural infestation nonsense. I watch the Thais and tip when they tip and how they tip.

 

I was in a hotel in Malaysia a few weeks ago when the cleaning staff saw me go to my room. He knocked on my door just to say hello and ask me where I was from. He said he loves it when Americans stay because they leave him big tips. Then he stood there waiting for something. He got nothing. 

Edited February 5, 2023 by scoutman360

[proton]

Always, stayed at over 30 hotels in Bangkok alone, tip about 40 baht a day for the room maids. Why not brighten their day by showing your appreciation?  

[ozimoron]

I also buy the cat food for the condo guard's long time adopted fat cat. 115 baht every 2 to 3 weeks. Helps out the guards.

[Dan747]

Yes, why not if you can afford it. You actually get better service in the end. 

[Bill97]

34 minutes ago, JimmyJ said:

No.

You may be here but you are not welcome here.  The door is to the right.

[Saphan]

1 hour ago, Nonthaburi Boy said:

You don’t need to tip much in Thailand - it is generally not expected for standard service, other than for meals where there is no service charge. Even then 50 or 100 baht is usually fine. However, many Thais do tip and expect and usually get better service as a result. Some foreigners tip for the same reason, or because they think it is expected.

 

However, if the culture in that place/area is that most tip, you might not be too popular if you don’t. Expectations are that you will. This can certainly be the case in tourist areas. The cow should produce milk! Personally, I suspect this is probably just a bit of a crappy place - there are many in Thailand - but if you like it you might make it a bit better for yourself by tipping. I think you already realise this.

 

“. I get it they don't get paid much, but is that my fault?”

This is going to be a bad attitude in the eyes of most staff. It’s not endearing. You are not wrong about fault but you are not dear either. Being dear is almost as important as being generous.

Tipping 100 baht on a 180 baht meal is a bit high.

[Walker88]

20 minutes ago, scoutman360 said:

 Stop the cultural infestation nonsense.

 

 Then he stood there waiting for something. He got nothing. 

Not sure what that means, as merely by visiting you are a 'cultural infestation'. Perhaps I'm wrong, but it sounds like a convoluted way of saying "I'm cheap".

 

Regarding the Malaysian you left hanging, do you consider that a personal victory, kind of like a vaccination against 'cultural infestation'? It does seem as if it makes you feel better about yourself, or perhaps superior to him.

 

A show of gratitude can make for good feelings. If you are traveling internationally, you clearly are much more well to do than hotel staff. Does it materially affect your lifestyle so much by leaving a little money in recognition of services provided? Is creating goodwill between cultures such a terrible thing that it demands you show them the error of their ways and thinking?

 

 

[Saphan]

2 minutes ago, Walker88 said:

Not sure what that means, as merely by visiting you are a 'cultural infestation'. Perhaps I'm wrong, but it sounds like a convoluted way of saying "I'm cheap".

 

Regarding the Malaysian you left hanging, do you consider that a personal victory, kind of like a vaccination against 'cultural infestation'? It does seem as if it makes you feel better about yourself, or perhaps superior to him.

 

A show of gratitude can make for good feelings. If you are traveling internationally, you clearly are much more well to do than hotel staff. Does it materially affect your lifestyle so much by leaving a little money in recognition of services provided? Is creating goodwill between cultures such a terrible thing that it demands you show them the error of their ways and thinking?

 

 

I use please and thank you. Giving money to someone you just met for basically nothing doesn't make you a better person, more so just following some tipping cult without thinking.

[ozimoron]

4 minutes ago, Saphan said:

I use please and thank you. Giving money to someone you just met for basically nothing doesn't make you a better person, more so just following some tipping cult without thinking.

Try living on their salary. Every hotel has help wanted signs. They can't get the staff because they won't pay enough.

[Saphan]

Just now, ozimoron said:

Try living on their salary. Every hotel has help wanted signs. They can't get the staff because they won't pay enough.

You can tip for me.