Mouse keeping? Tip or no?

[NicholeB630]

Are we supposed to leave tips? Is it rude not too? Or personal preference? I have no problem doing it. Everyday? At end of the week? Abd how much is fair? We're staying 9 nights in Kidani village.

 

[anonymousegirl]

It is a personal preference. I choose to tip every day since you may not always have the same Mousekeeper daily. When I stay at the villas, with service every 4 and 7th day, I tip at the end--normally because I am only staying solo for 3-4 days. I typically tell them not to bother to come in on day 4, when I am leaving on day 5. I still tip, because the room was nice and clean when I arrived.

 

[3Gsandme]

Are you staying DVC?

There are five of us. We tip $5/day. Every day unless dh or I forget (which has happened a time or two).

 

[NicholeB630]

Ok thanks. No we are not DVC. We booked through Disney site. How do they know to take it?

 

[MrsJamesPSullivan]

You can leave it somewhere obvious like on your pillow. Some people leave a note with it that says thank you. Some people decorate envelopes. If you have kids that's a good way to give them something to do in the car or airport/plane. That helped keep my daughter busy on 3 hour flights when she was younger!

 

[PennyInPink]

To to Pintrest. There is a ton of templates and ideas to make really cute envelopes!

 

[bumbershoot]

Disney housekeeping is officially a non-tipped position according to what they expect when they get the job. Therefore I leave a note saying "for housekeeping" when I leave cash for a tip.

 

[MinnieMSue]

We usually give $5/day and have gotten some lovely thank-you notes from housekeepers. We are very neat people but just feel it is a nice thing to do. They are not considered a tipped position though so it is not necessary.

 

[rosiebean]

I tip, because I personally feel that anyone emptying my trash and cleaning my bathroom (I travel with boys) deserves a little something extra, even if the position is officially a non-tipped one. We give $1 per person, sometimes more if we're a little messier than usual. We usually leave the cash on a dresser/table on top of a little note that very visibly says "thank you".

 

[suse66]

I always tip too. I think it's a nice thing to do.

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

Its all up to personal preference.

Its not expected and its not rude if you don't.

I like to leave a tip.

I leave $2 per day unless I'm with someone that scatters their belongings throughout the room making it more challenging to clean around.

If you are going to tip do it every day.

Its unlikely that you'll have the same person cleaning for your entire stay.

 

[Silvermist999]

We always leave a generous tip each day, along with a note for anything extra we may need - like towels or toilet paper. We dont leave anything on the bathroom counter each morning so they can clean easily. We don't tip on our departure day though, because then they are cleaning the room up for the next guest.

 

[Barbara76]

There are 4 of us, we tip $5 a day. I have the kids decorate envelopes before the trip and preload the $5 in each so that it is harder for us to forget.

 

[cobright]

This is also a topic that sits like tinder waiting for a spark.

Instead of solicitation a dozen different answers from a hundred different people, maybe start with how you feel about it?

The lady cleaning your room makes about $13/hr and works hard and non-stop for it. That's not a bad wage these days. No one should feel compelled to shame you too badly if you decide to leave it at that.

But it is a very personal service they provide, and one in this country at least that is typically recognized with a small cash tip.

Is your concern a financial one? You can waive off the service and not worry about tipping.

Personally, I like making that connection with the service staff. I go out of my way to ensure that the girl who cleans our room gets a tip each day.

On last trip, mouse keeper scheduling was so convoluted I ended up sealing each mousekeeper envelope with a sticker containing a picture of the particular maid. First two tips went to wrong girl and straightening it out was a pain so the new system eliminates any confusion.

 

[Jonas_Swe]

Are we supposed to leave tips? Is it rude not too? Or personal preference? I have no problem doing it. Everyday? At end of the week? Abd how much is fair? We're staying 9 nights in Kidani village.

Hi @NicholeB630 !

Tipping is a very nice thing to do, and as have been mentioned also completely voluntary.

Although, to chime in with the rest here, it is always a nice thing to do out of courtesy, and especially since most Mousekeepers really do an outstanding job not only keeping it clean and fresh (that's their job) but in many cases also provide that extra little touch as well. It could be anything from noticing that you leave something in the same place every day, and so place it on a coaster/small cloth or in another way "pamper" you in that particular little detail.

Many may comment and even attach pictures of Towel Animals (yeah that's a thing!) that the Mousekeeper has left for them.
Note! TA's are not always going to happen, and I would never count on getting one. That would only set someone up for an unnecessary minor disappointment, and here I am especially thinking about telling kids about them before hand. But sometimes the Mousekeeper finds the time to leave one on your bed or in the bathroom/vanity area, and that's just the sweetest touch.

What can't be said enough is that if you want to tip, leave a little every day instead of a bigger tip at the last day. Because your Mousekeeper will most likely change during your stay (yes even day by day), so just to be fair.

Another thing that I'd like to mention here, and you awesome crafty Disney Fans out there - this is in no way a jab or anything personal towards your awesome work and dedication.... But; if you are going to craft your own envelopes, cards or anything else to present with the tip. Please remember to keep it small enough! Yes, small enough and not fragile to be transported around the resort. It should preferably fit in the maid's working clothes pocket, or be able to ride along (safely) on the trolley without obscuring the Mousekeeper from reaching what he or she needs to do the cleaning and refilling, and of course give room to collect other eventual little cards and envelopes along the way from other guests that have tipped as well.

But to boil it all down: Go ahead and tip if you feel like it.

*Edit: Minor spelling and autocorrect mishaps while typing.

 

[jon18uk]

I'm British and housekeeping is seen as completely non-tipped to us.

 

[Jonas_Swe]

I'm British and housekeeping is seen as completely non-tipped to us.

We have the same way to see it here in Sweden, I believe that's a European thing, perhaps.

But for the times when I visit the States I know that the tipping culture is different, so I personally tip more often than not. Just to make sure that I am fair to the hard working staff (inside and outside of Disney).

 

[nikkij]

We do not tip mouse keeping daily as we do not use them daily...for a week long stay we have them come mid trip and freshen up and live a small tip. For stays less than 4 days we do not have them come at all.

We make note during check-in to have extra coffee, towels, and toiletries left in the room and that is that. And will request for mouse keeping to come or not come. This trip we will not have mousekeeping visit at all.

I feel awkward having someone come into my room and clean; it's a privacy thing for me. We keep the room clean ourselves and if I want to leave clothes on the bed I don't want to feel obligated to put them away before I go out for day. Which I feel obligated to always pick up even more IF mouse keeping will show up.

I guess I'm in the minority and I'm ok with that. To each his own...

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

We are British and do leave a tip. We are DVC. But sometimes stay in the hotel resorts also. We tip in both. It is interesting that in 17 years of vacations in the US the tip is still on average $1 a day per person!

 

[Jonas_Swe]

It is interesting that in 17 years of vacations in the US the tip is still on average $1 a day per person!

Yeah, I know... how strange is that?!
I was looking high and low between my trips ('05, '10, '13) for any changes in tipping the Mousekeeping... but like you said the "recommended" tip was always $1/person/day...

Yes, I did tip some more eventually!