Q: Why should a hard worker at a budget hotel get less of a tip than a housekeeper at a luxury hotel? Don’t they both change sheets, bring fresh soap and towels, and scrub your toilet? If I go to a diner and the server is delightful and charming, do they get less than the snob at “white linens” because the bill is smaller? I say it should be equal all the way. A: Well, restaurant tipping in the U.S. is based on a percentage (usually 18 percent to 20 percent) of your total bill. So actually, it’s perfectly normal to tip less for a $10 diner meal than you would for a $100 dinner in a fancy restaurant. Obviously, you can tip more at the diner, and I’m sure your server would love it if you left a $20 tip for a $10 check, but it’s not expected.
If hotel housekeepers did exactly the same tasks in every single hotel, I’d say they should all get the same tip. But in luxury hotels, they tend to have more things to do — refilling the ice bucket, restocking the mini-bar, making a triple-sheeted bed instead of one with a bedspread, doing turndown service … which is why I recommend tipping a couple of dollars more per day in a luxury hotel than in a budget one.
