In France does one tip the person who cleans one’s hotel room?

I don't think so, I have never really heard of such a thing here, never seen my (French) parents doing it either. I would err on the side of not doing it.

I do tip the housekeepers in my hotels and try to do so daily. I tip 1 or maybe 2E depending on what kind of coins I have.

I've never had poor service if I don't tip. Sometimes if I do tip they will leave extra coffee or cookies or something. I'm not looking for extras, just appreciate these folks doing their jobs.

I do. I leave two euros a day. In France, these are very low-paid immigrant workers. I have no idea about French friends or family because it’s not part of discussions.

Please tip those who do the dirty work, everywhere around the world

I agree with phred--I tip everyone who does the hard work of cleaning up after me. One of the luxuries of vacation travel is not cleaning or cooking, so I try to show my appreciation in the traditional American way: CASH MONEY. I tip 2-3 euros/pounds each day because the staff might change throughout my hotel stay.

How do you all ensure you have enough small bills/change for tipping? Now that most of my travel expenses are cashless credit card transactions, I struggle with ideas for buying something at a store where the cashier can make change for my large denomination bills from the ATM. I buy very few souvenirs. In Paris I often used the rationale of "tipping hotel housekeeping" as my excuse to buy a little treat from the patisserie.

In France I do. If my stay is that of 5 nights or more, I leave one Euro per night in the room at check-out, so 5 nights = 5 Euro, 10 nights = 10 Euro.

I don't tip hotel cleaners in the states, or in France. I personally think our tipping culture has gone wacky.

As residents of France, we generally only stay in a place for one to three days.

We always tip. We put the "Do Not Disturb"" sign on the doorknob so (one would hope) no one enters the room until we leave, and take it down the morning we depart.

We leave a payment of 2€ to 3€ per day on the day we check out. I know that may lead to some people getting more than others but it's not my job to ensure complete equity among workers. Plus, it probably more or less equals out over time.

Those folks work hard and I think they deserve it. If one has the means to travel, then I believe one has the means to help the lowest-paid workers they're likely to encounter be a little better off.

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I always do. As others have noted most of these housekeepers are immigrants and paid low wages. Plus they have to deal with people's mess. A friend was a maid in a hotel for a summer back in college and she couldn't believe how filthy even rich people could be and expect someone else to clean up. She never wanted to use a hotel bathroom again.

I always try to tip at least a dollar or two in their currency. It's a thankless job and they are expected to meet quotas and not take long in any one room. I usually have to write "tip" in whatever language is spoken.

I'd never heard of leaving a tip for hotel cleaners until I started reading this forum. I've maybe not stayed in as many hotels as other people here, but I'd never considered it.

I had a friend who did a stint as a maid in a hotel in Europe and they are really among the most poorly paid workers and often immigrants. We always leave a little -- a couple of Euros a day.

Be aware if you travel to NYC that the hotels workers are unionized, including all of housekeeping. You can tip but they get a very nice salary. That is why so many immigrants want these jobs, no fluency in English required, and the union benefits. I know that is not the case all around the world.

I never tip housekeeping whether in France or elsewhere and no-one's cleaning up my mess as I don't make any. I even strip the bed at the end of my stay just to make it a little bit easier for the staff.

However, feel free to leave a tip if you want to but just know that no-one is going to angrily confront you if you don't nor will anyone expect it.

JC writes: "...just know that no-one is going to angrily confront you if you don't nor will anyone expect it."

Two statements. The first is true. The second probably is not. That's the problem with absolute statements.

However, neither gets to the point. The point is that the folks who are hired to clean hotel rooms are not well paid and they have a difficult job to perform; and that job involves cleaning up after people with far more money than they have. Some don't leave a mess. Some absolutely do.

It's not difficult to see the conflict in this relationship, but it's far too easy, it seems, for some to pretend that conflict doesn't exist.

I leave a tip for the folks who clean the rooms I rent for a day or a few. I feel it's the right thing to do.

I have had a couple of times where I left a tip for the housekeeper and returned to find the room clean and the tip still there. I now write ”Thank you” in the local language on a piece of paper and leave it with the tip.

I think I pretty much agree with JC that it isn't expected. I'd hazard a guess that the majority of Europeans don't tip housekeeping. That's the impression this thread gives anyway.

Some of the chat about how much people are paid and how hard their jobs are goes on a lot assumptions. Some of the sentiments expressed seem a little ummm... patronising to me. Lots of people in various careers work for minimum wage and there's not always the expectation of a tip, at least in Europe.

That said, I'm visiting my mother today and I asked her about this topic. She tips.

I have friends in the US who tip housekeeping in US hotels at the end of their stay to the hotel housekeeping manager. They have a relationship with her as they stay there at least once a year. I assume she shares it with the staff. I hope so.

Others leave a tip at the end of the stay in the room. Question then is, did everyone involved in cleaning your room get a share or just the ones on the day the tip was left?

Thank you Laura. You answered my question. I too have left a tip in European hotel only to find it still there when I returned to a clean room.

Some of the chat about how much people are paid and how hard their jobs are goes on a lot assumptions. Some of the sentiments expressed seem a little ummm... patronising to me. Lots of people in various careers work for minimum wage and there's not always the expectation of a tip, at least in Europe.

By this reasoning, one would feel compelled to tip supermarket cashiers, entry-level shop assistants, etc. A lot of service jobs are minimum wage in France, and in fact about 1/6 of all jobs. This is arguably a problem, but tipping won't solve that.

But of course, if you feel compelled to tip at a hotel, and if you can make sure the cleaning staff understands that this unexpected money is for them, you are free to do so. Min wage here is a bit less than 10€/hour after tax, as a reference.

Great discussion! I am glad I asked. by the way in the states i leave the cash with a note so it is clear the money is for them in thanks for keeping the hotel so clean. I am glad there is room on this forum for civil nonagreement. Thanks everyone.

I'm in the not tipping camp.

The reason the waiters in some restaurants run out the door after customers for tips is because people from a tipping culture are introducing it to places it's not inherant. Next thing, the housekeeping staff will be running out the door after departing guests. For me, it's being disrespectful to a host country.

Here’s the difference: in Paris these are immigrant women on flimsy contracts to third-party companies paid the absolute minimum. They travel a long distance into Paris at the crack of dawn to clean my mess. I tip.

Those are not necessarily the working conditions everywhere in France or other European countries, but that’s how it is in Paris.

Elizabeth, I think it’s very similar in London. Cleaners are rarely employed directly by the hotel but rather the cleaning is subcontracted. They are expected to service the rooms in an impossibly short time, meaning they often have to work longer than they’re paid for to get the job done.

I also tip. I think the fact that cleaners are almost all women adds to my feelings on this.

I think Elizabeth and Helen make a much better case for it than the way some others put it further up the thread. I don't want it to seem like I don't support low paid workers.

On the rare occasion that I've taken a bus into central London at 4 or 5am it's always busy with women going to cleaning jobs. I'd assume the majority would be going to do office cleaning where they wouldn't get a tip, but no doubt some are going to hotel cleaning jobs.

You don’t need to!

I'll add that I also leave the tip on top of a note saying Thank You in the local language. In one of my regular hotels I had a little dialogue going with the housekeeping staff that was so very sweet and touching! In that hotel and in another of my regular ones, the housekeeping staff has generally been the same ladies and in one instance, same gentleman, several years in a row which makes me feel they have some stability in their jobs and are hired by these particular hotels as cleaners.

In the other thread on the Tom Bihn small travel tray, hahaha, I mentioned I keep a small memo pad and pen in my bedside tray. That is generally for note-leaving for the housekeepers!

It also depends in France and other European countries as well. If I am staying in a chain hotel, ie, Ibis, Mercure, or Novotel, I don't tip.

At independent hotels, 2 or 3 star, that's when I leave the tip, leaving 5 Euro equal to blowing that amount (almost) for a cappuccino.

Tipping culture in Canada and US has gotten out of control since Covid. However, I have always tipped house keeping in every hotel I have ever been to. As far as I am concerned, they are one of very few professions who deserve it.