Where does the envelope go? Stay in the room or the front desk? My only major issue is there's no guarantee it goes the right person, therefore, while I applaud those willing to go to these lengths, I wouldn't do this without absolute confirmation my money is taken care of.


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Few things make me lose faith in humanity faster than a bunch of (mostly) six-figure earners squabbling over leaving a buck for a overworked, under paid and grossly unappreciated hotel worker.

Just leave a damn dollar on the table knowing that you've just made her day. Pay it forward.

For Christ's sake, you can even write it off on your taxes.

I leave a couple of bucks out on the desk or some other counter/spot in the room before I check out. I've sometimes left the clearly visible on the bed I slept in.

I go to pretty much the same hotels since United has long term contracts with their hotels in each city and hotel staff pretty much knows if someone tips (they talk to each other).

If I'm staying in the same hotel for training, I leave a couple of bucks a day in a spot where it's an obvious tip IF there's no envelope.


I can remember one time in Italy, doing govt contractor work, where we found out that a manager was going through our rooms before the maid got there and taking tips. So we put our tips under the pillow/similar spot with a note for the maid. That's the only time I've heard of someone other than the maid getting tips left behind.

If I can afford a beer in the bar, I can afford to leave a tip for the maid. I've made sure that my kids know proper tipping etiquette while travelling and where to read how much of a tip is appropriate in each country. I wouldn't leave zero tip in a restaurant; I don't leave zero tip for van drivers and maids. YMMV.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g...Etiquette.html

I guarantee you any pilot -- first year or otherwise -- is making a hell of a lot more and has a hell of an easier job than the person who cleans the toilet in your hotel room

I find it ironic that the same FO who is on first year pay, who I buy a dinner for and a few beers, as well as cover their van tip if I notice they didn't dig into their pocket, has a brand new IPhone 7 and an Apple Watch, can't afford a $1 for a van tip.
Comes down to personal choices.

I think it's pretty standard to tip van drivers a buck per ride to and from the airport. The exception is if they're very rude, reckless, or don't help with bags. As said that's pretty rare, but it happens. give them $2 per ride if they take you somewhere other than the airport, especially if it's outside the hotel's shuttle zone. This ensures personal trips in the future!

FWIW, if you think about van driver tips, say a busy brand name hotel that houses a lot of crews in a large city. If they do 4 airport runs per hour, with lets say 6 people each way, that's $48/hr in addition to local minimum wage. So they aren't exactly suffering. If you or your fellow crew member is too cheap or poor to shell out a buck, whatever, but don't feel like you're starving their kids.

As for hotel maids, it's standard to tip $5 or less per night FOR STAYS LONGER THAN ONE NIGHT. I don't tip for one night stays, and neither do most business travelers in other industries. But if you want to, no one is stopping you. Guilting people who don't isn't necessary. You do you and I'll do me.

That's funny. It's common practice for all FedEx Captains to cover the tips for first year guys and these fellas tip $5 at a time. You've got no sympathy for a guy making less than $40k, while you're easily over $100k?

If the guy I'm flying with doesn't tip I go out of my way to open my wallet back up and give the van driver another dollar. That typically takes care of them not tipping anymore.

Recently started tipping van drivers $2 and you'd think I gave them a winning lottery ticket. They really appreciate it.

People who should certainly be tipped are people in the service industry who work for tips (i.e. Waitresses making $2.13/hr from the restaurant since their tips count towards the minimum wage). People making at least minimum wage or better aren't technically "working for tips"...tips are a nice bonus based on the quality of service they provide. Auto-tipping people who don't use tips to meet wage requirements defeats the purpose of a tip for quality service. Do you tip a McDonald's employee who takes your order? If not, why not? Do you tip the person who waits on you in Dillard's when you buy a shirt? If not, why not.

I tip the van driver because it has become industry standard for flight crews. I'm generous when tipping in restaurants as many restaurant employees pool tips. Expecting people to tip everyone they come into contact with, though does get a bit excessive.