How much money should you leave in a hotel room?

The American Hotel & Lodging Association suggests leaving a $1-to-$5 tip per day for the housekeeping staff. The tipping range is helpful when estimating your trip budget, but how much you should ultimately tip depends on a few factors (more on this later).



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How much cash should you leave in a hotel room? A general rule of thumb is $3 to $5 per night for budget and midrange hotels, and up to $10 a night for luxury hotels and resorts (or more if the service is really high end). Families don't automatically need to tip more than single travelers or couples.

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Most travel experts recommend storing at least some of your cash, a backup credit card, and your passport in a bag inside the hotel safe, but even those aren't 100% secure and the hotel usually can't be held liable for theft. The number 1 key to keeping your travel money safe from thieves is this: divide and conquer.

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When to tip your hotel room cleaners. Some travelers like to leave one tip for hotel housekeeping at the end of their stay. But most experts say it's better to leave a tip every day of your trip. “We recommend tipping nightly, as your room may be serviced by different people,” said Ten Eyck.

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The American Hotel & Lodging Association (ALHA) recommends tipping hotel housekeeping $1-5 per night. If you're going to tip, ideally: Leave it nightly, since someone different could be cleaning your room every day.

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If you forget to leave a tip for housekeeping, don't worry – it's not too late. You can still leave a tip at the end of your stay by placing the money in an envelope with a note thanking the housekeeper and leaving it at the front desk. You can also contact the hotel's front desk to add a tip to your bill.

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Pro tip: Tip everyone: While most travelers know to tip a bellman or valet, few leave anything for the front-desk agent—despite their enormous power to influence the quality of your stay. “The front desk isn't a tipped position, so when you do tip, it makes them beholden to you,” Tomsky said.

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According to the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA), guests should tip housekeeping anywhere between $1 to $5 per night for a mid-range or business hotel. For luxury hotels where the staff offers daily cleaning services and nightly turndown services, guests should leave a little more.

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You may be wondering if tipping housekeeping makes sense if they never clean your room. Not surprisingly, the answer is still yes.

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A credit card hold is an insurance policy for the hotel. Specifically, the hold covers incidentals such as damage to the room, room service and dips into the minibar. Depending on the hotel, this hold could be a charge for your entire stay or charged each night.

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You should behave in the same manner as if you were [a] guest in someone's house, she explained. Be delicate. Flush your toilet, clean up after yourself and don't leave broken glass all over the floor. But showing basic courtesy doesn't necessarily mean that you should remake your bed and scrub the bathroom floor.

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When a guest comes within ten (10) feet of a team member(s), the team member(s) should cease their conversation to acknowledge the approaching guest. At approximately five (5) feet our team members should acknowledge the guest(s) with a nod or greeting, whenever appropriate.

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As you can see, there are several ways to tip hotel staff without cash, thanks to the convenience of digital transactions. Whether you choose to utilize mobile payment apps, add a tip to your hotel bill, purchase digital gift cards, or explore online tip jars, you can express your gratitude in a cashless manner.

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Tipping hotel housekeeping hasn't traditionally been part of standard practice. As recently as June 2019 the CEO of Hilton said that he “typically do[es] not leave a tip” for housekeepers.

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The tip doesn't have to be big — $1 to $5, says the American Hotel and Lodging Association. But fewer than a third of hotel guests leave any money for the housekeepers. The hotel association publishes a gratuity guide on its website that offers suggestions for tipping everyone from valet attendants to bellhops.

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As with most forms of tipping, a hard-and-fast rule is hard to come by. The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) suggests leaving a $1-to-$5 tip per day for the housekeeping staff.

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Room service: If the hotel hasn't already added a gratuity, tip this person the same way you would a server or bartender in the restaurant downstairs: 15% to 20%. Door staff: No need to tip for someone opening the door.

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Basically slipping a $20 in your passport when checking in and asking for a nicer room or on a higher floor? Some used it on busy restaurants to get a head of the line.

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By covering the outlets, the risk of electric shocks or accidental contact with live wires is minimized. Additionally, bandaging outlets is an effective way of childproofing the electrical system, preventing young children from inserting objects or their fingers into the outlets.

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A general rule of thumb is $3 to $5 per night for budget and midrange hotels, and up to $10 a night for luxury hotels and resorts (or more if the service is really high end). Families don't automatically need to tip more than single travelers or couples.

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