Tipping House Cleaners & Hotel Staff: Etiquette & Best Practices

A cleaning lady wipes down a counter.

Tipping your "cleaning lady" is more than just a good habit. It is appropriate and expected whenever staying at a hotel or when your home cleaning service tidies your home. When you tip, you ensure better service and supplement the income of the people who work hard to make your home or your hotel stay clean and comfortable.

Home

If you pay to have a house cleaning service visit your home at regular intervals, consider tipping the individual or individuals who do the work. Tipping demonstrates appreciation and respect and encourages a consistent level of service. According to the owner of Smart Choice Cleaning in Alexandria, Virginia, a $5 tip per visit is large enough to be appreciated and small enough to be acceptable to the customer.

Hotels

Tipping your hotel cleaning staff is also appropriate. The standard is $1 to $5 per day: $1 if the room is left reasonably neat and $5 if it's a bit disheveled. Some travelers leave $1 per day for each occupant of the room. If you stay more than one day, leave the tip each day to ensure the money goes to the worker who actually cleaned the room.