Is it proper to tip maids with other than money?

That is a sweet story.
I tip daily, just not sure that you get the same maid everyday.

Just write a thanks note, draw a happy face and leave $5.

I would not do that job, cleanup after some one else. I typically lay all my towels on the edge of the tub so that they are not having to bend over to pick them up.
Harrah's was giving away these hideous porcelain jester glasses a few years ago where you drank by putting a straw in the rear of the jester. Buy a cocktail, get a free jester. Or was it buy a jester, get a free drink.... Whatever it was, I bought 4 of them at the Improv Comedy show. I was looped and thought the jesters was a good idea. We even got into a "discussion" with one of the comedians while he was on stage doing his bit. As the comedians wait for the audience after the show, we got the jester's box autographed.

When it came time to pack up to go home, we realized there was no room for the jesters. There is a maid at Mandalay Bay that has 4 of these jesters.
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Originally posted by: KingBarkus
I had no room for a nice pottery piece I had won in a tournament downtown. I left a note on the box saying "Enjoy". Even though I also had a strip room at the time, I returned to that room downtown to make sure I didn't leave anything. I heard a soft knock on the door and opened it to a beaming lady (maid) caressing this piece of pottery with both arms to her chest. Mine? Mine? she said. She made my day.


That is very,very cool, really like that story.

JOHN

We've frequently left things along with cash for our maids at the end of a trip. Hubby likes a couple cups of coffee in the morning while relaxing in the room before heading out to breakfast, but hates room service coffee (which always seems to arrive lukewarm and stale tasting). First day in town we always stop into Walgreen's and pick up an inexpensive coffee maker and a pound of coffee. At the end of the trip we clean the machine thoroughly, repack it in the box along with the receipt and all paperwork and leave it on the bed along with our cash tip. We ALWAYS attach a signed note for the maid clearly indicating it is for her to do with as she pleases. The note is so that she does not have to turn it into lost & found as forgotten guest property. It also removes any doubt as to whether she obtained it legitimately. She can then keep it, return it to the store, give it to someone else or a charity or just throw it away - makes no difference to me, we've had our use of it. Total cost to us is about the same as few cups of Starbucks or the like. I've run into the same housekeepers on a couple subsequent trips, and they have recognized me & actually mentioned that they appreciated the gift. We also leave a cup with all the spare coins that we don't want to dump out for airport security in it. Any time I get breakable or bulky items as gifts or prizes from casinos, they get left on the bed too.
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Originally posted by: BAGIANT
When we stay at our usual place, we don't have the room made up every day, so when I grab some new towels in the hallway, or when the maid comes into the room to empty the trash, I usually tip her right then and there. When we were there last trip, the regular maid assigned to our suite wasn't there most days so I was tipping her replacement regularly. On our last day there, I dropped a glass by the bathroom vanities. I picked up all the large pieces, but I was afraid there were some smaller pieces that I couldn't get to. Going downstairs, I met the maid that was assigned our suite and I asked her if she would go in and vacuum by the vanities. She asked me if any had gotten into the carpet and I told her no none got into the carpeting. I gave her permission to enter the room even though the Do Not Disturb sign was on the door. I told her to just vacuum and nothing else since we were probably leaving that day. We were scheduled to stay two more days but we knew we weren't going to extend the trip.

I happen to come back up to the room after about a half hour after forgetting something. I saw the maids cart outside the door and when I went into the room, she had done more than just vacuum. When we got home that night, I went to take my insulin injection and I noticed two syringes were missing. I know I hadn't counted wrong since the night before I used one syringe and three were left in the bag so I knew I would have enough syringes if we wound up staying the extra two days. Now I had never seen this maid before so she must have been new, but just looking at her face, you knew that she was on some kind of drugs.
So what kind of threatening message did you leave for her?

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Originally posted by: gruberbox
Cash! Cash! Cash! The only appropriate gift. They work hard, make very low wages, have to deal with an awful lot of cheap, sloppy, disgusting people.


Everyone says maids "make very low wages."
What is the source of this information?
Is this is fact or assumption?
What would be considered "very low wages?"
Just wondering.

10 things your maid won't tell you



I just came across this article, "10 things your housekeeper won't tell you." It says maids earn an average of $14.60 an hour (nationwide) and clean about 16 rooms per eight hour shift each (2 rooms per hour).
Surf, the $14.60 not the average, it is the high end -- for Chicago unionized workers.
I didn't leave her any message. I called my host and told him what I thought occurred. He said they would now be on the lookout for her in the future in case anyone else made a claim. simple as that!
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