The more you tip at hotels, the less a hotel has to pay in wages to attract workers.
- If an employee demands $25 an hour to work at the hotel, that might break down as a $20 wage and $5 in tips.
- If the hotel can push guests to tip more, say to $10 an hour that a worker expects to receive on average, then the hotel only needs to offer $15 an hour to attract the workers they need.
Hotel chains aren’t pushing guests to tip out of affection for their lowest-paid employees. They’re doing it as a way of controlling owner costs. The CEO of one hotel group even says they need guests to tip more – so they don’t have to raise wages.
Eight years ago we started seeing Marriott put envelopes in hotel rooms as a way of encouraging tips for housekeepers. Some hotels have been adding tips to guest folios automatically. Holiday Inns are adding QR codes to rooms for tipping housekeeping.
Now the Wyndham chain – which includes 22 brands including Ramada, La Quinta, and Days Inn – has a new approach to pushing for tips: they’re rolling out mobile web-based tipping via QR code for all employees, not just housekeeping. And since this is all about hotel owner costs, guests even pay an add-on fee to cover credit card processing and software.
Once a hotel opts-in and is setup on the Béné platform, guests can easily recognize the team member of their choice by scanning a QR code during their stay and choosing how much they would like to tip. QR codes are unique to each team member and tips are deposited daily either directly into their individual bank accounts or into the property’s account to be distributed with regular payroll.
The platform accepts multiple forms of payment, including credit card, Apple Pay® and Google Pay™. Similar to other digital payment services, platform costs are covered by guests via a small transaction fee, leaving franchisees responsible only for basic marketing materials, which they can either order directly from Béné at a minimal cost or create themselves.
Tipping in the U.S. is out of control. It’s one thing to tip a server in a restaurant, or a mobile delivery driver. If you go out to eat at a quick service restaurant, where you stand in line and pay for your and collect your food at the register, you’re likely to be prompted for a tip amount. You may even have to take extra steps, like first choosing other to navigate to a separate screen, to opt out.
In hotels things are even worse. During the pandemic, Hyatt’s Motif Hotel in Seattle asked guests to tip the Hong Kong-based investment group that owned the hotel.
(HT: Travel Essential)
As someone who lived in tip-free Australia for several years, agree that tipping is out of control in the US.
That said, I’ve seen housekeepers who go above & beyond in cleaning rooms (like folding my clothes & organizing my toiletries & leaving extra chocolate at my request vs just making the bed & taking the trash). Happy to tip them better. Housekeeping is serious physical labor & is tough. Much tougher than the barista at Starbucks.
I will never frequent any hotel chain that does this.
Just say no. I have had tips “accidentally” added to various bills. I ask for it to be removed. If I want to tip I will do it in cash directly to the person that provides the service.
Already noticed something similar at an Embassy Suites this summer when QR codes were out at breakfast- the staff was truly amazing so I did tip but was also a bit peeved when I also had to pay a service charge to cover the processing fee for the tip
I don’t care. They’re paid. I’m not tipping.
I always appreciate when housekeeping provides a nice clean room for my stay, and I’m happy to tip accordingly. I expect hotel owners who value their housekeeping staff might want to provide appropriate compensation for their hard workers.
Yah, that’s gonna be a no from me, dawg!
I don’t use QR codes. Already, I find the smartphone security is too poor. I use my smartphone for telephone calls, photos, text, and limited internet. Limited internet is web based email, selected news website, selected airlines, but not general web browsing. Even the selection of apps is limited.
As far as tipping, I generally tip in cash even though it encourages tax evasion.
What’s the limit for tips. This is too much. I tip housekeeping for special requests, like when leaving a note for an extra bath towel, and also for multiple day stays. I don’t want to tip housekeeping as a required added cost, nor do I want to tip the maintenance man, check in clerk, and many other employees that work there. But this may be inevitable. Soon, we’ll have to tip doctors, nurses, hospital housekeeping, subway engineer, etc.
Just wait till emergency room doctors, nurses and medical staff start asking for tips. Or police and firefighters.
Tip me because i showed up breathing.
Here’s a tip for you Wyndham: most of your hotels suck anyway so thanks for giving me one more reason to avoid them.
I always appreciate when housekeeping does it’s job that they are being paid for. And doing a better job still does not constitute a tip. People are forgetting that doing a Good job at work is Expected.
Tipped employees is an oxymoron. Effectively a person who works for tips is NOT an employee. They get their pay from customers. They are independent contractors who choose to work for an organization that pays their taxes for them to keep them around. Perhaps reported tips should be assessed sales taxes because the price of their services are not included in sales.
Service levels & amenities are so low, and upgrades non-existent (I will not ask) at Wyndham properties. I maintain status with this corp for the increased points & matches but will never, ever tip cash.
Well, if people are insecure enough to fall for this, more power to Wyndham. I am particularly entranced by the idea of using a QR code and paying extra for the privilege of tipping. It’s hard to imagine anyone actually doing this, or at least doing it more than once. Here’s an idea: when you travel, put some dollar and five-dollar bills in your pocket. Tip people who do good things for you. Hand it directly to them. Blow off all the other foolishness.
I am amazed at the blatant stupidity that people have concerning “tips” – I don’t tip anyone for doing the job they were hired to do at a wage they agreed to accept. I f you want to “feel good” by tipping, go ahead. It is not your or my responsibility to pay anyone’s pay for doing their job – it is the employers responsibility.
Yes, the tipping is getting out of control in USA. Even ice-cream kiosk handlers ask for tips nowadays!
But some countries went beyond that. Like Bahamas made 15% tip pretty much mandatory on hotel and restaurant services, and they still asking for another tip on top of those 15%!! My guess the first mandatory 15% go to the business owners, and the second tip might end up with the employees.
I’m seeing charges up to 5% as an inflation cost recovery fee, as well as the 2% health care fee. Then they still suggest a tip on the total of these fees + tax. So you end up paying 40% over the price on the menu.
I detest the “suggested” tips on the bottom of the check. And why should we tip on taxes? I go to a local pub that clearly states that the “suggested tip is before taxes” and I almost always tip 20%, unless it’s a small bill and I want to tip more then I do other. At a Embassy Suite tonight at a rooftop bar the “suggested tip” started at 20%. I did 15%, just because I think 20% as a starting point is absurd. I might have given them 25% without the “suggested tip.” I’ve been to Australia 6 times, pay them a living wage and we can leave a buck or two for exceptional service.
I’m with Fred: no tips. None. Ever. In 26 years in higher education (lecturer at a state university, highest pay $27,500 for a 9 month contract at the end of those 26 years) I received exactly $0 as tips. If you don’t like the job, leave. Better yet, don’t even apply. No tips from me ever.
I don’t care how you itemize my bill.
$150 room rate vs. $100 room rate + $50 in tips.
Who cares?
Kebum Lee _ What a dumb shit reply.
Nothing will change until idiots stop tipping and participating in this idiocy.
JH, David Miller, Fred- no tips, ever?! You must like the taste of spit in your food…
This is totally out of control. I was recently in Ireland, Northern Ireland, and England. The hotels (Hilton properties) were as good as and most better maintained than US properties, the restaurants were open like before Covid. The prices were more reasonable than hotels in the states. The staff are not tipped, the owners are responsible for paying the staff the wage from the profits they make from lodging and dining charges that we pay them.
The reason this is happening in the states is simple. The greed of the owners and the lack of backbone in the customers (us) to say we have had enough.
It seems the hoteliers are in competition with the airlines to see how much they can take away.
If we don’t stop giving in to these greedy owners they’ll keep taking services away all the while nickeling and diming us to death.
Businesses in the US should be forced to advertise the final price, not sime low price and then add tax, tip, fees etc.
Germany has a law, makes things easy and transparent. Restaurant menues have the final price you pay, airlines and hotels need to advertise the final price. The i don;t care if the price includes some electricity fee, resort fee or tips.
Tipping also creates an incentive for employees to break company policies or rules since there are customers who will pay them for things they either may not be entitled to receive or may that aren’t generally allowable. I can see a scenario a well-placed tip to a housekeeper gets a bottle of champagne in a guest room or a tip to the front desk clerk gets an upgrade. Owners and/or managers concerned about revenue should be careful.
@Your Waiter thank goodness you get the food first then can decide whether to tip or not. Though this is talking about tipping housekeeping. Try to keep up.
Jim- you are 100% right.
Service isn’t bad enough now. Wait until staff get angry they aren’t tipped
I just came back from Dubrovnik. Service in Hilton Imperial executive lounge was great. It’s nice when you come in a couple minutes after closure and the staff gets you and your guest two rounds of drinks after deadline and a plate of snacks from back
She got a nice tip for being kind
For those who are not tipping or planning not to top any longer I say stay the F home! Tipping helps keep prices lower in restaurants, hotels etc. Especially restaurants. If they all raised there prices to compensate their hard working employees you’d complain too. Face it. Your only being cheap, rude & a jerk. AND they will remember you if you go back. Too bad the richest country on the planet has so many a holes.
T – Don’t tell me how to spend MY money. You are the “Jerk” here. As far as A-holes goes, you are at the top of the list.
Your Waiter – you’re a POS. Hope you like the taste of jail.
T- – I can afford the increased prices. Ask your mommy for some extra cash when you come out of the basement and maybe you’ll be able to as well.
I worked in “fancy” restaurants as a server from 2009-2021. I earned good, 40-50k for way less than 2080 hours, money over the years. I know, enjoyed and took advantage of the tipping industry. Yet, it the stupidest way to compensate someone and is TOTALLY out of control in the USA. Why, if I open a $200 bottle of wine I’ll get tipped $40, but if I open a $30 bottle get tipped $6. Same effort, same presentation…makes no sense. Same goes if someone orders a $20 chicken or a $100 ribeye. There is no way tipping in this manner makes sense, and servers know it too. Hotel staff work hard, sure, but so do many other occupations. Pay a wage you can hire employees, charge a competitive rate, and still edge a profit. If you can’t, you shouldn’t be in business.
Fleecing the flock.
The most impressive aspect of the 36 comments above is the vast majority use the article to lay blame at the feet of the worker/employee, and not at the oligarch/corporate overlords setting the policies.
Gotta love the brainwashed many who will take out their cheapskate anger at those beneath them (socioeconomically), and never aim their vitriol at the conniving thieves above them!
A meme has been going around where Walmart will start to expect you to unload their trucks in addition to checking yourself out. Walmart also likes to arrest people for forgetting to scan a loaf of bread, even when they didn’t. The point is, corporate America keeps trying to push the boundaries by lowering service levels.
I hate Marriott. I will not stay at a Marriott property. They charge too much for their rooms and then you get nothing with them. No breakfast, no this, no that. No this. Poor service. At that price point, I expect a lot. I get better service and food options at a motel off the interstate! And now they want me to subsidize their employees?
I have a suggestion. Charge a room rate that covers the expenses, or take less in profits. When I pay for a room, I expect it will cover everything, from housekeeping, to a hot breakfast in the morning. If someone goes over and above my expectations, I will tip them in cash.
Bottom line is this…pay your people!
T – have you seen room rates at Marriott lately? Charge an extra $10-$20 per room and pay your people! But instead, they charge the $10-$20/room, pocket it, then tell the customer that in order to provide the service they need to tip. That is why I don’t stay there. I hate Marriott. Hilton is so much better.
@GaryLeff I’m confused. Your a libertarian free market guy. I get it that you can say airlines operate in a environment with lots of government regulation and provision of services or products they use.
You cannot say the same for hotels. Yes, zoning can restrict competition but there’s now Air BnB and it’s ilk providing alternatives to hotels. Trying to get guest to tip employees is the ultimate in capitalism. The rich owners get to keep your money and then you get to help pay the owners employees! What would be more American than that?
The only way you get away from tipping is mandate sufficiently high minimum wages so that tipping is not needed to supplement a income and laws mandating transparent pricing as @Bernhard points exist in Germany. But that would go against your desire for less government.
@Thrifty Traveler – I don’t know why you try to ascribe certain ideas or implications to me that I don’t offer myself, and strawman them. Where am I calling for laws against tipping? And why do you think it goes against my principles to criticize the behavior of a company?
The new regulations. are going too far. Its clear that the management wants the customers to pay the staff so that they can get them for free. I have seen this in cruise industry. They bring their employees from 3rd world countries for a very small wage and push for tips to compensate
I dont like so called suggested tipping metjid. Who is suggesting and what right do you have to suggest? I did not like some replies like if I dont tip the waiter will insult me or spit or shit on my food. Sir, tipping is not mandetory. This is rude and uncivil. As far any hotel uses this trick I am not going there. Period. I worked. For 52 years but never asked or got a trip. What would be the suggested tip for the heart surgeon who gave a triple bypass. ? I see the whole business of tipping unnecesssry. The salary is paid by the employer. If the cost of hotel or restaurent is too much for me I will FUCK stay home while the server without any customer will FUCK. himself. This SOB is not fit to work with public. . He has no respect fir people. Tip is not a TAX
. It is given voluntarily. What ever you say or do maintain some decency, dignity and decorum.
Not tipping is the only way tipping goes away and people get paid a living wage.
Any time someone tips, they’re sending a strong message that tipping should expand to new areas.
STOP TIPPING YOU PEOPLE!!
I never tip* and I really, replay, really like the fact that others who do subsidize my purchases.
To all idiots in the world who tip, thank you for making things cheaper for me!
*Outside of the minimum 15% in US restaurants, a huge hassle requiring maths or calculator
Hi.
Marketing Manager for Motif Seattle here.
I wanted to reach out to ask why Motif has been tagged in this article regarding hotel enabling tipping methods. NONE of those methods have been initiated at this hotel and there are not plans implement them.
Furthermore, your information about our Destination Fee is incorrect. This fee gives our guests access to discounts at some of Seattle’s top tourist sites, coffee shops, and other shopping destinations as well as allowing our lobby to provide wine and beer service daily.
Additionally, the first instance of reporting where you insinuated that our hotel was asking for donations was an unknown error from Sonifi, meaning it was not something the hotel was aware of or had agreed to.
There is something to be said about Journalistic Integrity and the lack of it in your mediocre reporting.
@Tiffany Gonzalez – I spoke to the General Manager at the hotel last year, these practices were in place at the time i wrote about them! They have since been addressed, after they were covered publicly (on this site and elsewhere). You may not be familiar with the past practices, but those are what I’m referring to. A great example of hotels behaving badly with guests, which your GM conceded.