A new union contract in New York City will pay housekeepers over $100,000. That’s good news because you no longer need to feel obligated to tip.
The owners of nearly 250 hotels in the city reached agreement with the union, the Hotel and Gaming Trades Council, on an eight-year contract that would increase wages by more than 50 percent for workers, union officials said. The hotel owners will continue to pay the full cost of providing health-care benefits for 27,000 union members and their families.
The unusually generous terms were ratified by the board of the Hotel Association of New York City, which represents the hotel owners, and is scheduled for a vote Thursday by the members of the hotel workers’ union, who have a history of moving in lock step with their leaders.
New York City has banned Airbnb and other short-term rental platforms for short stays. And they’ve effectively banned new hotels. That’s limited the supply or rooms and taken many out of the market, which drives up the rates incumbent hotels can charge. That’s largely been at the behest of hotel worker unions. Owners of existing hotels are earning a lot more, and want to keep those profits flowing uninterrupted. They are now in a position to share economic rents created through lobbying efforts with workers.
That was the literal goal of the policies, even though it meant limiting visitors to New York City. 2025 visitor totals (65 million) were still below 2019 levels (66.6 million). Not only didn’t they return to trend they didn’t even catch up. It’s guests who lose (they pay higher room rates than they otherwise would) and the rest of the city (less economic activity from fewer visitors), but both hotel owners and workers win.
In 2025, 13 of the 15 New York City Council candidates backed by the union won their seats. They’ve gone 26 for 26 in the past, and their one of the heaviest spenders on city council races. By law, all New York City hotels must provide daily housekeeping unless a guest affirmatively declines, and it’s illegal to offer an incentive like points for a guest to decline. And generally, most hotels are barred from entering into housekeeping outsourcing arrangements.
Housekeepers in New York City cannot be considered low wage workers. Hilton’s CEO admitted he doesn’t tip housekeepers. The CEO of a major hotel ownership group admitted that the push for tipping is so they can pay lower wages.
By the way, the average visitor to New York from Germany has household income of $92,200. The average visitor from Spain has a household income of $88,500. From France it’s $80,300. And from Italy $80,000.
Lol, who the hell tips a housekeeper?
I stay in hotels regularly where I’m paying $300–$500 a night, and I don’t tip housekeeping — especially since I don’t even use daily service unless I’m staying longer than a typical Monday–Friday trip. At some point, this stops being about generosity and starts being about a broken pricing model.
I’m frankly exhausted with what tipping culture has become in this country. I worked my way through school as a bartender and waiter — back then, 10–15% was considered a solid tip. Today, you’re handed a screen defaulting to 20–25%, often with a prompt to add even more on top of that. That’s not organic generosity — that’s engineered pressure.
And I’m clearly not alone. Nearly 9 in 10 Americans now believe tipping has gotten out of control, and about 65% say they’re tired of it altogether.
Even more telling, 72% of people say they’re being asked to tip in more places than they were just five years ago — everything from coffee counters to self-checkout kiosks. [forbes.com], [qsrmagazine.com] [pewresearch.org]
Meanwhile, the economics have quietly shifted. The average restaurant tip today is already around 19%, up significantly from the 10–15% standard many of us grew up with.
Yet despite that increase, most people still feel like they’re being asked to subsidize wages directly — and roughly 3 in 5 Americans believe businesses are relying on tips instead of paying proper salaries. [pos.toasttab.com] [oysterlink.com]
That’s the real issue for me. I’m already paying premium prices — whether it’s a hotel room or a meal — and then I’m being asked to layer on another 20% to effectively fund payroll. At that point, just price it transparently and pay your staff appropriately. I would much rather see an all-in price than this constant expectation to evaluate and compensate labor on behalf of the business.
I’m still perfectly willing to tip 20% for genuinely good service — especially in sit-down restaurants where there’s real effort and interaction. But the current system has drifted far beyond that. In many cases, tipping no longer reflects service quality; it’s simply become an expected surcharge.
Until pricing and compensation are aligned more honestly, you’re going to keep seeing this pushback.
many hotels offer an envelop in the room suggesting a tip.
NYC hotels are pricing themselves out of the tourist business. Increasingly, only business travel on expense account is paying. I find myself staying farther away unless it’s January, when rates are less crazy.