Housekeeper Tarasita Cain changes the sheets at hotel in downtown Los Angeles.; Credit: KPCC / Sanden Totten
For many consumers, hotel tipping is an imperfect science. Now, Marriott brand hotels have teamed up with Maria Shriver in a campaign to boost tips for hotel housekeepers.
The effort, titled “The Envelope Please,” places envelopes in 160,000 rooms across North America with the intention of facilitating tipping for housekeepers by hotel guests.
Critics argue that unlike restaurant workers, who can be paid less than the minimum wage because they are expected to earn tips, hotel workers do earn the minimum hourly rate. They say that Marriott and thus other hotel chains are not responsible for the tips that their workers may or may not receive.
Do you tip the hotel housekeeping staff? Would you be compelled to do so if envelopes are provided?