Villa housekeeper tip question

Diana - as good as you are a cheerleader for the island, I doubt you are going to convince anyone to pay a maid for not coming to clean the villa- Sundays or Holidays excluded.
 
My final thoughts on this, when you check into a hotel room in the states or elsewhere, and you only stay for one night, do you not give the maid a tip even though "she has not done anything for you since you arrived?"

after all even though the maid has a contract for her services with a hotel or with a villa owner, she cleans before you arrive and she cleans after you leave.

what I find really strange is that some people have no problem tipping the waitress above and beyond what is a normal tip on this french island, sometimes they tip 15 to 20 percent of the bill, I know as I have been at some of the dinners where someone goes around collecting the tip for the waitress and actually will ask me to be a party to this overtipping, they will even go as far as to say this is your share of the bill plus tip. I look at them and say, I tip two or three euros max.

but when it comes to the maid, the same people will say, did she come today, what should my tip be, why should I tip her for cleaning up after me after I leave, she has a contract with the owner, I really don't understand the logic here.
 
but when it comes to the maid, the same people will say, did she come today, what should my tip be, why should I tip her for cleaning up after me after I leave, she has a contract with the owner, I really don't understand the logic here.
Diana- where in this thread did you get that? When I arrive I count that day as day 1 for the maid and when we leave as the last day and I think so does everyone.
 
There is a difference between a fee and a tip. A fee is a required payment for services, which, in the case of a villa maid/housekeeper, is included in the cost of the rental. A tip is an optional payment, a gift of money given voluntarily in gratitude for or in recognition of good service.

I'm sorry that maids/housekeepers only make €17-20/hour, which is more than minimum wage anywhere in the US.
I'm sorry that they pay for their own health insurance.
I'm sorry that the maid/housekeeper works hard to clean and prepare the villa both before my arrival and after my departure.
However, all of the above are included in their agreement with the villa owner, and not in any relationship with me.

I tip for services which are provided, based on the quality of said services. If no services are provided then in my opinion no tip is deserved. Additionally, as mentioned in other posts, I would be having a chat with the rental agency or villa owner about the lack of service.

In fact, I question why the inability to provide the promised service wasn't reported by the maid/housekeeper to the agency/owner so that they could arrange an alternate.

PS - The two villas which I rent both have excellent maids/housekeepers. They do an excellent job, and they work with me to find a mutually agreeable time to clean the villa. I tip them for the days that they work, as well as for Sundays and holidays which may occur during my residence. On special days such as French Labor Day, Mothers Day, or sometimes on the weekend, a bottle of Veuve Clicquot may change hands too. The Veuve Clicquot thing is just a me (and JEK) thing, and is not an expected practice.


the answer for your question andy was in this reply.
 
#1, If your contract says daily housekeeping service, housekeeping should be daily. If not, talk to provider of rental about adjusting your payment. #2, If you don't require daily service, negotiate fees and terms upfront.


We all have our own ways of saying thank you. "Formulas" are not natural, IMHO. Usually our housekeeping has been fine. In the very few exceptions, we varied from our "loosey goosey" tipping for daily service which is kinda, somewhat:

- 2 euros per person per day, including arrival and departure day. With us that's usually 5-8 people for 7 days.

- We keep a "kitty jar" for all the shared stuff like cooking inhouse, etc. We all put in an equal share at the start and equally contribute as it runs down. At the end, the rest is left for housekeeping.

-All spare euros that ya don't want to keep for the next trip stay behind.

- Any leftover food or booze is theirs, and we tell them so. Sometimes it can be a fair amount of unopened pizzas that we didn't inhale while packing the night before, wine we didn't drink, rhum that wouldn't fit in our bags, fresh produce, etc. We are huge inhalers of good food and libations. But, we have been known to overbuy thinking that we can get all of that good stuff down our gullets. :tongue:

- We treat them like the hardworking folks they, usually, are - very appreciatively. Have known some of them for years. If they don't have a babysitter when they stop by, their kids have hung out with us by the deck and pool. We don't mess things up much and are decent about picking up after ourselves. Picking up empty bottles and working the dishwasher are not a big hassle for us. They do the dirty work.

- If possible, we directly hand euros and stuff over to our friend of the week.

When we happen to run into them somewhere on isle, it's always a happy greeting and an introduction to their family and friends. :)

Read the fine print and follow the Golden Rule.
 
The maids at the Villa we rent work six days a week. We still tip 5 Euros a day for 7 or 14 days days. We suggest only tipping for the days they worked in the situation you presented.
 
I recently tipped 80 eruo for a 9 night stay which included 2 days off for the maid. I have previously tipped 50-60 euro for 7 night stay (minus one day for Sunday) for my other stays. I usually tip the maid the first day of my stay. To each their own but IMO just do what you think is right.
 
In February Liz and I visited a villa on the day the guests left and before the maid arrived. The villa is in Camaruche and is beautiful. Disgusting is not strong enough to describe it's appearance that day. Drink glasses everywhere, many with cigarette butts in them, dirty dishes piled high in the sink with dirty pots and pans, sand on the floors etc. I won't even go into the bedrooms and bathrooms. We are renting the villa in February so we obviously were able to overlook its temporary appearance. We have never and would never consider leaving a house in anything like this condition. So you never know what your villa looked like a few hours before you arrived. This is of course not a scientific survey but if a maid encounters this only occasionally it argues for 10 Euro a day at a minimum.
 
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