It depends on hotel, but usually you do not have to give tips. Leaving money on table is not considered as tip. It’s not allowed to touch anything what belongs to customer – you.
If you are in small hotel, you can give tips to the personnel, if you meet them in person.
Leaving a tip is a personal decision and on average I only leave a tip in about half of the places I stay. When I do, I never leave it loose on the table as i was told the maid is not allowed to take it. I use Merci Envelopes that I have bought online. These are small red envelopes that I carry in my wallet and can personalise if necessary. You could just leave a note, but I find the envelopes more stylish.
In my experience of holidaying in Europe & North Africa, tips for chamber maids etc are given at the end of the holiday/stay and more often than not given directly by oneself to the chamber maid, rather than being left anywhere.
Money left on a table would almost certainly not be seen as tips for cleaning your room, as indicated in Karlson’s comments.
(Hotel staff wouldn’t dare touch money left on a table simply for implications of theft, their job is too precious to risk, beside it simply not the done thing (at least in Europe, North Africa & I’m certain most parts of the world). To be perfectly honest with you I have never actually heard of people leaving loose change, be it coins/ notes on a table indicating it is for chamber maids/cleaning staff).
In terms of leaving a tip, you should definitely give it (unless you have grave reservations not to), they definitely expect it, even if they don’t directly ask or hint at it. Wages are generally very low.
The same would apply when tipping a so called “Bell Boy” (hotel porter)
Given the definition of Tips being gratuity for good services why not use that as a basis for whether or not you leave a tip?
While in United States, Canada and elsewhere tipping in restaurants is expected it is still optional, so if you like the service you leave more if you don’t you may not leave anything, so while it may not be expected by the hotel staff in Latvia if you feel that you got good service I would leave a tip anyway.
If not for nothing just for not touching money left on the table.
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4 Mar, 2024
5 Mar, 2024