(POLL) Hotel Tipping – Beyond the Norm

I’ve had several interesting off-blog conversations about hotel tipping recently.

One came up in a side discussion about my issue last week with a Starwood hotel failing to deliver on a service request.  (A friend asked whether I would have tipped if the requested item eventually showed up, even after the lengthy delay… my answer, YES.)

Another was broached last week when I mentioned that I tipped a hotel bellman $20 to come pick up three boxes from a hotel exhibit hall and deliver them to the hotel’s Fed Ex Office location.  (Total distance from bell desk to booth to Fed Ex back to bell desk was maybe 100 yards.  My friend thought $20 was excessive.) 

And then last night, on Facebook, a consulting friend of mine asked whether she should have tipped the hotel engineer who was in her room for the second night in the row fixing the broken heat.  (He lingered, as if waiting for a tip, which prompted her question.  One of her friends commented that she *always* tips when a person has access to her room.)

This prompted me to think about all the occasions when individuals come to my hotel room – some based on my request for something out of the ordinary, but some to deliver a service that the hotel should already be providing me.

For example, I probably have at least one occasion a year where I have to make the early morning emergency call for a hair dryer because the one in my room is either missing or broken.  I also encounter missing or dead television remote control batteries just as often.  Do you tip then?

What about the individuals who just show up when you happen to be in the room – turndown service, daily refresh of a fruit plate?  Or the individuals who tend to ring the room doorbell about 30 minutes after I arrive at certain Asia-Pacific hotels to deliver me a plate of sweets or other amenity I was not expecting?  Is there a place where you draw the line?

I still remember one of the more ridiculous situations where I felt pressured to tip.  I checked in with a friend to a hotel in London where we had requested two beds and assured we had them.  We checked in and did not have the beds set correctly so we stopped at the front desk and they assured us they would fix the issue.  When we got back to the hotel after midnight, they still were not fixed.  We had to call down twice and finally someone was sent up to pull them apart for us.  That individual remade one of the beds and then tossed the folded linens for the other one on the bed and moved back towards the door.  But then he waited.  And waited.  And continued waiting by the door.  And finally one of us awkwardly pulled out a couple of pounds which he smiled and accepted, promptly exiting the room.

Which of THESE situations do you tip in?  I’d love to see your thoughts in this poll.  And if you have other situations or stories, please share them in the comments below.  Maybe together we can all figure out the clear cut tipping lines!