I do not want my cleaner leaving envelopes or notes for guests. I pay them $125 for a 3BR/3BA, if that isn't enough I want them to let me know and I will decide what to do. I had a guest over Thanksgiving tell me she left money for the cleaner (because her sister is a housekeeper and she appreciated the cleaniness). Afterwards, I asked the cleaner if that has been very frequent, she said it has happened a few times over 2 years.

I stayed at a rental home a few months ago and there were notes/envelopes left; I personally think it is tacky and don't think it sends a good message -- but that is MY opnion.

Robin

An Incredible View

I think it is in poor taste and I would tell my cleaner to stop doing it immediately.   It's not as though a tip would encourage the cleaner to do a better job --  I expect the house to be perfectly clean whether or not a tip is left.

Definitely tacky. I pay my cleaners really well and I'm very generous with bonuses as well. So asking my guests to tip on top of that is just not acceptable in my opinion.

I agree, the envelope is really tacky.  You might put into your instructions to your guests something like:

Although our housekeeper does not expect a gratuity, if he/she provides exceptional service, a gratuity would be appreciated.

Steve

Steve beat me to it.

As someone who has stayed in vacation rentals for up to 3 months, I've interacted with the housekeeping staff a lot. It's natural to leave a tip when you're there a long time - because you get to meet these folks and they will sometimes do a little extra for you, like smooshing your toothpaste tube so it's flat at the bottom (lovely) or folding a load of laundry (heaven).

I love my cleaning service, and am thrilled when a guest thoughtfully leaves a tip for her, but, if I found out she was actively soliciting them, I would have to ask her to stop. I am fortunate to live on the property where my units are though, and I check the units after the guest leaves, and before they check in.

I would be outraged if my cleaning man left a envelope encouraging a guest to leave money.  However about 1/3 of my guest do tip my cleaning man. The reason that I know this is that he does not have any contact with them and will ask me to send an e-mail saying, "thank you," for the tip that he receives. I think that the main reason that people tip him is the fact that my home is so clean and inviting when they arrive. A long time ago, he worked on a cruise ship and I have had guest comment on how there is a towel on every bed folded into some type of creatures. I have also had guest comment on how nice it was to have fresh flowers on the table when they arrived. Now, both of these things I have never asked him to do but in fact he goes the extra mile to make my home truly inviting. I pay him $100 to clean my 2,000sf house. I have sent thank you emails for him for tips up to $200. My last group said, "take what you think would be right out of our damage deposit and give to the cleaning person because we left the house in such a mess. So, I don't mind at all that he gets tips, but would be mad if he was asking for them.

It doesn't bother me that guests choose to tip the cleaning staff if they do so voluntarily - however the implication by leaving tipping envelopes is a bit much.  I figure our guests know that their rental includes a departure cleaning fee.  If they choose to do something above and beyond that because they're satisfied, that's great.  My cleaning lady has always advised me when she received a tip, and I'm happy for her.  I also give her bonuses 2X each year, after the high season and at Xmas time.  I think it's clearly up to the guests.