Per-night housekeeping tips for 2-star to 5-star hotels, plus daily-tip etiquette and traveler FAQs.
Hotel housekeeping is the easiest tip to forget — and one of the most appreciated when it's left. Unlike the waiter who hands you a check or the valet who stands in front of you, the housekeeper cleans your room while you're out, often early in the morning, with no direct interaction. In the U.S., the standard is $3–$5 per night at a mid-range hotel, and $5–$10 or more at upscale and luxury properties.
This 2026 guide explains exactly how much to tip hotel housekeeping per night, with a star-rating table for 2-star to 5-star hotels, daily-tip etiquette, and answers to the questions travelers ask most. When in doubt, tip daily in cash and leave a short note — it takes ten seconds and makes a real difference to the people who keep your room livable.
The widely accepted standard is $3–$5 per night of your stay, left for the housekeeper each day. In 2026, amounts have drifted upward with hotel prices: $2–$3 is acceptable at budget properties, $5–$10 is right for midscale and upscale hotels, and luxury guests commonly leave $10–$20 per night. Think of housekeeping tipping like restaurant tipping: housekeepers are paid modest hourly wages, and gratuities are a meaningful part of their income.
Two rules of thumb. First, tip per night, not per stay — a different person may clean your room each day. Second, tip for every night the room is serviced; if you used the Do Not Disturb sign for two days, leave a slightly larger tip when service resumes.
Use this table to match the suggested per-night tip to your hotel tier. Treat the star rating as shorthand for price and service level — a $400-per-night boutique property behaves like a 4-star hotel even if it has fewer stars.
| Hotel Tier | Standard Room (per night) | Suite / Upgraded Room | Messy Room or Special Requests |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2-star / budget (e.g., Motel 6, Super 8) | $2–$3 | $3–$5 | $5–$8 |
| 3-star / midscale (e.g., Holiday Inn, Courtyard by Marriott) | $3–$5 | $5–$8 | $8–$10 |
| 4-star / upscale (e.g., Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt) | $5–$10 | $10–$15 | $15–$20 |
| 5-star / luxury (e.g., Ritz-Carlton, Four Seasons) | $10–$20 | $20–$30 | $30+ |
At any tier, leave a little more if you leave the room especially messy, request extra towels or supplies, or travel with children or pets.
Leave the tip daily rather than in one lump at checkout. Housekeeping staff rotate floors and rooms, so the person who cleans on Tuesday is often not the person who cleans on Friday; a single tip left at the end may never reach the person who did most of the work. Daily envelopes are the gold standard.
If you prefer a lump sum, leave it at the front desk in a sealed envelope marked "Housekeeping" with your name and room number, and ask the staff to distribute it — but daily cash in the room is simpler and more reliable. For stays of a week or longer, many travelers bump the rate to $5–$10 per day or leave a larger tip halfway through the stay.
Cash is king. Place $3–$5 in an envelope labeled "Housekeeping" on the desk or nightstand — or under the pillow — where it is clearly intentional. Avoid leaving loose bills on the bed, which could be mistaken for something the previous guest dropped. A sticky note saying "Thank you, housekeeping!" makes it unambiguous.
Don't leave coins, and don't hide the tip inside towels or the trash; the cleaner may not find it or may not be allowed to take it. If you must tip by card, ask the front desk whether housekeeping actually receives it — at many chains, front-desk gratuities are pooled or never reach housekeeping at all.
Tip more when the job is harder or the service is exceptional: rooms left messy with food wrappers or spills, extra towels and amenities requested daily, children or pets that add cleanup, or a suite with more square footage to clean. At all-inclusive resorts and cruise-like properties, check whether a housekeeping gratuity is already added to your bill or resort fee before tipping twice.
Quick rule of thumb: $5 per night covers the vast majority of U.S. hotels. If you're staying somewhere you paid more than $300 a night for, double it to $10. Or plan your whole trip's tipping budget with the Tip Penguin calculator.
Leave $3–$5 per night at mid-range hotels, $2–$3 at budget properties, $5–$10 at upscale hotels, and $10–$20 per night at luxury hotels. Tip in cash, daily, in an envelope marked "Housekeeping."
Tip every day. Different housekeepers often clean the room on different days, so a single tip left at checkout may never reach the person who did most of the work.
Yes. When you skip housekeeping for a day or two, leave a slightly larger tip when service resumes to make up for the accumulated work.
Many hotels let you add a gratuity at checkout, but cash left in the room is more likely to reach the actual housekeeper. Ask the front desk how gratuities are handled if you prefer to add it to the bill.
Check whether gratuities are included in your resort fee or package first. If not, follow the standard rates: $3–$5 per night at mid-range resorts and $10–$20 per night at luxury properties.
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