01
Work out the room service tip
Enter the room service check total and pick 15% to 20%. On a $45 order, 20% is $9. Check the bill first for a service charge before you add a tip.
Hotel tipping guide
Hotel Tip Calculator
Hotel tips are flat dollar amounts, not percentages, except for room service. Leave $2 to $5 a night for housekeeping, $1 to $2 per bag for the bellhop, and $2 to $5 for valet. The calculator below works out the 15 to 20% room service tip, and the table on this page lists every other rate.
Smart Calculator
Your tip, total, and per-person share, updated as you type.
Breakdown
Each person pays$51.00
Tip / Person$8.50
Total Tip$17.00
Tax$0.00
Grand Total$102.00
How much should you tip hotel staff?
Leave $2 to $5 a night for housekeeping, $1 to $2 per bag for the bellhop, $2 to $5 for valet, and $5 to $20 for the concierge. Room service is the one hotel tip figured as a percentage: 15 to 20% of the check. Leave the housekeeping tip daily, since different staff may clean your room on different days.
Use the calculator on this page for the room service percentage, and the table below for the flat-dollar tips. The housekeeping guide explains why daily tipping matters, and the hotel tipping guide covers every staff member in one place.
For rides to and from the hotel, the Uber and Lyft tip calculator covers airport runs and luggage help at 15 to 20%.
What is the standard hotel tip?
Housekeeping gets $2 to $5 a night, left daily. The bellhop gets $1 to $2 per bag, the valet gets $2 to $5, and the concierge gets $5 to $20. Room service gets 15 to 20% of the check. For a 3-night stay with $3 a night for housekeeping, the housekeeping total is $9.
How do you use the hotel tip calculator?
Enter the room service check total, pick 15% to 20%, and read the flat-dollar rates from the table below. The calculator shows the tip amount and the check total at once. Add the flat amounts for housekeeping, the bellhop, the valet, and the concierge to get the full tip total for the trip.
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Add the flat-dollar tips
Use the table below for the staff who get flat amounts: housekeeping $2 to $5 a night, bellhop $1 to $2 per bag, valet $2 to $5, and concierge $5 to $20.
03
Tip housekeeping daily, others when helped
Leave the housekeeping tip each day, not once at checkout. Tip the bellhop, valet, and concierge when they help you, so the tip reaches the person who did the work.
Who gets what at a hotel?
Housekeeping takes $2 to $5 per night, the bellhop $1 to $2 per bag with a $2 to $3 minimum, the valet $2 to $5, the concierge $5 to $20, and room service 15 to 20%. Flat-dollar tips are paid per night, per bag, or per visit, while room service is the only hotel tip figured as a percentage. Plan the cash you need before the trip.
| Staff member | Tip | When to tip |
|---|---|---|
| Housekeeping | $2 to $5 per night | Daily, not at checkout |
| Bellhop | $1 to $2 per bag | When bags reach the room; $2 to $3 minimum |
| Valet | $2 to $5 | When your car is returned |
| Concierge | $5 to $20 | When the help happens |
| Room service | 15% to 20% of the check | With the bill, after checking for a service charge |
Room service is the only hotel tip figured as a percentage. All other hotel tips are flat dollar amounts.
What does the math look like on a 3-night hotel stay?
A 3-night stay with $3 a night for housekeeping, 2 bags, one valet return, and a $45 room service order costs $26 in tips. Housekeeping is $9, the bellhop is $4, the valet is $4, and the room service tip at 20% is $9. The steps below show each number, so you can adjust the rates for your own trip.
The formula is simple
Housekeeping = Nights × Tip Per Night
Room Service Tip = Check Total × Tip Percentage
For example: housekeeping 3 × $3 = $9. Bellhop: 2 bags × $2 = $4. Valet: $4. Room service: $45 × 0.20 = $9. Trip total: $9 + $4 + $4 + $9 = $26.
Change any number to fit your trip. At $5 a night, housekeeping for 3 nights is $15 instead of $9, and the trip total rises to $32.
Keep small bills on hand for hotel tips. Housekeeping, bellhop, and valet tips are usually paid in cash, so a few $1 and $5 bills at the start of the trip save a search for change later.
The rates
Who do you tip at a hotel, and how much?
Housekeeping gets $2 to $5 per night, left daily. The bellhop gets $1 to $2 per bag, with a $2 to $3 minimum. Valet parking gets $2 to $5 each time the car is returned. Room service gets 15% to 20% when no service charge is printed, and the concierge gets $5 to $20 for hard-to-get help.
$2–5
Housekeeping, per night
Left daily in the room, not once at checkout. The most-tipped role in the hotel, and the easiest to forget.
$1–2
Bellhop, per bag
Paid when the bags arrive in the room. Minimum $2 to $3 even for one small bag.
$2–5
Valet, per return
Paid when the car comes back, not when it is dropped off. Each return is a separate tip.
Hotel tipping is flat dollars, not percentages, because the work is per task, not per bill. A bellhop who carries three bags up six floors did the same work whether your room costs $120 or $400. The calculator totals the flat tips across roles and nights, so the envelope math is done before you pack.
What changes it
What changes the tip at a hotel?
The length of the stay, the state of the room, the size of the party, and whether the hotel added a service charge all change the tip. A five-night stay with kids tips differently from a one-night business trip, and a messy room tips more than a tidy one.
Stay length
Daily tipping beats one lump at checkout, because different staff clean the room on different days. Tip each day's work on that day.
Room condition
A messy room earns the top of the range. Kids, pets, and long stays all add work, and the tip should show it.
Party size
More people means more towels, more trash, and more beds. Tip up per night when the room sleeps three or four.
Service charges
Resort fees and service charges go to the hotel, not to the staff. Check the folio before you assume anyone was tipped.
Room service
Room service tips 15% to 20% when no service charge is printed on the bill. When a charge is printed, check what it covers first.
Concierge
Simple directions need no tip. Sold-out tickets, a table that was full, and a fix at midnight earn $5 to $20.
The rule that matters most
Why does housekeeping get tipped daily, not at checkout?
Because the person who cleans your room on Tuesday is often not the person who cleans it on Thursday. A single tip left at checkout reaches only the last person on the rotation. A daily tip in a marked envelope, or cash left on the pillow with a short note, reaches the person who did that day's work.
Leave the tip where it cannot be mistaken for loose cash. A marked envelope from the front desk, or a note that says "housekeeping, thank you," removes all doubt. Two to five dollars a night is the range, and five is right for a room with kids, a pet, or a long stay. The daily habit costs a few dollars and fixes the one unfairness in hotel tipping: the idea that one person did a week's work.
The same logic applies to the bellhop and the valet, in reverse. They are tipped at the moment of service, when the bags arrive and when the car comes back. No envelope, no note, no delay. Hand the cash over with a thank you and move on.
Tricky situations
What trips people up with hotel tips?
Four situations cause most of the confusion at hotels: the resort fee, days with the privacy sign out, the front desk, and a concierge who got you nothing. Each has a simple answer, and all four come down to one idea: tip the work that was done, in cash, at the moment it was done.
The resort fee
The resort fee is not a tip. It goes to the hotel for the pool, the gym, and the Wi-Fi. Staff tips are separate, in cash, per task.
Do not disturb for days
If housekeeping never entered, no tip is owed for those days. Tip the days they cleaned, at the daily rate, and skip the days they did not.
Tipping the front desk
Front-desk staff are not tipped in the US. A thank you is enough, even for a good room or a late checkout. Save the cash for the roles that work for tips.
The concierge got you nothing
No tip for directions or a restaurant suggestion. Tip for bookings you could not get yourself, and tip at the moment the help lands, not at checkout.
Worked example
What does the math look like on a three-night stay?
Three nights at $4 a night for housekeeping is $12. The bellhop carried four bags at $2 a bag, which is $8. Valet parking twice at $4 is $8. Room service once, $45 with no service charge, at 20% is $9. The trip's hotel tips total $37.
The math, step by step
Housekeeping: 3 nights × $4 = $12.00
Bellhop: 4 bags × $2 = $8.00
Valet: 2 returns × $4 = $8.00
Room service: $45 × 0.20 = $9.00 · Total: $12 + $8 + $8 + $9 = $37.00
At the top of each range, $5 a night, $2 a bag, $5 a valet return, and 20% on room service, the same trip totals $42. At the bottom, $2 a night, $1 a bag, $2 a return, and 15% on room service, it totals $20.75.
What else do people ask about hotel tipping?
Hotel tipping questions usually cover housekeeping, the bellhop, the valet, the concierge, and room service. The answers below give the standard rate for each person with real dollar amounts. For rideshare and delivery rates, the calculators on the hub page cover each service on its own.
How much should you tip hotel housekeeping?
Leave $2 to $5 per night for housekeeping, and leave it daily instead of once at checkout. Different staff may clean your room on different days, so a daily tip reaches the person who did the work. Leave the tip where it is easy to see, with a short note that says it is for housekeeping.
How much should you tip the bellhop?
Tip the bellhop $1 to $2 per bag, with a $2 to $3 minimum for one bag. For two bags, that is $2 to $4. Tip when your bags reach the room, and tip again if bags are stored or brought down later. If the bellhop shows you the room and helps with a heavy bag, tip the high end.
How much should you tip the valet and the concierge?
Tip the valet $2 to $5 when your car is returned to you. Tip the concierge $5 to $20 based on how much work the request took: $5 for a simple booking, more for hard-to-get tickets or a full plan for the day. Tip each person when the help happens, not in one lump sum at checkout.
How much should you tip for room service?
Tip 15 to 20% of the room service check, the same range as restaurants. On a $45 order, 20% is $9 and 15% is $6.75. Check the bill first: some hotels add a service charge, and that charge is not always the tip. If no service charge is listed, tip the full 15 to 20% on the check total.
Which calculator or guide do you need next?
The Uber calculator covers rides to the hotel, and the delivery calculator covers food orders. See all tip calculators on the calculators hub when you need a different tool.
Free, no sign-up
Ready to plan the tips for your trip?
Use the hotel tip calculator above for the room service percentage, and the table on this page for the flat-dollar rates. Plan the cash before you travel, tip housekeeping daily, and tip each person when they help you. It is free, it needs no sign-up, and the rates are all on one page.
