We're all in this together and none of us is getting out alive.
I bring $5.00 US bills to leave daily for the housekeeper and we leave a larger tip on the last day. Also, I highly recommend getting to know your housekeeper(s) by name and chatting with them a bit.
We have friends in the staffs of all the places we stay and are always happy to see them again. A tip and some acknowledgment go a long way. Too many people take the housekeepers, and security for that matter (we tip them too), for granted.
Thanks for all the responses. The idea of five dollar bills sure makes it easy. and I like the idea of every day, so the right person gets the tip
$5 is appreciated and keep in mind that your housekeepers can usually be a great source of procurement. Flowers, fresh squeezed OJ, etc. Another way for them to make a little more money and yet another easy way to get what you need. No worries Mon.......
It depends...sometimes it is easier to tip daily if there are several people involved. If it is the holiday season, which we often travel, we may tip earlier so that the $$ can help before Christmas. Otherwise, along with cash, we generally share our food or drink, depending on what they may want...with our housekeepers, gardeners and other staff. Being from a small rather "country" state, we were brought up to share what we have. So, we are very comfortable with always sharing drinks, food, fruit, etc... with the staff of the resort. It's just the way we roll here in our likkle state. My grandad was a Methodist minister here and in Virginia...food was a staple that was shared with others. SO, I guess I am just continuing the old traditions of West Virginia.
I guess everyone has their own ways of giving. They are all good as long as we give back to others. I feel blessed to be able to travel and I sure want others to benefit As one of my dear friends said, "Jamaica has been good to me" ....Yeah mon, it has been good to me too.......so let me give back!
As long as were talking tipping. Throughout the year I put money from various sources in my "tip" can. I use this for tip money in Jamaica. I usually wind up with ~$200.00. A few 10's, more 5's, a lot of 1's. I use them for bartenders, maids, porters, wait staff, etc...
I've never given much consideration as to whether U.S. is harder to use for them. Would They prefer to be tipped in Ja dollars? I know U.S. is widely accepted but would the workers rather have Ja dollars?
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I was wondering the same thing about the US vs. JA currency. I always tip in US dollars. Perhaps JA would be better? IDK...
I bet the people will tell you it doesn't matter if it's JA or US. My wife and I have been setting aside our $5's since August. We now have more than $500 set aside. First time we ever did that and I'm sure we will be doing it again. It was a great idea!
One of the best suggestions I got off of this board was to bring lots of small US bills (1's and 5's) for tipping. Small JA bills (100's and 500's) aren't as easy to come by and are always needed for actual purchases. It was nice to always have tip money readily available.
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