How To Tip Your Hotel Housekeeper If You Don’t Have Cash?

Over the weekend, I was in Frankfort, Kentucky for an overnight stay. I was there to emcee the 2025 KDCO State Dance Championships and, the night before the event, I spent the night at the Capital Plaza Hotel.

WHAT IF I DON'T HAVE CASH TO TIP MY HOUSEKEEPER AT A HOTEL?

When I was tidying up the room before I rolled out (yes, I'm that person), I realized that I didn't have any cash to leave a tip for the housekeeper. The Capital Plaza is one of those hotels that conveniently leaves an envelope for tipping inside your room. The only bad news? I didn't have any money to seal inside it. I studied the envelope and noticed that my housekeeper's name was Jenna and immediately felt badly that I wasn't going to be able to leave her a tip.

I was in a bit of a rush to get out the door and make my way to Western Hills High School, where the KDCO event was being held.  I knew I didn't have time to hit up an ATM. So, I decided to leave Jenna a note. First, I thanked her for her service and apologized that I wasn't able to leave her a cash tip. I then left my Venmo information and let her know that I would be happy to tip her if she sent me a payment request. As of this story, I haven't received her request. So, I'm now worried that Jenna doesn't have a Venmo account and I won't be able to tip her in that manner.

Now, I'm wondering. Are there other ways to tip your hotel housekeeping staff if you don't have cash? As it turns out, various online sources and experts have plenty of suggestions.

HotelChantelle.com shared an incredibly helpful article titled Can You Tip Hotel Staff Without Cash? A Guide to Cashless Tipping.  As it turns out, I was on the right path. Hotel Chantelle's first suggestion is that, if you're in a similar situation as I was in Frankfort, that you utilize a mobile cash app.  In addition to Venmo, she suggests, PayPal and Cash App.

Another should-have-been-obvious choice, one that I completely overlooked in my hurried exit to the parking garage, is that you can simply add a tip to your hotel bill. Also, fun fact! Some hotels- particularly all-inclusive resorts and cruise ships- automatically add gratuity to your final balance. Your tip may already be covered without you being aware of it. That's certainly something to check.

Or, you can always leave gift cards as well. I have actually done something very similar. I go to New York City pretty frequently and I once left some Metro cards for my housekeeper. I didn't have cash (shocker), but I knew there were considerable balances on a couple of my Metro cards. I figured that could be incredibly useful to anyone living and working in the city. While I couldn't give the gift of cash, I was able to provide my housekeeper some free rides on the subway/bus system.

The folks at NCESC.com (an online 'employment information' hub) have a different suggestion. They suggest this.

One option is to leave a thank-you note expressing your satisfaction with the cleanliness and service provided by the housekeeping staff. This simple gesture can go a long way in making their day and serves as a heartfelt substitute for a cash tip.

I suppose my letter to Jenna was similar to this approach. I most definitely agree that it's important to let people know that I appreciate them and what they do. However, for me, I still feel guilty that I couldn't tip her. I don't think I would ever entertain replacing a cash tip with a note of gratitude for a restaurant server.  I don't think the server would appreciate that. I have a hunch a housekeeper won't either.

HOW MUCH SHOULD I TIP HOUSEKEEPING STAFF AT A HOTEL?

I consulted a variety of online sources to find out how much you should actually tip a hotel housekeeper.  When I have cash (sorry, Jenna), I typically leave a minimum of $3. Sometimes, if I have gone a couple of days without my room being attended to, I will leave $5. As it turns out, the $2 to $5 per range is standard.

To find out how much you should tip for other services, here's a quick guide to common practices here in the United States.

READ MORE: Here's How Tipping in America Compares to Other Countries