hotel checkout

During college I worked as a traveling beauty advisor for Estee Lauder.

Yep.

Somehow I have managed to sell cars and make-up and I don’t even like selling!

I was the youngest person on the team and travelled throughout North Carolina and South Carolina representing the company at product launches, conducting skin evaluations, and educating customers about the products. It was a great opportunity that polished my customer service skills and paid really well.

But the best thing about working that job was that I worked for a woman named Mrs. Eerie. She was (and still is) one of the wittiest, wisest, most observant women over 60 that I know. We would often have overnight trips and it was during my first trip with Mrs. Eerie that she let me in on the one thing she always did before checking out of the hotel.

She always took care of the housekeeping staff that took care of her.

There would be some trips where we wouldn’t even see the people assigned to our rooms, but she always left a gift.

Every since those days I have made it my mission to thank the people who have the thankless job of cleaning up after us. Housekeeping staff is often over looked and under appreciated. Their roles are less visible than the bellhops and front desk agents. They slide into our room and tidy it up after us so that our stay is pleasant.

And they often go un-thanked for it.

Day in and day out, their job is to ensure that others have a pleasant stay while on vacation. The fact is, most lower level workers in the hospitality industry will never be able to afford a luxurious vacation. According to Forbes magazine the average salary of a housekeeper is $19,000 annually.

Since I can’t afford to send them on a vacation yet I make sure I leave a little something in the room with a short note whenever I check out of a hotel. It doesn’t cost me a thing. My gifts are often samples, promo-items, or gifts that I think would be more appreciated as a re-gift. While my small gift can’t make up for the inequalities that exists, hopefully it’s enough to make someone stop, smile to themselves and add a little pep to their step throughout the day.

It’s my way of saying “I appreciate you”.

If you have more product or samples than you know what to do with, consider tucking it away in your closet for your next trip. Everyone likes to be appreciated every now and again.

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Travel

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Created by nationally recognized millennial money expert Tonya Rapley, My Fab Finance is a leading financial education and lifestyle blog for millennials who want to become financially free and do more of what they love.