On the recent Marriott Urging to Tip Housekeepers

Annie Lowrey at New York magazine is unimpressed with the plan. Hotel housekeepers, she writes, “are precisely the sorts of workers who could use a raise in this economy. But tipping is a terrible, terrible custom, and as such, this is a terrible, terrible way to shunt these workers a little more money.” She explains:

“Tipping introduces uncertainty to a worker’s income. Does a hotel housekeeper get to keep her tips, or does she have to pool them? What happens if her tips come in unusually high or low? What if the other housekeepers hide their tips, or forget to encourage guests to leave something? On top of that, tipping reduces the incentive for employers to raise wages.”

And, she concludes:

“Marriott makes $13 billion a year in revenue, and $626 million in profits. Arne Sorenson — the guy who suggests you leave $1 or $5 a night, depending on rate — makes $7 million a year. If Marriott wants its housekeepers to earn more, it should pay them more, rather than blithely suggesting that their customers do it for them.” Moar

NYT Critics' Picks + Three Films of Possible Interest

A Dangerous Visitor Makes Himself at Home
‘The Guest’ Stars Dan Stevens as a Sinister Interloper
NYT Critics' Pick

A Rocker Covers a Lot of Ground in One Day
In ‘20,000 Days on Earth,’ Nick Cave Is on the Move
NYT Critics' Pick

-- Of Possible Interest --

Work, Love and Therapy, in So Many Bytes
Christoph Waltz Drowns in Technocracy in ‘The Zero Theorem’

A Life-Size Labyrinth Is the Bane of These Boys
‘The Maze Runner,’ Based on a Novel by James Dashner

Cannibalistic Gerbils and a Cryogenic Mother-in-Law
‘Space Station 76’ Is a Mash-Up of Science Fiction Parody

Bikes Vs Cars

Should bikes and cars share the same road — and the same rules?

My tweets

• Thu, 15:47: email outage http://t.co/dCqKapexqi
• Fri, 06:39: On the recent Marriott Urging to Tip Housekeepers http://t.co/gXYtZRt4US
• Fri, 07:11: NYT Critics' Picks + Three Films of Possible Interest http://t.co/5T1vs6Zxjj
• Fri, 08:42: RT @voxdotcom: Should bikes and cars share the same road — and the same rules? http://t.co/TsGkfjPJ04
• Fri, 08:45: RT @TeaPartyCat: After two whole weeks, the House adjourned for another 5 weeks. But I’m not worried-- the worlds problems can wait until t…
• Fri, 08:49: Bikes Vs Cars http://t.co/FqZA6SQqQ6
• Fri, 08:50: Hey, Gov. Snyder: Prison food contract is rotten http://t.co/Ot2UYOScn6 via @freep

Krugman: John Boehner’s Theory of the Leisure Class

When I see stuff like this, I always think of the opening of The Treasure of the Sierra Madre:

Anyone who is willing to work and is serious about it will certainly find a job. Only you must not go to the man who tells you this, for he has no job to offer and doesn’t know anyone who knows of a vacancy. This is exactly the reason why he gives you such generous advice, out of brotherly love, and to demonstrate how little he knows the world. Moar