Why everyone got upset about Marriott's plan to increase housekeepers' pay

And the award for worst PR backfire goes to...

Hotel
(Image credit: (iStock))

In an attempt to bolster the wages of hotel housekeepers, Marriott International has partnered with Maria Shriver's A Woman's Nation to launch a new tipping initiative. They're calling it "The Envelope Please" (because cleaning rooms has so much in common with winning an Oscar) and it will create a designated area for leaving gratuity in 160,000 rooms in the U.S. The conceit is that this will encourage hotel guests to tip housekeepers.

And boy, did Marriott ever step in it.

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Elissa Strauss

Elissa Strauss writes about the intersection of gender and culture for TheWeek.com. She also writes regularly for Elle.com and the Jewish Daily Forward, where she is a weekly columnist.