You don’t have to tip. And nothing bad will happen to you if you don’t.
I have been a Marriott Platinum member for years. That’s 75 nights a year in a hotel room. I spend a lot of time around these places and there are many times I wouldn’t give them a nickel more.
But there have been other times when the place is spotless, everything works, and people are particularly helpful. Those places get a couple of bucks tossed on the table.
This is nothing new. I have been on the road like this for at least twenty years. While there haven’t been “envelopes” the custom of tipping in hotels is as old as hotels themselves.
Agree 100%. I usually leave a small tip regardless, but sometimes you realize that the people taking care of you aren’t just “doing their jobs”; they are really doing their best to make things perfect and that deserves recognition, whether by a tip, a word to the manager or an email to the hotel.