Give Back Films is a YouTube channel started by Kyle Oreffice and Josh Gibson.
As the name of the channel implies, the pair tries to inspire people through random acts of kindness. They do this by giving cash to homeless people, paying for other people’s gas, and tipping the wait staff.
For this episode, they decided to totally make the day of a diligent cleaner working at a small hotel in Park City, Utah.
The woman at the front desk told the hosts that the cleaner was new but was already being praised for her hard work.
“We thought we’d try her out. She didn’t have any money, she only had limited cash. So it kind of worked out for everybody. She’s done a great job—an excellent job,” the woman said.
Aside from doing the bulk of the laundry, she went out of her way to arrange the towels and sheets so that they remain neat and organized.
As part of their “set up,” Oreffice and Gibson chose a room that the cleaner was about to clean and slipped a $500 tip under the bedsheets with a note saying, “This is a tip! Enjoy.”
Later, the cleaner goes into the room to begin her housekeeping duties. Unknown to her, hidden cameras were placed all across the room with the permission of the hotel management.
Pulling back the bedsheet, the woman sees the cash and reads the note. Obviously stunned, she can only put her hand on her mouth, unaware that her reaction was being recorded.
Moments later, the two hosts step into the room along with another of the cleaner’s co-workers. Despite everything, the cleaner tried to refuse the tip but her co-worker said, “You deserve it. You do a great job.”
Housekeeping is a taxing job that usually doesn’t pay much. Any additional money will always be a big help yet it speaks to the woman’s upright character that she initially refused the tip even though it was obvious that she needed the extra cash.
“Through watching the video, you can vicariously feel what it’s like to give to other people, and you experience a little bit of that happiness when watching the video—or hopefully, at least,” said Gibson in an interview with the Deseret News.