Tipping advice

[aussiemumma101]

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[surfmontana]

You may get different answers, I would say

Check out worker at grocery store- NO

Shuttle driver-YES they should help you get your bags in and out of the shuttle and I usually consider the weight and number of bags in my tip amount

Reception worker-Typically NO.....but if they are unusually helpful for some reason then I may tip them.

 

[DoughR]

There's some general etiquette but people also tend to have their own rules. Keeping actual performance in mind, I usually tip following:

Wait staff - About 20%, more for outstanding performance. 15% is a good amount though. If you believe service was truly bad, tip accordingly. I believe in California, wait staff is paid minimum wage unlike most of the U.S. so don't feel super obligated if service was poor. Definitely tip otherwise.

Housekeeping - Gonna be honest, I don't always tip. I don't think it's expected and someone can correct me if I'm wrong. If you do tip, leave a note if you can. Some housekeeping won't take money if it's just laying around.

Taxi/shuttle - For a shuttle, I'll tip $1 per bag if they help with them but I try and tip a $3-5 minimum. I don't have a measure of taxi performance, I just give a few bucks, usually no more than $5. I never ask a driver to speed.

Valet - About $2-3.

Bellhop - $1-2 per bag depending on the size. If I call for pillows, blankets etc. I'll tip $1 per item.

People don't tip for grocery check out but if you actually have someone help you bring groceries out then that's when I would tip. Reception is worth tipping if I feel like they went above and beyond what they would normal do. For concierge it depends what kind of information or service I need. If you're talking about Disney's concierge lounge CMs, they don't take tips.

 

[BriannaRuth]

I do hotel reviews as a profession -- these are "industry standard" guidelines that the company I work for will reimburse me for when I tip.

You only need to tip the concierge if she does something above and beyond, or something beyond the basics. For instance, you don't have to tip a concierge for making a restaurant recommendation, giving directions, etc. However, you should tip for getting you a reservation that you might not otherwise have been able to get. Or if she helps you with a lot of things. Etc. But I don't think Disney concierges take tips.

You don't tip anyone in a supermarket, unless maybe you have a lot of bags that someone helps you out with, but usually they're not allowed to take tips.

You should tip a shuttle driver to/from the airport. We usually tip $1-$2 a bag.

You don't have to tip a shuttle driver to/from DL from the hotel on a scheduled route who isn't handling baggage. However, if one makes a special trip for you, or does something else out of the ordinary, you should tip.

I tip taxi drivers 15-20% of the fare, with a minimum of $2.

You do not tip check-in/check out front desk attendants. Tipping a check-in attendant could be seen as attempting to "bribe" them for a better room and could be seen as an insult. The only exception might be tipping after you've completed check-in if they were really great for some reason. In 10+ years of doing hotel reviews, I've never done this.

However, you SHOULD tip a bellman if one takes your luggage to your room. $1-$2 a bag.

In addition to the above, you should tip anyone who does a special service for you, or who goes above and beyond. For instance, if you forget your toothpaste and someone brings you some, tip them $1 or $2.

And you should ALWAYS tip housekeeping. They may not pick it up on a nightly basis, but if you don't tip nightly, tip at the end of your stay. You can leave a note with it "Housekeeping" if you want them to pick it up nightly, otherwise, they won't take money from your room, no matter where you put it. Or at least they shouldn't!

 

[aussiemumma101]

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[surfmontana]

How much do ya'll tip housekeeping?

 

[BriannaRuth]

How much I tip housekeeping depends on a number of things. Usually it's $2 per night for an average hotel. However, if they do turndown, I double the tip (I try to tip separately since they're not usually the same person) since they're cleaning twice as often. I also tip more if the hotel is upscale, or if the room was more difficult than average to clean.

I've seen some people here say they tip $5 a night ... my company would never reimburse me for that much unless it was an upscale hotel (like a 5 star hotel) as it's over industry standard. But your housekeeper would be very happy!

 

[DoughR]

How much I tip housekeeping depends on a number of things. Usually it's $2 per night for an average hotel. However, if they do turndown, I double the tip (I try to tip separately since they're not usually the same person) since they're cleaning twice as often. I also tip more if the hotel is upscale, or if the room was more difficult than average to clean.

I've seen some people here say they tip $5 a night ... my company would never reimburse me for that much unless it was an upscale hotel (like a 5 star hotel) as it's over industry standard. But your housekeeper would be very happy!

That's good to know. Thanks for the info!

 

[aussiemumma101]

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[aussiemumma101]

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[Canadiantinkerfairy]

We usually tip $1-2 per person per night, but our family of 5 get messy. I leave the tip at the end with a note

 

[nannyz]

I leave housekeeping $5.00 per day in an enveloped marked Housekeeping.
I leave it on a daily basis because the same maid may not clean my room every day.

 

[Dot2Vegas]

hi, need some advice about tipping, i know i tip house keeping, wait staff, taxi drivers and concierge. Do i tip the check out chick in the supermarket, shuttle drivers from accomodation to LAX & shuttle driver from accomodation to disneyland (if used) and the staff at reception upon check in and check out of accommodation....ta for any help offered

You dont tip the check out person at the grocery store.
Yes tip the shuttle drivers. I would tip $2-3 per bag that they help you with. For shuttles to and from the park we usually just tip a $1 or $2.
We dont typically tip front desk. I would tip them if they went above and beyond for you. Back in my front desk days I always appreciated a little token from guests. Not always cash, some would give me something from their home town or country and that was really cool!

 

[rms123]

I've always wondered about bell services. At the GCH, they help you unload the car and collect your luggage for you. Then a different person brings it to the room. Do you tip both people?

 

[BriannaRuth]

Yes, you should tip both people.

 

[2tinkerbell]

We are taking Lansky's town car from LAX to DLH. It says that gratuity is included. Do you still tip the driver an additional $2 per bag?

 

[mummabear]

I've always wondered about bell services. At the GCH, they help you unload the car and collect your luggage for you. Then a different person brings it to the room. Do you tip both people?

Yes, it drives me nuts I have to pay $1-$2 to the shuttle driver, to the bell hop person at the door and the person who brings it to my room, so $3-$6 per bag (and we usually have 5+ a portacot) for bags we can easily roll along ourselves!

 

[whjensen]

To be clear, you can tip the doorman $1-5 for helping with unloading the bags. Separately, you tip per bag ($1-2 per) for help to and from the room.

This goes in reverse for check out. The person who comes up to their room gets the larger tip.

 

[BriannaRuth]

Right, you don't need to tip the doorman per bag. Tip the shuttle driver $2 per bag, tip the doorman maybe $2-$3 total, then tip the bellman who brings the bags to your room $1 to $2 per bag.

And by bag I mean a suitcase. There is no need to tip someone $2 for carrying a small computer bag or that kind of thing. Though I rarely tip a bellman less than $5 for bringing my bags to my room, but that's just me.

If you don't require bell services, you don't have to use them. A firm but polite, "No thanks, I'll get them myself," is fine.

And ALL of these amounts depend on the service you receive. A silent bellman who doesn't bother to ask if you need anything gets the minimum, but someone who tells you about the hotel, offers ice, etc., you can tip more. You aren't required to tip at all and theoretically it shouldn't affect your future service -- my company sometimes requests that I purposely don't tip one or two employees as part of reviewing a hotel, just to see if the employee gives any attitude. (But I hate doing this!)

 

[BriannaRuth]

We are taking Lansky's town car from LAX to DLH. It says that gratuity is included. Do you still tip the driver an additional $2 per bag?

There is no need to leave an additional tip. Although if he does something out of the ordinary, you could. But not required at all.