Tipping Etiquette

[IOArocks]

Hi,
I know 20% or more is expected at restaurants but what do I tip the Bell hop, The Town car driver, and the daily maid service at the Hard Rock Hotel?
Thanks for your help, Lori

 

[Tigger&Belle]

For restaurants I think that 15% is standard, with 20% for very good service. At least that's what I tip.

For bellhops the usual tip is $1/bag, but keep in mind that someone will take it out of your car and another will deliver to the room, so it can get expensive. Since there are two people involved I don't usually tip $1.00 a bag per person, but I pay more than $.50 a bag.

From what I read, tip are not rerquired for maids. I do normally tip $1/person perday unless the cleaning is not good. I started off tipping at Pop Century recently, but stopped because they were not even doing what I consider the basics, much less any extra.

I tipped the town car $8 for a one way fare when I was in Orlando a couple of weeks ago. I have since read that $10 is the standard tip each way, but there were only two of us with not too much luggage so I was probably ok on that.

T&B

 

[Letsbgoofy]

I would love to get some input on the "double tipping" for the bell hop.
Do they share the tips with the people who get your bags out of the car?
Are you supposed to tip both?
It does get very expensive when you have 6 plus bags and are staying at two different resorts.

 

[Puffy2]

I hate the double tipping of the bell hops - it is something I've only delt with in Orlando (although I'm sure it happens all over) - and it is a pet peeve of mine. Especially at the Yacht Club last time I was there when the SAME bell hop brought up our bags (when he told me it would be someone different and when we were able to get in our room right away.... it was stupid to have to tip this guy twice but I felt it was expected, so I did anyway...I guess I didn't have to. )

Anyway, I wish they had a better system for this sort of thing.

apparently I'm not off my soap box yet...

AND at the Polynesian when a lovely young man worked hard bringing our bags from the room all the way to the car ONLY TO LEAVE THEM AT THE WAITING CAR AND TO HAVE ANOTHER BELL HOP PLACE THEM IN THE CAR...Then I get a "dirty look" from the second bell hop when his tip is just a couple of dollars. That really irks me because there was absolutely no reason for a second guy to touch those bags! Plus the attitude.

Ok, done now. Oh, and my advice is to just count on having to tip two each time you move from one place to another and forget about it.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

I agree, Puffy, and that is a pet peeve of mine, too. Hotels in other cities have one person who gets the bags out of the car, brings them to the room, gives information about the hotel, and answers any questions. That person deserves at least $1/bag, but I feel that I am made to tip twice as much at the WDW and Universal hotels for the same service.

In your case I think that I would have waved the second bellhop away and just put my own bags in the car. I prefer to do that, anyway, so I can put things where I want them.

I was in shock the first time we went to WDW and encountered this. My husband felt that he shouldn't put his wallet away and should instead just walk around with it open and ready.

T&B

 

[Puffy2]

Tigger&Belle, that's hysterical about your husband and the open wallet....that's exactly how I feel sometimes.

I LOVE Orlando but I also think it can be a money pit. The (tip me) attitude can really be carried WAY too far! I also thought that last time I was at Disney the prices for food were over the top (worse than in years past) - kind of like the movie theaters who think it's ok to charge $3.50 for a small coke!
I don't mind paying for things, but let's be reasonable.

I will say that City Walk has some very reasonable food offerings.

 

[robvia]

Wow, I didn't know about this. I'd write the hotels and complain. That's the only way they'll find out, because it could ruin a good trip at the end.

An example of this is Vegas. Used to go, but never won (bad luck), and noticed everyone has their hand out expecting a tip. I've never been back, and I'm flying to LA in March, didn't even think of stopping in Vegas.

Here's a couple well known sites. The first even has a message board. But writing USF and Disney is what you really want to do.

www.tipping.org

http://www.tipthepizzaguy.com/

 

[Prince Eric1]

At the risk of sounding really cheap, I wind up not even letting the hotel staff touch my bags because I am never sure of who to tip or how much. Once they are out of the car, I carry them myself into the lobby and set them down and check in, then carry them upstairs. The towncar tip is included in the price usually and the drivers still seem to expect more. When I went to Disney a couple years ago a $20 gratuity was added in and the driver gave me a dirty look when I did not tip him more. I don't mind tipping for service and am a good tipper when we go out to eat, but am confused about the expectations of some of these people when multiple persons perform the same service.

 

[Puffy2]

I also don't like the tip already being included in the town car price, but I was told by the company that their drivers know the tip is in the price already and they should never expect more or act rude and they told me to report to them any driver who did.

Still, it feels weird not to hand them something upon exiting the car. Sometimes, after getting the luggage out of the back of the car I say something like "thank you so much for all of your help, we were told the tip was included with the charge on our credit card, correct?" They should nod yes...their only other option is to argue with you. Then just say, "well, thanks again!" and then depart.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

At Pop Century recently the luggage services tipping didn't seem too out of hand. One person took them out of the car and another person delivered them, but the delivery is done later and we were not even in the room. With pick-up, I was told to leave the bags in the room, by the front window, and was then free to go to the parks. When my town car arrived the bell services guy put them in the car. I tipped the two people that I saw handle my luggage, but at least there wasn't double tipping.

I would carry my own lugguge into the resorts, but with a family of 6 it might be a bit much. This April we will check in early to HRH. When we check-in I will leave my plug-in cooler with the bell-hop and tip for that. When our room is actually ready I will then evaluate our luggage and see if we can just cart it in. My 3 oldest kids can carry their fair share for sure. By not using bell services I could easily save $10-15 even if I am a cheap tipper.

It would be interesting to find out directly from the hotels what a normal tip would be with two people handling the luggage. I'm sure that the bellhops look at these people checking in at the nice hotels, paying a lot of money on the vacation between lodging, tickets, food, etc, and see people who can afford to pay. That may be true to a certain degree, but being a family of 6 I am forced into getting two rooms at HRH even though there is bed space in a deluxe room to fit all of us. That kind of stretches my budget right there and means that I need to look at other ways to save money.

I guess that I'm getting a little fed up with Universal/Loews. The best I could do this April was a AAA rate. For one room that would be one thing, but with two rooms it gets very expensive. Last year we had an entertainment rate, which were blocked out for this year. Then they change the annual pass renewals without first warning the existing passholders. I'd called not long ago to confirm that the renewal doesn't become active until a year after the renewal activation, whenever that is, and was told that was true. Then they changed it without warning... Means that we won't be renewing. Their loss, besides ours. I'm now waiting for then to start limiting the number of times per hour that a person can use the FOTL. Then they will really start to lose people.

Ok, off MY soapbox...

T&B

 

[Puffy2]

In my account of the Polynesian and the two bellhops - the first bell hop had our luggage on a "golf cart".... when he reached the front of the hotel (and our car was waiting) - instead of putting the luggage in the car, he took them off the golf cart and placed them on a luggage cart which another bell hop took to the waiting car. I suppose I should have spoken up and said something but I guess I was confused at the time.

Anyway, I just assume now that I have to budget something for these "expenses" .

One tip for tipping, if you know you will have to be tipping that day, place the correct number of folded bills in a separate pocket so you can easily access them without being clumbsy about it - it will keep you from over tipping.

 

[Letsbgoofy]

I like the idea of putting the luggage into the car yourself. It's crazy having to pay (or feeling like you have to pay) $5.00 for someone to lift luggage into your car. I don't mind tipping - one person who actually does something!

We always carry out our own luggage at the end of a trip. We rent a car, so take the pieces a few at a time. It's not just being cheap, I don't like waiting for bell services when I am in a hurry.

I noticed a post that at WDW someone came on check out day and took the luggage to bell services AFTER the people had left for the parks. Does Universal do this? It would be so much easier to pick up our leggage at the end of the day.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

I think that since Pop Century is a value resort they do not have bell services, per se. They have what I think they call luggage assistance. Since they don't pick up luggage from a single room and bring it directly to the car a person doesn't have to be there when the luggage is picked up from the room (or taken to the room at check-in). I think they promise that the luggage will be to the room (at check-in) or ready for the car (at check-out) in no more than an hour. In our case the luggage was in our room in less than that (maybe 1/2 hour).

To answer your question, I don't think that Universal does it this way, but maybe someone knows for sure.


If a person has time it is easy to carry luggage slowly out to the car at check-out. We're usually in a rush to get to the parks on the morning of departure, so that doesn't work as well for us.

T&B

 

[webray]

When we stay at a universal resort..the same person that gets the luggage out of our car, usually brings it to the room.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

Originally posted by webray
When we stay at a universal resort..the same person that gets the luggage out of our car, usually brings it to the room.

That's good. Has this always been the case for you? Maybe they've changed the policy or it just depends on the day(how busy they are) or people working.

T&B

 

[highlander447]

We have booked a limo and a towncar 2 seperate trips and its 20% tip my question is is that 20% twice both ways or just 20% tip first time

 

[Puffy2]

Well, if you booked a roundtrip - say it's $90.00... the 20% would be on that (just one time - not %20 x two).

 

[Selina]

It is an interesting one. We took cabs and tipped on the drop off at the park, then he gave us his card to call when we wanted to be picked up and we would tip again on drop off back at the hotel? So is this too much tipping? On the other hand, we weren't obliged to call him - sometimes we would just take any cab going on return. I guess that's why we felt we should tip after each drop-off. So....if the trip is a pre-booked round trip - the answer is we should tip not after first drop-off, but after he had collected and returned us.....is that correct? But one more question: sometimes the same company sends a different driver to collect you - in which case it's unfair to the morning driver if the returning driver gets ALL the tips!! Hmmmm...it's an interesting one!

 

[Puffy2]

When you ride in a taxi , tip each time you are dropped off .

The towncar is different because you prepay for ALL your transfers (this could be one, two or five or whatever). 20% is added to your total for all drivers and the drivers are reimbursed tips based on how many transfers they drive. At least I think this is the way it is done.

With the taxi - you are paying for each pick up and drop off, so add 15 -20% to that and tip as you go. If by chance you prepay a taxi company for two rides (I did this once with Kennedy Space Center) - generally you pay the first driver the full amount for the two rides BUT only tip the first driver 15 - 20% OF HALF the total fare amount, and then tip the second driver (might be the same might not) 15 - 20% of the other HALF of your prepaid total.

Does this make sense?

 

[highlander447]

Thanks for that