Tipping help while checking in at Boardwalk Villas

[illiram]

I am a DVC member and I guess I'm always paranoid that I am giving too much/too little when checking in to the BWV so I would like to know what others give.

We usually drive up to the front, let the guy unload the back of the van and tip that guy $5. Then I leave my car off to the side so that we can go do other stuff right away. We tip the guy that eventually brings the bags to the room $10 (we usually have 5-8 suitcases).

Do others do the same? More? Less?

Also, if I valet park at Contemporary for Chef Mickey's, what do you tip when you drop off the car and what do you tip when picking up the car?

 

[cemeb4dk]

I always tip when the car is being picked up. Although I have not valeted since its not free to DVC anymore. I usually just drop off the family then park myself.

 

[disneynutz]

Tipping is a personal choice. The car unloader and Valets are not Disney employees, the Bell People are. It's customary to tip at car pick up, not drop off but again it's up to you.

The union for Bell Services has a agreement with Disney that you have to be in your room when receiving your luggage, why, so you can tip. Some people tip all the time, we like to tip when we are actually receiving service that goes above and beyond, not because it's expected.

Bill

 

[Chuck S]

Tipped positions, such as bell services, also receive very low wages, similar to food servers. Their anticipated income is based on tipping.

The customary tip for bell services, at any resort, not just Disney, is similar to skycap tips. $1 to $2 per bag.

 

[bonrea]

This is a very good question and I agree that $1 to $2 per bag is good for bell service. For the valet parking I always carry a stack of $5 bills with me for that. For table service meals at Disney I always tip the suggested 18% ‘unless’ the service is just outstanding (which it usually is at Disney) then I’ll tip 20 to 25%. One rule of thumb; I am on vacation and expect the service staff to care for my needs as I am paying for the service. If I get good service they get a good tip, lousy service, they get lousy tips and a hand written explanation of why and sometimes a request to speak with the manager on duty.

 

[n2mm]

Don't forget to tip the RAC folks if you use this "curb side" service to check your luggage and print your boarding passes on your last day. I tip $2 per bag for this great perk!

I generally tip valet on both ends. I'm a TiW cardholder so I get free valet when using it to dine.

 

[Yankeemouse]

totally agree about the RAC folks, we used them at BLT on check out day. So friendly and helpful...but I think maybe I goofed, I tipped only the guy who took and labeled our bags, not the young lady who checked us in and printed our boarding passes..should I have tipped her too? feeling bad that I didn't.

 

[dianeschlicht]

totally agree about the RAC folks, we used them at BLT on check out day. So friendly and helpful...but I think maybe I goofed, I tipped only the guy who took and labeled our bags, not the young lady who checked us in and printed our boarding passes..should I have tipped her too? feeling bad that I didn't.

Sorry to signal out this post, but it just made me think a bit. I sure wish someone would tip me for doing nothing more than what is my job. She is checking you in....She is typing and handing you your boarding pass... That's her job...Why should you tip her? She isn't doing anything above and beyond what is expected of her.

Now for those who handle bags...Yes, they are at the mercy of the weight you put in those bags, so tip them.

 

[Yankeemouse]

Diane, I was thinking exactly the same thing while she was checking us in, she's just doing her job, etc, why would I tip her, etc, but so was he, granted he just picked up our bags and put them on the cart to be wheeled away. It actually took her longer to check us in because she couldn't find one of us on the reservation than it did for him to wheel our bags away. I wonder if she gets paid differently and doesn't rely on tips like the bag handlers do?

 

[kendzee94]

totally agree about the RAC folks, we used them at BLT on check out day. So friendly and helpful...but I think maybe I goofed, I tipped only the guy who took and labeled our bags, not the young lady who checked us in and printed our boarding passes..should I have tipped her too? feeling bad that I didn't.

Yikes, we never tip them, as I view them the same as checking in at the airport and I don't tip them

Although I always wonder when to tip as well, getting luggage out of car-yes; bell service to room- yes.

We just got back from an Alaskan cruise and used the Disney transportation (shuttle) service to and from the airport. Returning to the airport, they sent a 10 passenger van for 2 different families, and we were traveling for 11 nights (Disney knew this because our reservation was all with them!). Bell services sure were able to pack that van! Then when we got to the airport, we had to pull out all of the luggage ourselves and the driver hadn't asked where we were going first so the other family's luggage was on the bottom. WE had to schlep our luggage out, the other family took theirs out, WE loaded ours back in. The driver then expected a tip once we got out. If I have to schlep, no tip!

Otherwise, I would have tipped the $1 to $2, as recommended!

Then here's another question: we tipped bell services to take our bags down to the lobby of the hotel, should I have tipped the people loading up the car, too? (Is it one or two transactions?)

 

[Chuck S]

Yikes, we never tip them, as I view them the same as checking in at the airport and I don't tip them

The RAC people are like the curbside check-in skycaps at the airport, and should be tipped. Unlike the Airline counter check-in people that are airline employees. Skycaps and RAC are not airline employees.

 

[n2mm]

totally agree about the RAC folks, we used them at BLT on check out day. So friendly and helpful...but I think maybe I goofed, I tipped only the guy who took and labeled our bags, not the young lady who checked us in and printed our boarding passes..should I have tipped her too? feeling bad that I didn't.

Don't worry, they share the tips. We use RAC about 5 times a year and most of the time we have witnessed that they often hand the tip to the person at the desk who stashes it in a draw, which leads me to believe that it is split at the end of the day. No, one tip is all you need, not each of the individuals. Just at BLT last month the lady printing our boarding passes said, "joe will be taking care of your bags...(and what I heard in that quote was, please take care of Joe)". We have also been told by the employee that this service is like curb side, just located at the resort. Sadly, when in line, we have noticed that we are often the only ones tipping. I would never want to lose this wonderful service, so you will find me often reminding folks not to forget these folks (who are not Disney CMs).

 

[BirdsOfPreyDave]

For bell services, I usually tip $2 per bag, but round up to the nearest bill I have. If there's a particularly heavy or awkward bag, I'll give a little more for that. If we're staying in a THV, I'll give considerably more because they need to carry the bags up or down the steps.

We use DME, so never have bags in a car when checking in. When using the valet with TIW for dining, I'll usually give $3 - $4 when picking up the car.