Tipping

Aust

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jan 4, 2007
Messages
634
We have just booked our trip to DL in October and are very excited, DH and I have wanted to go since we were kids and now we are taking our kids! I have some questions about tipping, as Australians we are clueless because tipping isn't the done thing here, and when I've been to the United States before it was on business so it wasn't my money I was tipping with, and I think I overdid it.

So:

Who should we tip - I know we should in restaurants - what about in the hotel (Disneyland Hotel)? What about coach drivers for tours and the airport transfers? Anyone else??

How much should we tip?

Thanks.
 
I tip $5 each way for airport transfers, but I guess it depends on the company you end up using! I haven't used any at Disney ever!

Also tipping is common for Bellmen if you have your luggage brought to your room. Standard here in Vegas (hotels galore) is $1 per bag when they bring it to the room and same for taking it back down at the end. You won't be using valet so that won't be an issue. I usually also leave a few dollars for the maid service, and if I call to have extra towels/pillows brought up, I also tip $1-$2 dollars. Other than that, I can't think of anyone else I tip while there!!

Have a great trip!!

Andrea
 
We are also planning on coming from melbourne Australia in november, but we havent booked anything yet as i havent found any package deals that are even slightly good as yet.Last year flight centre had a kids fly free special so i am hoping thet repeat somthing like that. As for tipping when we have visited the states in the past we had great difficulity tipping as we just dont do it here , But we did, as we are aware its part of the american culture.
 
I tip 20% for good service and 15% for average service in a restaurant (Disney almost always gets 20%). If it's really bad service, I tip or don't based on the mood I'm in.

I tip $1 per small or medium bag and $2 per large bag with bell services. Generally, the two of us travel with 3 22" suitcases between us (a tad too large for carryon), so I'll just tip $5 (I hate carrying ones). I would tip similarly for a shuttle driver who handled my luggage. I'm less likely to tip if the driver didn't handle my luggage and provided no other service than driving. I'll tip a tour bus driver if there's a 'tips welcome' environment. Sometimes they've made clear tipping is not expected.

Valet, I tip $1 - $2 depending on speed of service everything I pick up and drop off the car.

For maids - it's generally considered a non-tipped position, but they are often at the low end of the payscale so many frequent travelers tip, particularly at a Disney venue. $1-2 per night per person, depending on the level of work they have to do. We usually straighten the room our self and put the used towels on the edge of the tub, so we tip $1 per person. Personally, I recommend tipping maids on a daily basis (leave on pillow or with a note stating "thanks", or else they won't take it). Housekeeping shifts vary, so you won't necessarily get the same person each day.

For room service, I'll add on a couple of bucks, depending on whether the tip is automatically added to the bill. I think it is at Disney. If the tip isn't added, I'll tip 20%.

Beware of tip jars in counter service restaurants outside of Disney. There is no expectation of tipping at Subway, Dunkin Donuts, etc., yet they'll put a jar out for you. You order a #1 combo and they want a tip? Geesh!!

However, if the person at Starbucks goes through a lot of trouble to get my complicated coffee order exactly right, then I'll tip.

Have fun with your trip!

Dirk
 

I'd add around a dollar a bag for skycaps/curbside check-in if you use them.
 
Personally, I recommend tipping maids on a daily basis (leave on pillow or with a note stating "thanks", or else they won't take it). Housekeeping shifts vary, so you won't necessarily get the same person each day.

Dirk

We do the same whether it's a good neighbor hotel or the GCH! We also leave the tip daily as the shifts do change.
 
We always tipped when we were away, except the few times we had bad bad bad service (not in Disney, in Vegas) We tipped the maids daily at the hotel, they were terrific. We als had a bunch of food and things we didn't want to bring home with us (food, books we had read on the planes ect) and left a note for them to take whatever they wanted. I'm from Sydney too so tipping is't that big here. In restaurants we left 20% at Disney (the service was so great and one night our waitress was fabulous. I wasnt feeling very well so she gave us free drinks, free dessert and a 20% off voucher for next time) We left her a big tip!

At the hotels we gave $2 a suitcase (they were heavy) and $1 for our smaller luggage. When we had room service, we usually gave 5% of our order.

Hope this helps


Good Luck.
 
For maids - it's generally considered a non-tipped position, but they are often at the low end of the payscale so many frequent travelers tip, particularly at a Disney venue. $1-2 per night per person, depending on the level of work they have to do. We usually straighten the room our self and put the used towels on the edge of the tub, so we tip $1 per person. Personally, I recommend tipping maids on a daily basis (leave on pillow or with a note stating "thanks", or else they won't take it). Housekeeping shifts vary, so you won't necessarily get the same person each day.


My husband swears that the standard for giving tips here in America is to leave it under a glass and that is the sign that it is for housekeeping. However, just to be safe, I bring envelopes and write housekeeping on them and usually slip in a $5 bill.

We also usually tip on a daily basis at hotels. On cruise ships, you always have the same stateroom host every day... not so in hotels.

Sometimes we leave a little extra on check-out day since they will be completely cleaning our room and taking out any left behind food or stuff.

Disney housekeeping, or "Mousekeeping", is definitely the best I have experienced! :thumbsup2

And just a side note for restaurants, we have only tipped less than 20% 2 times at WDW. The service is usually impeccable. Hopefully the same will be true at DLR.
 
Just to note that many of the sit down restaurants in Disneyland, the character meals for example, have the tip included already. Be sure to look for that before you leave any extra tip!
 
Oh my, I have never tipped the maids. I know in some countries far away from us they will steal from you if you don't tip, America isn't like that because we've never tipped and the maids have never stole from us. However after reading this thread I will tip the maids in the future. 1-2$ a night you say?
 
Oh my, I have never tipped the maids. I know in some countries far away from us they will steal from you if you don't tip, America isn't like that because we've never tipped and the maids have never stole from us. However after reading this thread I will tip the maids in the future. 1-2$ a night you say?

$1-2 per person/per night. For DH and I, we leave $5 because Disney housekeeping is so great.
 
I always tip at sit down restaurants. Rarely tip at buffets, although I have seen people tipping at buffet restaurants. I generally tip between 15% and 20%. I give cab drivers a couple to a few dollars. I usually just round up the fare to the nearest $5 or $10. At hotels, I rarely tip the housekeeping staff because I feel it is not a tipped job. My other half tips the maid. Either way, I wouldn't do it on a daily basis. Leave a few bucks on the day you depart. I rarely use bellmen and valet parking. But when I use either I usually tip. If I have to order towels etc, I don't tip.

At the parks you should only tip at sit down restaurants, based on service.

When you go to places with tip jars, there is no requirement to tip, but there is also no rule that says you shouldn't. If I am paying cash at Starbucks, Subway, etc. I will most likely leave the spare change as a tip. Another poster expressed a view that somehow it was more appropriate to tip at Starbucks than at Subway. I disagree with that statement. If anything, the people at Subway get paid less than those at Starbucks. Tipping at these places is different than at restaurants. Generally, you are not tipping the person who gave you the service because the tip jars are located at the cash registers. In the case of Starbucks, all employees share the tips. So even if you were to give a tip to the barista who actually made your drink, they are required to put it into a tip jar, and they will get a portion of that tip based on the hours they work, the following week.

Happy Tipping!
 
We tip one dollar per bag for whoever handles our luggage. Bell services at airport, hotel, driver etc! We tip one dollar per person per day in our room. We usually leave 5 dollars in an envelope. We also bring down Canadian themed items like "moose droppings", pins keychains etc. As for tipping we tip 18% for regular sevice and more if it was very good service.
 
We tip one dollar per bag for whoever handles our luggage. Bell services at airport, hotel, driver etc! We tip one dollar per person per day in our room. We usually leave 5 dollars in an envelope. We also bring down Canadian themed items like "moose droppings", pins keychains etc. As for tipping we tip 18% for regular sevice and more if it was very good service.

??? I'm sorry I'm confused about the moose droppings.
 
Chocolate coated blueberries. You can find them everywhere in Calgary (we live there too!)

Oh cool! A fellow Calgarian!! I haven't seen the chocolate coated blueberries but they sound really good, I think I've seen some in Banff but not in Calgary.
 
Oh cool! A fellow Calgarian!! I haven't seen the chocolate coated blueberries but they sound really good, I think I've seen some in Banff but not in Calgary.


Yes lots in Banff. I have seen it at chocolate shops and souvenier like stores in Calgary.
 


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