VIP tour and tipping.

[MomOTwins]

You are receiving a personal knowledgeable service that is working with you through the entire day. This is highly tipped personal service as far as tipping etiquette goes. For excellent service I would expect to tip no less than 20% until the experience costs got above $2000. If it was $600 per hour for 7 hours I think one could certainly afford a $500 tip.

For those who would disagree, if you cannot afford to tip accordingly then you should not do the experience. $100 for 7 hours seems inadequate when compared to tips a server might earn over a busy lunch shift would exceed that amount.

Yeah, $100 is bonkers. That's $14 per hour, and you are their only source of tips for the entire day. Think about how much you tip for a one hour private limo ride--we did one just last fall (minnie van to port canaveral from wdw resort), and the price was $240, so we tipped the 20% customary for taxi drivers, which is $50. Heck, you would tip significantly than $14 per hour more for a 1 hour meal at most nice restaurants at WDW, and there you are only one of several tables a waiter/waitress has at a given time, whereas a tour guide is giving you their full attention, 100% of the time.

I think an appropriate tip is around $50 an hour, so $350 for a full day. More if the individual goes above and beyond.

 

[GoingSince1990]

I find this an interesting issue and there certainly isn't any right answer. Generally, I don't have a problem with tipping 20%. But it seems to be a bit unfair/inequitable that the same amount of effort by the Plaid gets rewarded vastly different simply by which day/month the trip is taken. I completely understand Disney charging more for peak periods as a matter of economics/demand. However, the effort put into each tour doesn't vary much by month/day. The Plaid still gets to cut the line and provides similar commentary regardless of time of year. The tip however could (almost) double depending on time of year despite no more effort on the Plaid's part. Or looking at it from the Plaid's perspective, if they pull a low per hour rate tour, could get 50% less in tip but still put in the same effort.

Yes, which is why looking it as a percentage is a bit silly. A tip of $300 in cash for a 7-hour tour boosts the guide’s salary by $43 per hour, tax-free, on top of his or her normal salary. And $43 per hour is equivalent to an annual salary of about $86,000. I would say $300 is absolutely fine, perhaps adjusted up a bit for truly exceptional service.

 

[Sydnerella]

so yup my math is mostly correct. That's steep. I would say being light on the tip isn't bad.

Couldn’t disagree more

 

[Sydnerella]

I find this an interesting issue and there certainly isn't any right answer. Generally, I don't have a problem with tipping 20%. But it seems to be a bit unfair/inequitable that the same amount of effort by the Plaid gets rewarded vastly different simply by which day/month the trip is taken. I completely understand Disney charging more for peak periods as a matter of economics/demand. However, the effort put into each tour doesn't vary much by month/day. The Plaid still gets to cut the line and provides similar commentary regardless of time of year. The tip however could (almost) double depending on time of year despite no more effort on the Plaid's part. Or looking at it from the Plaid's perspective, if they pull a low per hour rate tour, could get 50% less in tip but still put in the same effort.

Which is exactly why I said the following:

For excellent service I would expect to tip no less than 20% until the experience costs got above $2000. If it was $600 per hour for 7 hours I think one could certainly afford a $500 tip.

 

[GoingSince1990]

Which is exactly why I said the following:

If a guide gives a VIP tour and gets a $500 cash tip every working day (assuming that he or she works 5 days a week, and gets 4 weeks vacation), that is an extra $116,000 tax-free, per year, which is equivalent to a pre-tax salary of about $175,000 per year. Assuming that the guide gets an existing salary of (let's say) $65,000 per year, the tips would boost his or her total compensation to a pre-tax equivalent of about $240,000 per year. That shows how generous giving $500 is; I still think $300 is absolutely fine.

 

[MomOTwins]

If a guide gives a VIP tour and gets a $500 cash tip every working day (assuming that he or she works 5 days a week, and gets 4 weeks vacation), that is an extra $116,000 tax-free, per year, which is equivalent to a pre-tax salary of about $175,000 per year. Assuming that the guide gets an existing salary of (let's say) $65,000 per year, the tips would boost his or her total compensation to a pre-tax equivalent of about $240,000 per year. That shows how generous giving $500 is; I still think $300 is absolutely fine.

Tips are taxed just the same as any other salary—not sure where you get the impression otherwise.

 

[TDSAXX]

Tips are taxed just the same as any other salary—not sure where you get the impression otherwise.

If you think all cash tips get reported, you’re living in Fantasyland.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Since we have now turned a tipping question (for which we're all entitled to our opinions) into extrapolating a CM's salary, closing as we've hit the point where it will only go in circles/lead to further arguments from here.