tipping on coach tour..

mich_city

Hi all..

Am going on holiday with Cosmos (Tourama) this month.. Western Treasures to America.

Received all the holiday stuff yesterday and they included 2 gratuity envelopes (for our convenience!) for the tour guide and the driver.. they recommend (for a job well done!) $6 per person a day for the driver and $5 for the guide so $280 from us both.. :eek:

What with the cost of trips and everything else on top this is going to be a struggle to pay without skimping elsewhere on the holiday, had it all worked out cost wise..

I dont mind tipping what I can afford but am worrying incase this will cause a problem, not giving what they 'recommend' - I'm presuming its given at the end of the trip?

another question..

The holiday info states not to use a lock on the case as it may be broken off if a search is required!.. not keen on leaving my case unlocked. Is this strictly enforced?.. does say to use cable ties if needed.. better than nothing I suppose?

Thanks!

aliasojo

mich_city wrote: »

Hi all..

Am going on holiday with Cosmos (Tourama) this month.. Western Treasures to America.

Received all the holiday stuff yesterday and they included 2 gratuity envelopes (for our convenience!) for the tour guide and the driver.. they recommend (for a job well done!) $6 per person a day for the driver and $5 for the guide so $280 from us both.. :eek:

:eek: < lots of them!

I wouldn't be tipping at that rate. Tip what you can afford, if it's in an envelope then no-one will know how much you tip.

As for the lock question....get a TSA lock. These are recognised and the USA customs are able to unlock and relock your case with no damage if they want to search it. People do also use cable ties and they usually take spares and just lay one or two on top of their clothes so the customs officials can use one to tie the case again.

http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/assistant/locks.shtm

mich_city

aliasojo wrote: »

:eek: < lots of them!

I wouldn't be tipping at that rate. Tip what you can afford, if it's in an envelope then no-one will know how much you tip.

As for the lock question....get a TSA lock. These are recognised and the USA customs are able to unlock and relock your case with no damage if they want to search it. People do also use cable ties and they usually take spares and just lay one or two on top of their clothes so the customs officials can use one to tie the case again.

http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/assistant/locks.shtm

That was my face when I read about the tips too! they will be getting what we can afford, has a space for you to write who its from.. guess i'll just leave that blank

Thanks for that link about the locks.. will get a couple of those!

spender

We have returned from an American Tour with ATI. This tour was excellent and in the guide book they gave us their recommendation for tipping. However I was not prepared to give as much as they recommended, after all nobody tips me for doing my job. I therefore waited until several people went to pass their tips on, and shoved ours in his hand. He would not know who gave what.

mich_city

spender wrote: »

We have returned from an American Tour with ATI. This tour was excellent and in the guide book they gave us their recommendation for tipping. However I was not prepared to give as much as they recommended, after all nobody tips me for doing my job. I therefore waited until several people went to pass their tips on, and shoved ours in his hand. He would not know who gave what.

thanks!.. that sounds like a plan!

blue_haddock

Heres a tip - don't expect one!

Timmne

Jesus sounds like a nightmare!

How about just stuff an envelope full of blank paper so they'll see it's bulging when you hand it over and then scarper?

mich_city

i'm too chicken to do that... i'll send OH up with the envelopes

PasturesNew

For $280 you could have an entire extra holiday!

Just get two $5 bills and some paper cut to the same size. One each end, elastic band round it, in the envelope ... hand over ... and RUN!!

pretzelnut

If you give the tip at the end of your tour whats it matter. Your tour is over.

Im assuming they get a wage and arent soley reliable on tips to feed themselves. That would be some money spinner. I dont know how many people will be on the trip but if its a standard coach of 50 pasengers that means the guide would make $250 a day - WOW i wish.

violetta

We did a West Coast tour a couple of years ago and very early on in the trip, the guide passed out an information sheet recommending tips per person per day of $3 - $5 for the driver and the same for the tour guide. This was when there was nearly $2 = £1.

The whole coach of circa 54 passengers soon worked out that if everyone stumped up the average of this ($4) a day, the driver and guide would each receive roughly around £1,500 at the end of the 16 day trip (on top of their normal wages). Nice work if you can get it.

I don't think anyone actually did tip what they 'suggested' as all the envelopes were identical - everyone put in what they individually felt was right. From what people were saying, it would not come to anything like the expected £1,500 :eek: