Tipping tips for travelers

Harriet Baskas Travel writer

William Moss, now a concierge at the Fairmont Olympic Hotel in Seattle, has been working in the industry for more than a dozen years. He’s gone to great lengths to help make many guests’ stays successful, but says one of the more unusual requests he had involved helping a guest zip up his dinosaur head. “Remember Barney, the purple dinosaur from TV? This guest was dressing up as a purple dinosaur to surprise his wife, who was waiting in the lobby.”

Moss doesn’t remember if he got a cash tip for this extra service, “but the guest’s wife, and especially all the kids in the lobby, got a big kick out of the dinosaur and I was happy to help.”

You may never need to figure out the right tip to give to the concierge who zips up your dinosaur head, but when staying in a hotel it’s a good idea to know the appropriate amount to tip a bellman who totes your luggage to your room, a housekeeper who cleans up the crumbs from last night’s room service meal and the valet who rushes to get your rental car from the parking garage.

Yes, a tip is technically a small amount of money given voluntarily to someone who provides a special service. These days, though, tips are customary and expected by workers in the service industries, including the many hotel workers who must rely on gratuities for a large part of their take-home pay.

But in different cities and in different types of hotels it’s sometimes hard to know whom to tip, how much to tip, when to tip and how to deliver a tip. So I asked some frequent travelers and hotel insiders to share their tips on tipping.

The ride from the airport
We’re accustomed to tipping taxi drivers 10-15 percent of the fare. But many people forget about the airport van driver. Tip $1-$2 per person and add a few dollars more if the driver is quick to load and unload your bags without commenting on how darn heavy they are.

And if the driver goes the “extra mile” to make you feel welcome after a long trip, tip accordingly. I happily handed over a $5 tip recently when a van driver surprised me and a road-weary load of passengers with a warm and funny welcome that included the ranking of the local sports team (low), notes on the weather (bad), and tips on the best restaurants within walking distance of the hotel (passable; not great).

If you’ve arrived at the hotel by car and handed it over for valet parking, it’s customary to tip the valet staff at least $2 each time they bring your car around.  Add $1 if your car is waiting for you when you step off the elevator. One concierge I spoke with suggests tipping “every time the car is moved,” but that would mean digging into your pocket each time you get in or out of your car. With some hotels charging upwards of $30 a day for valet parking, things can get spendy awfully quickly, so plan ahead.

In the hotel lobby
The standard tip used to be $1 a bag for the bellhop who stores your bags until you’re ready to check in (or out), or who totes your luggage from the lobby to the room. These days, many travelers say $2 a bag is more the norm, especially if your bags are set carefully inside the room on a luggage rack and not thrown on the bed.

In the room
It’s easy to forget about tipping the person who cleans your hotel room each day because you usually don’t encounter them directly. Their handiwork is only apparent when you return to your room after a day on the town to find a freshly made bed and a bathroom with restocked toiletries and clean towels. You spend the longest part of your hotel stay in your hotel room, so leave a tip of at least $2-$5 per night; and add more if you or your kids have left behind a big mess.

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Some experts suggest tipping the housekeeping staff at the end of your stay, but unless you know for sure that the housekeeping department pools all their tips, you may unintentionally short change the person who cleaned your room during most of your stay.

Tip each night of your hotel stay, as generously as you can.  Rather than leave cash on a desk or pillow, put the tip in an envelope with “For Housekeeping; thanks!” written on it and place that by the bed.

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