As part of my honeymoon in August I’ll be spending a few days in New York City. The plan (subject to guests’ generosity in contributing to the honeymoon fund) is that we’ll be staying somewhere pretty swish. (Or, at least, expensive – I understand NYC hotel rooms are notoriously small for the money.)
Now, I’ve done a fair bit of travelling, but my only previous visit to the States was towards the tail end of a round-the-world trip, and I was staying in hostels and motels. I know the US has more of a tipping culture than just about anywhere else, and I’m fine with the restaurant/bar etiquette.
But what’s the deal with hotels. Whom should I tip, and how much? And how, for that matter? As a typically reserved Englishman, it somehow feels unseemly to me to palm bills into people’s hands. In most European hotels I’ve been to, if a bellboy actually does take my luggage to the room (certainly far from a given), by the time I’ve wondered if I have any suitable denomination to give the guy, he’s usually ducked out of the room anyway without so much as a hopeful glance. I get the impression this would not be the case in America!
So any tips (ha!) to avoid looking too much of a rube in front of the new Mrs C would be much appreciated…
Oh, plus any hotel recommendations. I’ve been looking on Tripadvisor, but the disparity between the positive and negative reviews for the same establishment means it’s hard to know what to think. A colleague recommended the Soho Grand, but the online reviews are less than glowing. The Mercer and the Bowery seem to get better write-ups.
Dollar per-bag minimum. Tip the guy who hails your cab a dollar as well. Leaving $5 or $10 on the pillow for the maid is classy. If you use the concierge to make reservations or get tickets you can tip them depending on how difficult the task was.
Colophon - Just send the money to me. I’ll make sure that all tips are covered. It’s a service I normally charge a fee for, but since you’re a Doper, all I’ll do is take your tip money! Americans are so helpful!
Tipping at a hotel isn’t too over the top. The bell hop at the front door will probably rush to help you with your bags and load them onto a cart and wheel them into check in. You should give him a buck a bag if he’s helpful, but if the assistance was unwarranted (them grabbing your single carry on) you won’t be pressured or made to feel cheap anyplace respectable. The Bellhops at the door hope for tips but it’s not quite as universal as it might be at a restaurant.
If that same bellhop accompanies you up to the room, the front desk clerk will usually offer assistance on their behalf, then the tip becomes a little more obligatory. I tend to give a $5 or a $10 depending on how many bags I had and how courteous and helpful he is in getting us settled.
Other tipping is minimal. Tip your cabbie somewhere between 10-20% depending on the trip. If a bellhop flags you a cab or offers you a Town Car tip him a buck, a couple extra if it’s particularly hard to get a cab or rainy. If he gets you a Town Car don’t feel too obligated to over-tip him, he’s getting a kick-back from the Driver in order to direct you there instead of to a cab and the Driver will negotiate a flat rate with you for the travel. Sometimes it’s a nice alternative to the Airport for only $5 more.
Treat the room service, the hotel bar and any restaurants there like you would treat any other restaurant. 15% for average service, 20% for optimal.
Leaving some money for the maids is a little bit of an enigma. It’s done very inconsistently even among Americans. There was a recent thread here on the Dope discussing it and there wasn’t anything resembling a consensus. Personally I don’t tip the maids unless I really make a mess and request special service, otherwise I keep the Do Not Disturb sign on the door to save my privacy. If you prefer to have the room cleaned every day when you are out and request a turn down service then you should probably leave a couple bucks on the pillow each day, some people would leave a larger amount once at the end of the trip as an alternative but with my cynical nature would prefer I tip as I go so the maid knows I’m someone who should get the extra mints on my pillow.
I never use the concierge service at the hotel so I can’t offer any advice on that one. Maybe another Doper can.
Maybe I should just pin dollar bills all over my person each morning, and the relevant people can just help themselves as the day progresses. Would that work?
Unfortunately I don’t think they automatically do this and they have signs up saying they don’t replace towels unless specifically requested to “save water”. One more reason to reconsider this whole tipping maids thing.
I like Omnicient’s guideline above. The one thing I’d add is to ask the bellhop to either get ice for you or direct you toward it. That and 3 or 4 bags is worth a 10 spot.
We were pretty happy with one of Leona Helmsley’s hotels on Central Park. Don’t recall the name but it was near The Ritz and a bar either owned by or themed on Mickey Mantle. Lots of good shopping, right on the Park, carriages, restaurants, the subway, etc.
