You arrive at an upscale hotel well ahead of check-in time, so you give your bag to the bell captain. Do you tip him at that time, or when you pick the bag up?
I usually do on delivery of bag to my room
I tip when I pick my bags up. That means that they didn’t lose it.
Do you mean the bellman, or the bell captain? The bellman is the guy who brings the bags up to the room. The bell captain, and there isn’t always one visible, is in charge of the bell staff. I’ve never tipped a bell captain but I always tip a bellman just as he’s leaving my room after delivering the bags.
The bell captain is usually the person manning the bag check and bell boy station. I guess the answer is to tip on pickup… it will be one small bag, not worth having it carried even at the Waldorf.