Las Vegas - How to tip tour guides?

The tour itself is about $400 pp. 10% tip for me and my husband? Is that too much or is that normal?

What kind of tour are you talking about? My first tendency would be to say no tip at all.

QL

White water rafting trip. It's quite expensive. I'll have to tip those guys (tough work)....but how much is decent?

No tip is expected for skilled guides such as that. They are paid or owners.

QL

Does your trip involve Las Vegas?

------------------
Michael Steinberg
Editor
BizTrip
www.biztrip.com (http://www.biztrip.com)
A site for travelers by a traveler with 20+ years experience
Please visit my site and let me know what you think.

Yes, it's one of those tour companies from Vegas. Just like any other Vegas one-day Grand Canyon trips. They pick you up from Vegas hotels.

And the brochure specifically says tips are 'appreciated'.

I think a $50 tip should be sufficient for both of you. I always tip tour guides.

------------------
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety
deserve neither liberty nor safety." -- Ben Franklin

I don't know if this is true or not but I heard most tour guides make very little money and rely on tip or love their job very very much.

Any proof either way?

Yeah, I think that's true. I was told by a tour guide (after the tour and the tips). He said he pretty much got paied $20 for A trip + tips (shared by others). It's tough.

Most people in the world make very little money. Now loving your job...that's priceless.

QL

My boyfriend is a tour guide in Las Vegas. Tips are very much appreciated. If you are talking about the all day Grand Canyon tour with the white water rafting, $50 would be great. You will probably encounter one guide that drives you to the Canyon and drops you off and another that takes you on the river. The guide on the river is usually self employed and the driver is employed by the agency. The driver is not paid very much. My boyfriend loves his job, however he does have to pay his bills.

[This message has been edited by debua1k (edited 06-06-2003).]

If your boyfriend doesn't have enough money to pay his bills, has he considered applying for welfare?

QL

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by QuietLion:
If your boyfriend doesn't have enough money to pay his bills, has he considered applying for welfare?

QL</font>

What an awful thing to say http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/eek.gif



------------------
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety
deserve neither liberty nor safety." -- Ben Franklin

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by QuietLion:
If your boyfriend doesn't have enough money to pay his bills, has he considered applying for welfare?

QL</font>

My boyfriend does have enough money to pay his bills. Most people tip because they recognize that he goes out of his way to provide them with a once in a lifetime experience. He generally makes more money on tips than he does in salary.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by QuietLion:
If your boyfriend doesn't have enough money to pay his bills, has he considered applying for welfare?

QL</font>

Quiet Lion, maybe you should make like your name and be quiet. http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/wink.gif

Thanks. Great tip. I didn't even think about the driver tip. I'll make sure I give him something.

I believe in tipping, esp in Vegas. I would have lost that $10 anyways.

When are you going and what company are you going with? It could be with my Boyfriend... My daughters boyfriend is also a tour guide.

$10? I think his girlfriend would prefer you give him $50. How insulting.

QL

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by QuietLion:
$10? I think his girlfriend would prefer you give him $50. How insulting.

QL</font>

$10 for the driver, not the person that actually guides the tour. Your comments are really uncalled for.



------------------
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety
deserve neither liberty nor safety." -- Ben Franklin

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by QuietLion:
$10? I think his girlfriend would prefer you give him $50. How insulting.

QL</font>

QL, From your name I would think you would be a person who only spoke when they had something profound to say, but you are really a negative person. I think you have some issues to get over.

If the tour is supported by a guide and a driver, it is nice if both of them are tipped. However, the White Water/Grand Canyon tour my boyfriend does, there are two guides, one who provides a tour of the Canyon and one who takes them on the White Water. Both tours are available separately or they can be combined for a discounted rate. The tip is split between both guides. The amount each would get would be up to the guest. Usually, the White Water guide gets an equal amount as the Grand Canyon, because even though his part of the tour costs the most, but the time spent is less and his wages are higher. The White Water part is about $300, the Grand Canyon ATV tour is about $200. So, if you are paying $400, assuming that you are going to tip 10%, the total tip would be $40. I would probably tip the Grand Canyon guide about $20 and the White Water guide about $20.

And, GL, I realize that this is more than you would give, but I believe that giving is receiving and the what goes around comes around. I also believe that I should treat others the way I would want to be treated.

Las Vegas is a pay to play destination. Services are provided by tipping and many of the employees depend on the tip income for their living.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">but you are really a negative person. I think you have some issues to get over</font>

QuietLion is an institution on this board. His writings are legendary. You might consider checking the Trip Report archives for his body of work. Afterwards, you may find the comments a bit off reality.

P.S. He is also considered one of the FT "experts" on Vegas

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Craig6z:
but you are really a negative person. I think you have some issues to get over</font>

QuietLion is an institution on this board. His writings are legendary. You might consider checking the Trip Report archives for his body of work. Afterwards, you may find the comments a bit off reality.

P.S. He is also considered one of the FT "experts" on Vegas

He may be an expert on some aspects of Vegas, but he is way off base on tipping in Vegas. I am a lifelong resident of Vegas and the town is driven by tips.

I have seen several of his postings and in this particular posting, he was quite rude.

I've never been on a white water rafting trip, so I can't answer first hand. You may have received a better response from another forum, such as TravelBuzz or even Omni.

I did some quick research, but the only guidence I found was from rafting tour web sites. Not surprisingly, they all say tipping the guides is optional, but appreciated. Most suggest 10-15%, if you enjoyed the experience.

One other note: As the moderator. I would ask everyone to please keep your comments to the topic of this forum. If you have non-related comments, I ask you please use other forums, boards or email. Thanks.

------------------
Michael Steinberg
Editor
BizTrip
www.biztrip.com (http://www.biztrip.com)
A site for travelers by a traveler with 20+ years experience
Please visit my site and let me know what you think.

[This message has been edited by businesstraveler (edited 06-08-2003).]

There's no reason in the world to tip either the tour guide or the van driver, especially such large amounts. Vegas is full of cash grabs. Tip all you want, but don't let yourself be guilted into it.

I thought applying for welfare was a comparable suggestion to begging me for extra money. I already give toms of money to FedGov and I'd love to see it put to good use.

QL

I do not believe that any of the tour guides "beg" for money. In fact, most of them do not mention tips unless they are asked about them. The tour companies do not allow for them to ask for tips, but they do allow for them to "drop hints". If the hints get strong enough for the guest to complain, the guide is subject to discipline.

I also have never seen any of the other service workers here in Las Vegas "beg" for tips. But I always tip willingly for good service.

By the way here is a link I found regarding tour guide tips:
http://www.tipping.org/tips/TipsPageTourGuideBusDriver.html

[This message has been edited by debua1k (edited 06-09-2003).]

newbies http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/rolleyes.gif

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by wingless:
newbies http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/rolleyes.gif</font>

QL may be a great guy, and perhaps he has made great contributions to this website, but some of his comments on this particular thread are rude.

Craig seems to have read many QL posts and knows QL is not a negative person. It probably would have been more accurate to say his welfare comments are negative, rather than calling QL a negative person.

I know, I know - Another newbie heard from.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by wingless:
newbies http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/rolleyes.gif</font>

Uncalled for. Are we trying to foster an environment for anyone to post, or are we only interested in comments from the "old timers"?

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by wingless:
newbies http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/rolleyes.gif</font>

http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/rolleyes.gif



------------------
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety
deserve neither liberty nor safety." -- Ben Franklin

I, for one, am not feeling the love of community...

As the comments no longer reflect the topic, I am closing this thread.

------------------
Michael Steinberg
Editor
BizTrip
www.biztrip.com (http://www.biztrip.com)
A site for travelers by a traveler with 20+ years experience
Please visit my site and let me know what you think.