Gratuities for front desk staff

 
Old Mar 18, 2017, 3:48 pm
  #31  
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WOW!

Well thanks for all the input everyone!

To clarify a couple of questions that were brought up:

- 3cforme - I am referring to North American properties in general
- the idea of the tipping FD staff was meant to be with regards to a provision of service in general
- JackE - the etc. was meant to include the myriad of other service staff that I didn't specifically mention
- LondonElite - this is part of the reason I posed this question - I mentioned my concern for being gaudy/tacky if tipping FD was inappropriate

It seems pretty clear I guess, with all the contrasting opinions, that there really isn't a definitive right or wrong, particularly with regards to etiquette.

Indeed, even front desk staff seem to have different opinions.

Last edited by rastaman777; Mar 18, 2017 at 3:56 pm
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Old Mar 18, 2017, 4:02 pm
  #32  
 
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Originally Posted by slidergirl
I guess I'm a bad person...
Not at all. I merely provided tales from my experiences working in hotels. I wasn't intending to speak for the entire industry. If your employer doesn't have policies against Front Desk staff accepting tips, you shouldn't feel badly for accepting them.

That said, it sounds like many of the things described sound like activities traditionally done by a Concierge. Those tasks were "tippable" where I worked.
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Old Mar 18, 2017, 5:28 pm
  #33  
 
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Originally Posted by JackE
I may have an exception to the actual norm for not tipping FDAs.

You come down to the FD in the wee hours to retrieve your checked bag. The bell staff is gone until early morning. The FDA retrieves your luggage.

The one time this has happened to me, I considered the FDA to have two hats and tipped the one wearing the bellman's hat. She accepted.
This. I was a FDA in a California hotel (independent, not Marriott) with bellmen and housekeeping at peak hours only. Bribes for front desk services like room selection were forbidden, but when performing personal services like carrying luggage or personal items (food, video rentals, etc) up to rooms, or making up rooms outside of housekeeping hours, or driving someone to the airport (we had an on-demand courtesy shuttle) we could accept tips. We were expected to politely refuse but accept if insisted.
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Old Mar 18, 2017, 5:57 pm
  #34  
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Originally Posted by AA_CPA
It's tacky to be generous when someone goes out of their way to help you? Someone who doesn't get paid a fortune, and always has to wear a smile, no matter what might be happening in their lives? OK, then.
I assume you don't live in any kind of large city, because if you have to drive anywhere, I assume you're out of money every week from "tipping" all the homeless people at the intersections. They certainly don't get "paid a fortune," and most of them seem to smile a lot, no matter what might be happening in their lives. @:-)
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Old Mar 18, 2017, 9:24 pm
  #35  
 
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Originally Posted by AA_CPA
Also, to those who say FD people are just doing their job, isn't housekeeping too?
The FDA is not cleaning your toilet.
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Old Mar 18, 2017, 11:11 pm
  #36  
 
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Originally Posted by DenverBrian
I assume you don't live in any kind of large city, because if you have to drive anywhere, I assume you're out of money every week from "tipping" all the homeless people at the intersections. They certainly don't get "paid a fortune," and most of them seem to smile a lot, no matter what might be happening in their lives. @:-)
This doesn't even make sense.

And your assumption is wrong. I keep a pied-a-terre in Manhattan.
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Old Mar 19, 2017, 4:29 am
  #37  
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Originally Posted by JackE
The FDA is not cleaning your toilet.
I wasn't aware that tipping was related to the grossness of one's job.

I still maintain that someone running a hotel has to pay the staff appropriately. If a hotel wants to provide better service so they can charge higher rates, then they need to pay the people providing that better service and not expect guests to pay twice (higher rate and more tips).

I fully understand if one tips a person for doing something completely outside their expected role, e.g. fixing the problem with the credit card as mentioned in one of the posts. I have tipped a hotel employee (in the US) for jump starting my car after letting the light on over night -- and he didn't even want to take it ("it's my job", he said) until I told him that I didn't think it was "his job".

But I will not pay twice for housekeeping, for being checked in, or for problems being solved that shouldn't have been occurring in the first place. Hotel stuff in a upper scale full service hotel that expect to be tipped for carrying my suitcase irritate me.

HTB.
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Old Mar 19, 2017, 4:36 am
  #38  
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Originally Posted by AA_CPA
It's tacky to be generous when someone goes out of their way to help you? Someone who doesn't get paid a fortune, and always has to wear a smile, no matter what might be happening in their lives? OK, then.
If I were to tip everyone that goes out of their way and who isn't earning a fortune, I'd be broke. A few days ago I bought a train ticket, and the man behind the counter suggested a different routing from the one I thought I wanted; it turned out to be faster and cheaper. Should I have tipped him? Or was he just doing his job in a friendly manner? One of my children's teachers recently also went out of her way to help her on a project. Should I have slipped her some money? She doesn't earn a fortune.

I tip in restaurants and taxis, mostly because it would be socially awkward not to unless there was a complete service failure, but I would much prefer it if (especially in the US) a normal living wage would be paid to waitstaff so that I don't have to make up their salary.
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Old Mar 19, 2017, 4:53 am
  #39  
 
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Has anyone ever tipped a FD staff member who escorted you to the room, showed
you around, but carried no bags, etc. I haven't but I'm always feeling like it might
be a thing.
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Old Mar 19, 2017, 5:55 am
  #40  
 
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Any extra expected tip should be included in the final bill. Period. When excellent service is given a review should be submitted at tripadvisor or somewhere else.
I love Japan for that. No fuss, no tip is accepted.

Read somewhere that some are even tipping housekeepers in america. And now this tipping FD. Why not tip police officers and doctors...
​​​​​​

Last edited by joakgarp; Mar 19, 2017 at 6:02 am
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Old Mar 19, 2017, 6:38 am
  #41  
 
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Originally Posted by joakgarp
Any extra expected tip should be included in the final bill. Period. When excellent service is given a review should be submitted at tripadvisor or somewhere else.
I love Japan for that. No fuss, no tip is accepted.

Read somewhere that some are even tipping housekeepers in america. And now this tipping FD. Why not tip police officers and doctors...
​​​​​​
Police officers are making me pay a driving tax (I tend not to get passed very often).

I tip my dog groomer.
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Old Mar 19, 2017, 7:56 am
  #42  
 
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I usually give tip to the receptionist and Front office mgr, and they usually pay more attention my needs. Is it a coincidence? I think not.
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Old Mar 19, 2017, 10:35 am
  #43  
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Originally Posted by SC Alum
I usually give tip to the receptionist and Front office mgr, and they usually pay more attention my needs. Is it a coincidence? I think not.
Probably a placebo effect. I don't tip and usually get what I need.

What needs are you talking about anyway? You get assigned a room and housekeeping drops by once a day. If you need something else, give the hotel staff a call and they will take care of it.

HTB.
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Old Mar 19, 2017, 4:04 pm
  #44  
 
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Originally Posted by Mickidon
Has anyone ever tipped a FD staff member who escorted you to the room, showed
you around, but carried no bags, etc. I haven't but I'm always feeling like it might
be a thing.
If the staff member is from the Front Desk, I wouldn't tip. If it was someone from the Bell Staff doing the exact same thing, I would. That's simply because the Bell Staff in the United States is a "tipped" position that earns far less per hour when compared to the Front Desk.

Is the system stupid? Of course. But, it is what it is and nothing short of government regulation is going to make hoteliers pay the Bell Staff more than minimum wage.
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Old Mar 20, 2017, 10:24 am
  #45  
 
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Originally Posted by DenverBrian
I assume you don't live in any kind of large city, because if you have to drive anywhere, I assume you're out of money every week from "tipping" all the homeless people at the intersections. They certainly don't get "paid a fortune," and most of them seem to smile a lot, no matter what might be happening in their lives. @:-)
You'd be surprised how much they make from just standing there. I've overheard conversations of some that do so when they weren't at their stations. Suffice to say if they did it full time, it'll be more that a FDA.

Then they go on to say how they'll be using the money for their...habit.
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