FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - Christmas Gifts for Hotel Staff?
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Old Nov 13, 2011 | 7:51 pm
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chgoeditor
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Originally Posted by etomatoes
Hi FlyerTalkers!

I've been at the Westin Calgary for a very long time now and I've been thinking about getting the staff something for Christmas. I know that the hospitality industry is supposed to be nice - but I really think the service has been way above average.

Any easy-to-distribute gift ideas? Please note that I'm a fresh grad with a pesky mountain of student loans so I can't be too ......, but I do want to show my appreciation. I was thinking that boxes of Lindt chocolate might work well...but be interested to hear other ideas

Cheers,

E
Realistically, what is your budget? (And assuming you're staying there for business, can you expense any part of it.)

Remember that there are a lot of people you see every day, but many more who you may never see. Among the list:
Door man & parking attendants
Concierge
Front Desk
Housekeeping
Catering & room service
Convention services/banquet staff (if you hold any meetings in the hotel)
Maintenance & janitorial staff
Phone operators
Receiving room
Bartenders, waiters & cooks
Accounting
General manager & other managers
etc.
etc.

The problem with shared gift is that it might never be seen by half of the staff. You'd almost have to get a shared gift for each department.

Your other option is to get token gifts for the people who personally help you on a daily basis. Even something like a $5 Starbucks gift card would be appreciated. But the list of people you'd ideally give this to is probably pretty long--several housekeepers, several doormen, several concierge & front desk people, several managers, several waitstaff, etc.
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