Chapel Hill Guy

This captures my sentiments exactly. Sometimes it just seems the right thing to do.

Pakse

Howdy,

I always tip folks $2 for getting me a cab, getting my car out of parking, making a dinner res., whatever - for anything that takes a minute of their time - I tip them out at $2.00 minimum.

For anything more unexpected, or personal (i.e. taking time to ask me what sort of resturant I want; then offering suggestions and personal insights) I start at $5.00 and go up from there.

Therefore - in answer to your post - nah - I would have tipped the guy with the cab everytime - that way I make sure I'm hitting the right person.

However - I do tip out the maids in bulk, and up front - if traveling by myself $2/day minimum $5. Traveling with my family $5/day and up minimum $20)

At the end of stay of more than 4-5 days if a particular person has provide excpetionally nice service; I'll try to write a letter to the manager and hand them a $20.

Keep the faith,

Pakse

Chapel Hill Guy

How do you do it up front? I frequently never see the housekeeping staff. Thanks.

tide

I do not tip in SIN. Tips, while accepted (unlike Japan), are not encouraged nor expected. The locals largely do not tip. Why bring an American mindset/practice to a foreign country?

Chapel Hill Guy

I'd agree that culturally there is no tradition of tipping in SIN, but HKG seems different (or maybe I just think it's different). Still learning :-)

Tennen

I think that it's great to tip staff in lump sum if you continuously come in contact with them and if they provide you terrific service. However, as for maids (housekeepers), it is best to tip daily. Why? Housekeepers are assigned different rooms (and sometimes different floors) each day. And they aren't on shift 7 days a week. By tipping lump sum for housekeepers, some get shafted while others reap huge benefits.

In Japan, while tips are discouraged, they are accepted if guests are persistent (of course, this depends on the property). Tips are collected into a pool, and are distributed among the staff in that department.

BlondeBomber

While I tip in North America, I do not generally tip in China and Hong Kong where the 10-15% is added to your bill. Conrad in HKG does this and I think $20-30 per day going to the hotel (and presumably staff) for a service charge is more than enough compensation!

Max Power

When I stay at the Zürich Hilton, it is usually for 2 or 3 months at a time. Tipping is not normally expected in Switzerland, but I like to do something for the staff, because they always go out of their way to look after me.

What I have found is well appreciated is a nice box of chocolates for the front desk staff about every 14 days or so - they are pretty good about sharing it with everyone. Or, if one of the staff are leaving (perhaps a transfer to another hotel, or to go back to school, or whatever), a few bottles of nice wine to help out with the staff going away party.

For the housekeepers, I leave USD $100 for each month that I have stayed. I just put the cash in an envelope and give it to the head of housekeeping or the hotel manager, addressed "to the housekeepers", when I check out.

This seems to me to be a better way of expressing thanks than giving out small amounts of money to people all the time.

Max Power

andrzej

This is my 7th day out of 7 days at he HKG Conrad. Every morning before I went out I left a Thank You note for the housekeeper with a HK$20 note or coins. That's about US $2.50. They seemed to really appreciate the small gesture. I did have a problem with the turn down service. The one time I was actually in my room, it was the same person that did housekeeping in the morning, so I thought that tipping again for the quick service was unnecessary, but last evening I came down from the lounge and it was a different person finishing up the turn down service. I didn't have any change so I let it go, but what's the thinking around here for turn down service? Do you tip for that as well? Especially if you are not in your room for the whole day, which means they don't have to do any housekeeping.

kymbakitty

Calling all of you world travelers out there!

We are using to GLONP next year. We decided NOT to split and stay the full 12 nights somewhere.

What place would be more rewarding for 12 nights....Hong Kong or Singapore? Where would be have more to do?

I'm just starting my research and I'm reading alot about the places...but I would love some feedback on this basic question.

Flying in from San Francisco....any thoughts? Best airline?

Also, a good time to go....to either.

Thank you, thank you, thank you--in advance.

Dawn

Chapel Hill Guy

This is all about personal preference:

I've been to HKG twice and SIN once in the last six months. I would definately choose HKG; I think there's lots more to do there. On one stay in HKG we were there six days and didn't do half of what we wanted. Great city, but then so is SIN. I'll leave it to someone else to chime in on SIN's charms. Have fun.

hfly

12 days in either could be a bit much, especially as it seems that you know little about the places and know no one there (i.e. I could spend a week in HKG just seeing people I know). Singapore is a dull homogenized place populated by people that have been programmed to believe that their location is a mistake of nature. There in fact is nothing really special to do in Singapore for true travellers, there are no great buys, and it is incredibly hot and sticky. Those that really enjoy it, would be just at home in a low rent Dayton, Ohio, Manchester, England, or Stuttgart, Germany. For these are truly the level that SIN is at. It is very clean, there is little crime and extremely civilized, if that is what you want go for it. Personally I cannot take more than 2-3 days at a time there, and much prefer Malaysia, Indonesia or any other country in the vicinity.

HKG is a much better place with much more to do, there are buys to be had and it is a "real" place. There are more options just inside China for you to pursue.

This being said, if you have been to neither, I would suggest that you do not do 12 days in just one or you'll get bored.

kymbakitty

Sounds great...so if we do six nights in Hong Kong, where else can we go (Hilton property, of course) that wouldn't cost an arm and a leg to get to and wouldn't take 6 hours to get there!!!

Thanks!!!! So far, I'm leaning toward Hong Kong...for sure!!

Dawn

kymbakitty

They boast 43 meters on their website...some of the largest hotel rooms in the area.

Ouch...that is less than 142 feet! That is VERY small...heck, the rooms in San Fran are larger than that!!!

Did I miss something here? That is barely enough room to turn around in....

????

Dawn

jkc22

You missed to "square" the conversion rate......

It's 43m2 * 3.3ft2/m2 which roughly equals 468 ft2 (squared!)