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Old Oct 16, 2018, 5:47 pm
  #1  
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Club lounge bill and gratuity

Sitting the the Westin Chicago River North and was handed this. I've never seen this before and seems really tacky to me. Are the other properties that do this as well? I'm going to leave it as is..
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Old Oct 16, 2018, 5:51 pm
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Originally Posted by GoSh4rks
Sitting the the Westin Chicago River North and was handed this. I've never seen this before and seems really tacky to me. Are the other properties that do this as well? I'm going to leave it as is..
No, I have never seen that at any lounge for any hotel brand. That is tacky.
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Old Oct 16, 2018, 5:57 pm
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I believe this lounge also tries to charge an outrageous fee for extra guests if I recall correctly.
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Old Oct 16, 2018, 7:19 pm
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Probably the result of too many cheapos who don't just leave a decent tip unprompted.
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Old Oct 16, 2018, 7:35 pm
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OTOH if it discourages lounge use by those who don't legitimately have lounge access, this could be a good thing. If someone doesn't have a room with lounge access and isn't eligible to use the lounge due to elite status, having them sign the "bill" to the room and then be billed the "guest" charge or more IMO would be a good thing.

I've certainly been annoyed at times when a large group pays for one clue level room and then they hold the door open so that twenty or thirty of their friends can take over the lounge, of course instantly picking it clean and often moving furniture and leaving a mess when they finally leave.
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Old Oct 16, 2018, 7:58 pm
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I would handle a "bill" like that the same as I handle the tip envelope that Marriott tried to implement a few years ago. Tear it up and leave it on the table.
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Old Oct 16, 2018, 8:07 pm
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Originally Posted by Often1
Probably the result of too many cheapos who don't just leave a decent tip unprompted.
Originally Posted by catocony
I would handle a "bill" like that the same as I handle the tip envelope that Marriott tried to implement a few years ago. Tear it up and leave it on the table.
Yup. Gonna be two distinct viewpoints on this topic.
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Old Oct 16, 2018, 8:17 pm
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Was anyone actually serving you? The bill says 'buffet', so I'm assuming not. What service was provided?
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Old Oct 16, 2018, 8:23 pm
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Yes, many lounges do it, and it is tacky.

Originally Posted by Often1
Probably the result of too many cheapos who don't just leave a decent tip unprompted.
If you have to ask for a tip, you obviously didn't do your job well enough to earn it.
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Old Oct 16, 2018, 8:29 pm
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Why don't you leave a 20% tip? Last I checked, 20% of 0 is 0.
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Old Oct 16, 2018, 8:31 pm
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Originally Posted by blaz
Why don't you leave a 20% tip? Last I checked, 20% of 0 is 0.
Plus, zero is a nice and very round number, so the employees can't complain that you're giving an odd amount as a tip.
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Old Oct 16, 2018, 8:56 pm
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Originally Posted by TBD
Was anyone actually serving you? The bill says 'buffet', so I'm assuming not. What service was provided?
nope. She did come by to pick up a plate and to drop off the “bill”
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Old Oct 16, 2018, 9:17 pm
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Had this before at the Intercontinental Johannesburg Sandton Towers...

i found it weird too... and actually the bill often may have a cost on it but they would just remove it at checkout without question.
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Old Oct 16, 2018, 9:36 pm
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Originally Posted by Often1
Probably the result of too many cheapos who don't just leave a decent tip unprompted.
Heinous opinion. You have got to stop letting your overpaid consulting career get to your head. Just because you have $20s to throw around does not mean your fellow travelers ought to.

You are the same poster who gets all worked up at the slightest infraction of name-calling etiquette (when passengers call FAs "stewardess" for example) yet here you are labeling hotel guests as "cheapos" when there is no basis for them to know there is any norm of tipping at all.

I don't leave tips at hotel lounges unless I receive table service.
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Old Oct 16, 2018, 9:41 pm
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The former Westin Diplomat near Miami used to be very aggressive with this in lounge. They would bring the $0 bill almost immediately after taking a seat and then circle around aimlessly to keep an eye on it.
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