Go Back  FlyerTalk Forums > Travel&Dining > TravelBuzz
Reload this Page >

Tip the guest-relations hostess?

Community
Wiki Posts
Search

Tip the guest-relations hostess?

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old Jul 12, 2007 | 10:08 pm
  #1  
Original Poster
All eyes on you!
25 Years on Site
 
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: LAX
Posts: 3,641
Tip the guest-relations hostess?

I keep pushing the off-topic limit, but don't know a place full of people more likely to have this answer (thanks, tolerant mods): When one gets to bypass the front desk at check-in, is it the norm to tip the guest-relations hostess who meets you and walks you to your room and completes check-in formalities? I've never done that because it doesn't feel right - I hope I haven't been exposing the cretin in me.
JohnAx is offline  
Old Jul 12, 2007 | 11:16 pm
  #2  
KVS
FlyerTalk Evangelist
All eyes on you!
20 Years on Site
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Worldwide
Posts: 12,952
Originally Posted by JohnAx
but don't know a place full of people more likely to have this answer (thanks, tolerant mods)
That magical place is called the TravelBuzz! forum .
KVS is offline  
Old Jul 13, 2007 | 12:32 am
  #3  
Community Director Emerita
50 Countries Visited
80 Nights
5M
100 Countries Visited
 
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Anywhere warm
Posts: 35,584
....and I'm going to move it to that forum, where hopefully helpful FTers will weigh in.

SanDiego1K
OneWorld Moderator
SanDiego1K is offline  
Old Jul 13, 2007 | 2:18 am
  #4  
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Hsinchu (Taiwan), Saigon, London
Programs: EVA (diamond), A3, BMI, VN
Posts: 2,960
It seems odd to me - if a hotel creates a procedure which inconveniences you, and then a method of circumventing it, why should you pay for that?

If someone is appointed to promote "guest relations", why should you pay extra to benefit from that?

So, my answer would be a definite NO and your instincts are correct.

Except perhaps in the context of the US, of course, where a variety of other considerations can apply (see other tipping threads)!
jimbo99 is offline  
Old Jul 13, 2007 | 8:45 am
  #5  
Community Director Emerita
50 Countries Visited
80 Nights
5M
100 Countries Visited
 
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Anywhere warm
Posts: 35,584
Originally Posted by JohnAx
When one gets to bypass the front desk at check-in, is it the norm to tip the guest-relations hostess who meets you and walks you to your room and completes check-in formalities?
This has happened to me reasonably often in Asia. I've never tipped.
SanDiego1K is offline  
Old Jul 13, 2007 | 9:12 am
  #6  
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 370
It seems like some travelers, especially Americans, get so shell-shocked by worrying about whom, whether, and how much to tip, that they go into a sort of tip frenzy, handing out bills to anyone who stands in front of them for more than three seconds. Believe it or not, at one US airport I saw someone try to tip the TSA guy who searched his carry-on! It obviously wasn't a bribe, just some poor soul, maybe a first time traveler, who had gotten to the point of saying, "Person .. has ... bag ... must ... give ... tip ..."
Timfid is offline  
Old Jul 13, 2007 | 9:15 am
  #7  
Suspended
 
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: SEA(sia)
Posts: 5,181
If you dont tip front desk staff, then theres no reason to tip the "hostess" who is performing the same job function but at a more personalised level. At the same time I would not expect them to carry my luggage (since they are not porters) even though they always offer.

It does seem weird to me to tip any hotel staff other than the porters and restaurant wait staff; and sometimes the "hostess" could well be the front office manager. It would have been most insulting to the manager if you offered her a tip (at least outside of america )
mario33 is offline  
Old Jul 14, 2007 | 1:36 am
  #8  
Original Poster
All eyes on you!
25 Years on Site
 
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: LAX
Posts: 3,641
Originally Posted by KVS
That magical place is called the TravelBuzz! forum .
Except that the 'favor' of moving it here has deprived me of replies from a handful of OW contributors whom I "know" - and who appear to exist almost full-time in a world that I only touch periodically. Any kind of advice becomes more valuable the more you know about the advisor.
JohnAx is offline  


Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

This site is owned, operated, and maintained by MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. Copyright © 2026 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Designated trademarks are the property of their respective owners.