Last week I received a call from a meeting industry colleague who wanted to know what to tell his client about tipping practices when on-site at a hotel for an event. He wanted to know the who, what and when of tipping. For me personally, the task of determining who to reward and how much to give can be taxing, but with some understanding and guidelines, it can be easy to facilitate.
First, I think it’s really important to understand what tipping is. In fact, I prefer the word “gratuity.” The Miriam Webster’s Dictionary defines the word gratuity as “something given voluntarily or beyond obligation usually for some service.” As a manager of meetings and events, I believe that a gratuity is definitely a voluntary action – not required, not contracted for, and most importantly not to be expected. It is my choice or option to reward those who serve me well and who go beyond the call of duty, those who exceed my expectation with their performance. It is not, however, payment given for doing one’s job. And sometimes, that’s where it can get difficult.
So here are my tips for giving gratuities to hotel staff while on site for a meeting or event:
– Define a structure for tipping: Take a look at the variety and level of positions for which you may tip, the amount of spend you anticipate at the hotel, the difficulty of the work or services provided, and what defines “beyond the call of duty” for you.
– Create a range of tipping that seems appropriate to the position and job requirements. For instance, for a Banquet Captain who manages three plated breakfast sessions for 100 people, you may have a range of $50.00 – $100.00 for exceptional service. Consider the following when determining an amount: was the team friendly? Was the food served on time and hot? Were special needs acknowledged and met without issue? Were all directions for set-up and presentation followed? Were last minute details met with a positive, helping attitude?
– Direct your team to be aware of and note those employees who are deserving of gratuities, their full name, department and reason for gratuity.
– Be sure not to forget bellmen, housemen, front guest personnel or others who are at your beck and call, and are responsive to your present needs.
– Always extend a gratuity with a note of written thanks, and make sure your Conference Service Manager or hotel sales person know who you’ve recognized for a job well done. Also, remember that your sales person gets paid commission on your group, and shouldn’t be paid a gratuity unless they’ve really exceeded your expectations.
If you’d like to receive a PDF of my tipping guidelines in detail, email me at pick-my-brain@laureligroup.com
Next week’s Topic: Ethics and Integrity
