obione980

How much should we tip hotel porters, drivers, guides and in restaurants - in Vietnam and Laos?

We are independent travellers.

thursdaysd

See: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/vietnam/...on/money-costs
and: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/laos/pra...on/money-costs

rhkkmk

i would tip in accordance with the service you receive.

restaurants---10-20%

yestravel

We were in VN in February and many places had signs saying per some law or regulation they could only accept VN dong. Don't know how well that was observed. The url above says US $ are widely accepted and I'm not sure that is still the case.

We tipped guides based upon how good they were, about $10 a day for top notch. Same was true for drivers and once we tipped the driver who was excellent the same as a guide who was just ok. We gave hotel porters equivalent of a couple USD--we had 2 small 20" suitcases so not a lot to carry. Restaurants we rounded up or gave about 10-15% . Everyone was extremely appreciative for whatever we gave them. Also gave massage people about 25% of the cost of the massage assuming they were very good.

Have a great trip

crellston

To put tips into some sort of perspective, I usually try to relate it to the context of the economy of where I am visiting. e.g. The average monthly wage for workers in the manufacturing sector in Vietnam is around $110 US per month. $10 is a huge tip in the context of average earnings (i.e. around 3 days wages/the coat of 10 meals at a local restaurant). In the US I would tip in accordance with the local custom of 15-20% in Oz i don't tip.

thursdaysd

I'm with crellston. No reason to tip at US levels. As LP says, while tipping is not necessary, that doesn't mean you shouldn't tip at all, but think European levels rather than US.

Lyndie

crellston..the voice of reason! The logic you've used applies to the price of most services, imho. I asked a taxi driver why he would not take me 500 metres up the hill for 40 baht(I was carrying a 20 litre water bottle). He said "why should I? Some silly farang is going to walk out of this resort and pay me 1000 baht to go 7 kms to Chaweng! I'll always remember that!

magical

Sometimes, I give a tip for good service, and enough to make their day!! It's still reasonable in US dollars.
I enjoyed the service....they can enjoy the day. Easy to do in Asia.Why not??

yestravel

magical -- my thoughts exactly. In US terms it was so little and it made a big difference to the people who provided such good service. It the service didn't warrant it, no tip.

Vientianeboy

Tipping is not expected in Lao. However it is appreciated. I usually leave about 10,000 Kip after a meal, which is a bit over a dollar. Do not tip in hotels.

Vientianeboy

I should point out, that is for an expensive western meal - say about 20-30 dollars.

khunwilko

in the long term tipping large amounts is counter-productive in countries where tipping is not the norm. you;ll notice in areas where tourism is a major part of the economy that tipping becomes expected and consequently the owners of businesses take this into account and try to pay their staff less, citing the amount of shared tips they may or may not receive.

obione980

Thanks All!

fivefatfleas

I'm going to Vietnam soon as well, and from what I've gathered, US$1 or 2 will be appreciated, although tipping isn't really expected. I intend to tip that amount too. As crellston said, US$10 might be 'excessive'.

CaliNurse

agree, Magical and Yestrave i dont decide based on HOW LITTLE they earn to determine a tip- if I am lucky enough to earn what i do, and received great service, darned if i'm gonna give what would be disgracefully low in my country.
Maybe THEY are ok with it, but i am NOT. If they want to call me a "silly farang" for giving more than $1 USD , so be it.

Geordie

I agree with Crellston and fivefatfleas, although tips are not expected in most Asian countries, a small tip will be appreciated.

Speaking with locals in places such as Malaysia and Thailand there is a real resentment towards foreigners especially Americans, for giving out excessive tips. Just a couple of examples, locals in the larger cities find it difficult to get taxis as the drivers are so used to asking for an amount that is exorbitant by local standards but seems very little to a westerner. The driver will refuse to go by the meter and simply drive off, ignoring any pleas. Similarly in restaurants due the expectation of a large tip by their standards, a lot of locals feel they are being ignored and treated like a second class citizen by the wait staff.

There are other situations and social implications of excessive tipping that I could mention, but I'll leave it at that and maybe some of you can look at the bigger picture rather than your own myopic view

lcuy

My daughter learned that same lesson in India. She was living at a women's coop in Varansi. Once the co-op started attracting tourists, the workers couldn't get cycle rickshaws to pick them up there. The drivers knew they could get triple from foreign tourists, so would sit idle rather than work at the normal rates.

I know there are strong feelings on both sides of this topic, but while excessive tipping does make you feel good and doesn't represent a big dent in your wallet, it is certainly not expected and it has consequences for those who follow you.

Same with passing out money and gifts to children on the street. They are so cute and look so happy. Why should they go to school if they can make money for their handlers by begging?

yestravel

Interesting topic and always interesting to read everyone's different perspectives. On tipping guides & drivers, Tonkin Tours in VN, owned and run by Vietnamese, recommends $10 a day for guides and $5 a day for drivers. Am I hearing that some of you think this is way too much?
It seems that basically what I am reading is that "excessive" (and who determines excessive??) can cause locals to have high expectations from others and alter their behavior accordingly? Would the opposite be true? We did not tip taxi drivers more than a $1 or so, same would be true for hotel staff carrying luggage, yet I never had a driver get annoyed with us because we were foreigners who didn't tip more? I have trouble with some of the logic here. I have had this conversation with Vietnamese and none of them have said not to tip because u will set a high expectation for others. To the contrary they have said it is appreciated and while tipping is not expected or the norm it is always appreciated. So who has the answer?

khunwilko

Before tipping it is advisable to get an idea of the regional daily wage. I've seen some people tip way over a day's wages. which is really not productive in the long term.

e.g. Thailand - the basic regional wages are between 150 and 200 baht per 8 hour day.

I think it also helps to think WHY you are tipping rather than how much..... if you want to get special service or a favour, a tip can pay off handsomely. I have always tipped at one free car park near me. A possible benefit maybe that they keep an eye on my car, but the REAL benefit is that when turning up on a holiday or festival day when traffic is appalling I can be sure of a parking place.

khunwilko

PS - high expectations are not really the problem, it is exploitative employers who see the high tipping as a chance to pay low salaries.