I would like to put forward a question to all GUESTS at lodges and rather have answers from guests themselves reading Fodors then from travel agents etc.

My question is:
Why do people always fell sorry for local guides and give them larger tips?

The reason I am asking this question is:
Point 1
I guided for many years. I decided to leave the industry to start an 8-5 job in the city. One of my pet hates was watching local guides chat to their guests about how they do not get to see family often, money is hard to come by etc etc. So many people fall for this as well. The first thing I thought of is why within a few minutes of meeting a guest you would be on those subjects anyway? I have sat at the table with local guides and had guests ask me to my face when do I go on leave. They would ask a local guide the exact same question. Naturally we would have the same leave. 100% of the time I would get no comment or "that sounds nice" and almost 100% of the time the immediate reaction to the same amount of leave the local guide had was "oh my! When do you get to see your family etc.
Point 2:
Tips. I have had some fantastic tips in my life. I can also say that I was highly qualified as a guide and my knowledge was good. I can also say with confidence that I was a pretty good guide because the industry relies a lot on personality and I received excellent feedback 99% of the time. Now why were my tips on average far higher then any other guide (many of them some of the best guides I have ever been in contact with in the industry) BUT very seldom as high as the majority of local guides. Many people could argue and say because of A, B or C but the fact is that guests automatically 'feel sorry' for local guides in Africa for whatever reason. This impacted on me to quite a large extent and is one of the reasons I left the industry.

Maybe this post will hit a nerve with some guests but just something to think about. It is fact as well. Maybe someone else out there (a fellow guide or manager or experenced safari goer) will love the fact that I posted this and may even post their own feelings on this subject. Welcome.

Very true example to ponder on. I drove some guests. I gave them the experience of their lives according to them. They did not tip me at all (will not give away Nationality as some nationalities definitely tip more). I actually moved jobs and these same guests were clients at my new job. Naturally we were suprised to see each other. I had just got back from leave and they had been with a local guide for two nights. They requested to swap and go with me. I saw them tip the local guide. Two nights later they left, once again complimenting me on a job well done and leaving as even better friends. They did not tip me. I never did reply to their e mails. That was a huge 'wake up call' to me.

Hi Daltond -

I can tell you this about the tipping that I have done in the past year to my guides. The tips that I leave are based on my experience and whether or not the guide made my trip or portion of my trip wonderful. My family and I were in Kenya last May and had three different guides as we were at three different parks and all three of them received different tips.Our tips were not related to how often they got to see their families or what they made but based on our experience. The second guide was the absolute worst and as such he received the lowest tip. Our third and final guide was fantastic and he received the best tip of all. He was wonderful and really helped to make our time in the Mara a dream come true. It is something we still talk about today when we are all together. We also brought t-shirts from our home town (Chicago) and gave them to each (not the second driver but we did give it to somebody at camp who gave us excellent service)of our drivers as a token of our appreciation. It was a last minute idea but the smiles we received made it all worth it.

My Mom and I followed the same type of tipping when we were in Morocco. It is based on your knowledge of the area and more importantly your passion for what you do. If you can pass that excitement on to me and make me even more excited than congrats to you and I will tip you accordingly.

Hope this helps!

Hello daltond,
I don’t recognise this situation at all and I don’t understand why anyone would feel more “sorry” for a local guide. I’ve been to Kenya and local guides at camps see their families a lot more than guides from Nairobi. Or, are you an expat living your dream in Africa and the “locals” are the citizens of the country? Then I certainly understand why the guests didn’t feel sorry for you. Or, are you a white African from the city calling black people from the countryside “locals”? Then maybe the guests confused you with some kind of expat doing guiding for fun. Anyway, I’ve never felt sorry for a guide; local or not, they probably earn more money than the average citizen in all African countries and I’ve never met a guide who felt sorry for himself. I feel sorry for people with boring jobs (like myself) and who in Africa also are paid very low salaries. When tipping I investigate what’s expected and try to tip a little bit more than that, not because I’ve “felt sorry” for the guides and not even because they’ve been particularly competent, but because I want them to like me. You’re probably from some country I haven’t been to. I’d have tipped you.

I have never had that feeling for any guide,local or others.I think they have a very nice job and much better tips than ,for example ,the staff cleaning the tents..etc.

After 5 safaris i have never had a guide telling me about how much time he is away from the family or things like that,unless i ask.

I always tip my guides for the quality of service i get and for what is usual to tip per person per day in that area or country.

Paco.

Daltond

I don't have a lot of experience with a variety of lodges but I'm honestly having trouble relating to your post. Neither my game ranger nor tracker nor anyone else where I stayed ever made me feel like I should feel sorry of them. They were all incredibly upbeat and seemed to love their jobs. Our tip was based on what was we had researched to be the "standard" tip and because we were so happy with our game ranger and tracker and the overall staff we gave more than the standard. This was not a "pity" tip but a thank you for such a wonderful experience.

Bob

For me it's the quality experience that determines the size of the tip. I've had both local and non-local guides and have heard the sob stories from both. I don't mind hearing the complaints or woes at all, makes for interesting talk over sundowners. I don't necessarily feel sorry for them, and it doesn't make me give a larger tip, but give me an experience of a lifetime (Foster at Somalisa) and your tip will be quite large. Let your problems at home take over your attitude and way you guide, and your tip will be quite small.

I have never been given a sob story about anything by any guide whether local or not. When I ask in general terms about a guide's personal life, usually the answers indicate a much tougher existence than mine. But I tip only on service, not on circumstances and have been very pleased with the efforts of my guides/rangers/trackers. Perhaps seeking sympathy tips is more common in a certain region that I have not visited and that's why I've never encountered it.

I cannot imagine guests who were pleased with your services not tipping you. Did they perhaps think you were the camp manager? Even in that situation, if the manager acts as my guide, I have always tip.

How annoying to come out on the short end of the tips so often for something you cannot control.

daltond,
What's your definition of "local"?

Can't say I've had any guide give me a sob story either.

Daltond,

I have to say that my tips are based on the amount of time that I have spent with the guide, and the quality of that time. If the guide has gone out of his (sorry I haven't had a female guide -yet)way to make me happy, it = higher tip. I usually arrive pretty educated on what is going on in the area that I am visiting, but I do want to hear from a "locals" perspective. I don't want a "sob story", nor have I heard any, and folks are usually a little hesitant to discuss the realities of how bad it is (in Zim at least, I have found that they have quite an upbeat, make a plan and work around it attitude). I have not heard any "sob stories" in any of my travels, and I think if I were to have someone really lay it on heavy, it would turn me off.

Generally my guiding time has been broken into two sections with two wonderful guides, who get the same amount of tip per day spent with them, same for their camp staff, unless there is a problem or special occurrence noted, then that is taken into consideration as well.

In 13/years haven't heard a sob story from a guide, ranger, tracker or staff member in southern or eastern Africa.

If you mean by others, those guides/rangers from another country, well, yes... as the case of many white Zimbabweans who have left and are working in South Africa and Botswana and Kenya/Tanzania. Is this the difference - "other"? Black vs white?

Have I asked guides/rangers or staff about their schedules, time off from work, families, etc.? Of course, as often it's general conversation as they are interested in us visitors. Never once have I heard a complaint. Most, in fact, are pleased to be working and meeting visitors from all over the world.

Do these folks have favorite visitors - friendly, pleasant to work with/for, sense or humor, particular interests, better or worse tippers? Sure? Not unusual in the tourism business. Even a friend of mine, an American tour guide who takes travelers around the US, Europe, Japan, South American has made mention about different nationalities, very similar to those workers in Africa.

Sorry though about those clients who didn't tip you in either of your positions. Yet tipped the "local" guide. Weird!

"I cannot imagine guests who were pleased with your services not tipping you."

You're from a culture where tipping is quite common, other people are not. I'm surprised that you don't know these differences.

All I can say is that people are funny. I would have been suspicious of your story (perhaps assuming that you didn't really provide a quality guiding experience with a good attitude), except that I have to admit that I also experienced biased tipping in a totally different context.

Years ago, while working at a resort in the Catskills, I received about half the tips of some of my co-workers. The guests were very overt about the reason why: I was simply in the wrong demographic. This is not an inference or an interpretation on my part, as they came right out and bluntly explained. "I love you dahlink, but I'm only giving you $xx because you are not yyy."

At the end of the season, I found out that some of the other staff actually invented different backgrounds for themselves, because a simple difference in background definitely boiled down to a difference in tips.

It's just the way people are.

I don't know what culture the non-tipping guests are from.

I tip solely on the quality of the guiding and how myuch trouble the guide is going to for his guests.

This sometimes means a large tip, a small tip or no tip at all.

Geoff.

GeoffG,

Hope you have not had too many no tips, which would indicate a poor experience.

atravelynn -- wikipedia has a good guide about tipping in different countries, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tipping_by_region. You also should search the web for tipping in Asia.

I've had guides that grew up within a few miles of the camp, guides that grew up in a city environment in that country and guides who are of different nationalities. It would not occur to me to tip them differently because they are or are not local.

I tip according to how good an experience we have had (and, most especially, according to how much effort/skills they have put into that).

Nor have I experienced guides giving me any sob story about their holiday allowance, financial situation or anything else in an attempt to solicit sympathy/ larger tips.

Occasionally, where we have developed a strong rapport with a particular guide (usually where we've been lucky enough to have the guide/ vehicle to ourselves, despite not booking such) I've asked more about their family, backgrounds and so on.

One of our guides did indeed grow up very local to the reserve we were visiting. We learned that he was not only supporting his wife and children and his parents but also his sibling's family (can't remember whether it was brother/sister any longer) including their children. He was very proud and happy to be doing this and elated to be able to do so by sharing the local wildlife and environment with visitors. He was slowly buying the materials needed to build a proper house for the extended family. We saw the pile of bricks and roof tiles he'd purchased so far. And he was just a young man. It was certainly inspiring to see such resolve, responsibility from such a young guy and there was never a single moment when we felt he was trying to tap us for sympathy.

When we were leaving, the camp manager asked if we could drop him at the main road, about half an hour's drive out of the reserve, as he was going home on leave. Instead, we offered to drive him to his home which was only 20 minutes out of our way.

It was a pleasure meeting his family and seeing where he grew up. Our tip to him (which we gave him on leaving camp) was no more than it would have been had he been from a different demographic - it simply reflected the skills he had and how he'd used those skills, plus his personality and efforts, to really give us a great experience.

But what we did do was, on finishing the rest of our trip in SA, left some items including wildlife guide books, a cooler box, some long-life grocery items that we hadn't used (we'd self-catered quite a bit), some gloves and a few other bits. We parcelled them up and gave them tot the tour operator rep to get to him. Perhaps it's fair to say we may not have taken that action had we not had the understanding we did of his personal situation. Who knows?

Daltond,

I certainly agree with you to a large degree. Though I think your phrasing of feeling sorry for has thrown a number of people.

I know plenty of guides who have spoken to guests about the fact they do not get to see their families etc.To what extent this influences tipping I think is ambiguous.

In some cases, it is more off putting to hear tales of woe on your holiday. You get enough of those through spam mail...............

I do believe though, that there is some kind of sub-conscience difference when certain people tip. It does relate to lifestyle and families, though not quite in the way that you portrayed. Most people look at white guide and often associate them with a western lifestyle. They probably look at a black guide and think, he lives in mud hut near the reserve. I feel that the larger tips in some instances is the 'well being' factor derived from helping the local fella. Who stereotypically has large family etc etc.

I think people often see a white guide as someone on a bit of a jaunt. With all of South Africa's racial past, perhaps people perceive all white africans as in a position of comfort, so sub-conscienously give less.

For example, talk to a white guide, they have been to Europe etc. Talk to a local guide and they have been to jo'burg twice if you catch my drift.

Overall, people are trying to say thank you for a job well done, though in some cases, people give more, getting almost that feeling of goodness like a charitable feeling.

PS

Worst tippers ( Generally)

French
Germans

Best Tippers

Americans

I often find this is done to flaunt wealth rather than to reward. This is certainly not limited to Americans. Though I used them as an example as they generally reward the best, though are often brash too.

The brashness of some Americans and tendency to tip heavier may have been summed up by a Tanzanian guide I had. When I was asking about his take on the different nationalities he replied, "Americans are cowboys and big tippers."

I have also found a loose correlation between wealth--or at least flaunting of purported wealth--and the size of the tip. It is negative.

If you or a family member is dependent on tipping income, it also has an impact on the tipping decision. I have some unbelievable tipping (or lack thereof) tales from a non-safari environment.

Moving off of tipping for the moment, the difference in the perceptions of nationalities can be evident in other situations. When a lodge where I was supposed to stay was overbooked, I was taken to a 9 x 12 tent a few kilometers away, set up along a riverbank. The explanation was that Americans and Australians are routinely relegated to these canvas accommodations when there is an overbooking problem because they see it as an adventure.

On the other hand, the management would never consider ousting French guests from the lodge and sending them to the tents by the river. Even though it was my very first night on a safari, the stay in the 9 x 12 was highly memorable and indeed an enjoyable adventure, so I guess they had me figured out correctly.

Lynn,

I am sure that everyone's first safari is very memorable (I know mine was!), and on yours you were not only kissed by a Cheetah but were also relegated to an adventurous night in a distant tent by the river on your first night! Is it too much to hope that you might have written an old trip report about that first safari???

rickmck