hotel tipping?
Mar 1st, 2005, 09:04 AM
#1
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hotel tipping?
We will be staying in a few small B&B's and hotels while on our trip in a few weeks. Do we leave a tip for the maids as we do here?
Also,should I book our seat on the train from Rome to Chiusi, and Florence to Venice via trenitalia from home, or is it easy to just get tickets at the train staion? Grazie!
Also,should I book our seat on the train from Rome to Chiusi, and Florence to Venice via trenitalia from home, or is it easy to just get tickets at the train staion? Grazie!
Mar 1st, 2005, 09:35 AM
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Get the train tickets in Italy as they will cost you considerably more if you buy them here. I would get them in advance of the day of travel (just to have less hassle when you are at the station, with luggage, etc). You can walk in to most travel agents and purchase train tickets with no extra fee for the service.
Mar 1st, 2005, 10:28 AM
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After 3 years running at Palazzo Piccolomini in Orvieto, not only did I tip the maids, but I got big farewell hugs from both of them. If anything, it is much more personal at smaller hotels. You will probably WANT to tip the maids!
Mar 1st, 2005, 10:49 AM
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Tip the maids and if the concierge does anything fabulous for you, like re-booking a flight, or getting you opera tickets, tip him/her, too.
Marilyn's advice about the trains is spot-on!
Buon Viaggio,
BC
Marilyn's advice about the trains is spot-on!
Buon Viaggio,
BC
Mar 1st, 2005, 06:22 PM
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I went and found them the morning I was leaving and handed them the money directly (I think it was 10 euros each) and thanked them. If I had not known them so personally, I probably would have asked the desk clerk what the proper word for "housekeeping" was or what their names were so I could leave them each an envelope in my room.
Mar 2nd, 2005, 06:30 AM
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I make up small envelopes at home with the hotel name on it... then I leave that on the bed as I go out each morning with a 2€ coin in it. That way, whoever comes in to clean will get the tip that day. As we called up the elevator at the end of one visit, the maid called out in the hallway to us and ran up to shake our hands. Very sweet - that never happened before.
Mar 2nd, 2005, 06:43 AM
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I do kind of a hybrid thing between Marilyn's method and TravelNut's method. I bring envelopes from home, and leave a daily tip--a Euro or two for the maid. On the day I check out, I seek out whoever waited on me in the breakfast room, or carried my bags, and have their tip in an envelope I hand to them. I think they really appreciate it, but I was impressed enough with the service to begin with, so it all works out---I like to think of it as positive reinforcement!
BC
BC
Mar 2nd, 2005, 08:03 AM
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I do the same thing, but without the envelope. I always leave a few euros just on the unmade bed next to the pillow for whomever cleans up my room each day. I don't always take breakfast in the hotels, but I ALWAYS have coffee delivered to my room first thing in the morning and I alway tip them a euro or two, just handing it to them. I feel that it is always apprecitated, just as I am very appreciative of their work for me...I wish someone would bring me coffee in bed every morning at home...and then make it up for me after I leave for work.
Mar 2nd, 2005, 08:55 AM
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Housekeeper in French is "Femme de chambre". And I also do the 2euros on the pillow. Five years ago the reception clerck did several reservations for us so with the regular tips on our last day we included a box of cholocats. He remember our name to this day...Good investement.
Mar 2nd, 2005, 09:29 AM
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Charities send us many notecards, hoping to inspire us to donate, so I take a handful of them to use as tip envelopes. I write thank you in their language on the card, although in China i needed help.
I used to just leave the tip at departure, but then I realized that could lead to one person getting another's tips, so I switched to daily.
I used to just leave the tip at departure, but then I realized that could lead to one person getting another's tips, so I switched to daily.
Mar 2nd, 2005, 02:07 PM
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Hi grammy,
Unlike the US, service personnel in Europe are paid a living wage. Tips are not expected, except for extraordinary performance.
You can purchase your tickets at www.trenitalia.com/en up to 60 days in advance, for the same price as you would pay in Italy.
You will get an e-ticket type confirmation. For ES* trains this is all you need.
For other trains, take your confirmation and the same credit card to the station and get your ticket.
For other trains, you have to
Unlike the US, service personnel in Europe are paid a living wage. Tips are not expected, except for extraordinary performance.
You can purchase your tickets at www.trenitalia.com/en up to 60 days in advance, for the same price as you would pay in Italy.
You will get an e-ticket type confirmation. For ES* trains this is all you need.
For other trains, take your confirmation and the same credit card to the station and get your ticket.
For other trains, you have to
Mar 2nd, 2005, 02:40 PM
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ira, has trenitalia changed its pricing? I could swear the first time I purchased tickets from the US I discovered I had paid about 30% more than I would have in Italy. Is it possible I ordered those through an intermediary site? It was about 5 years ago so I can't quite recall.
Mar 2nd, 2005, 02:41 PM
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I've been interested to read this thread. I have a suspicion (but no proof) that many Americans, having been conditioned to tip in their own country, find it difficult to shake the habit when visiting countries that have a different approach to recompense - perhaps even feel miserly and guilty if they don't. Coming from a part of the world where hospitality staff are paid a decent wage I don't have this problem. In fact I was a week into our US visit before I remembered that we should have been tipping the chambermaids (something that you'd never do in Australia), and so we were probably remembered less than fondly as The Scrooges in Room 1904 for some time.
With that in mind I'd like to be sure that I do the right thing in Europe. If a staff member is being paid adequately for bringing me coffee in bed I don't see that they're doing me a favour requiring a cash donation. In my past incarnations as a customer service officer, salesman etc. I have no recollection of being tipped by my customers - I was, after all, doing what my employers paid me to do. However, as definitions of "a living wage", may vary, I'd also be interested to see more opinions.
With that in mind I'd like to be sure that I do the right thing in Europe. If a staff member is being paid adequately for bringing me coffee in bed I don't see that they're doing me a favour requiring a cash donation. In my past incarnations as a customer service officer, salesman etc. I have no recollection of being tipped by my customers - I was, after all, doing what my employers paid me to do. However, as definitions of "a living wage", may vary, I'd also be interested to see more opinions.
Mar 2nd, 2005, 02:45 PM
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Neil, I did have a difficult time adjusting in Australia to the concept of not tipping much, if at all. And I found the service people there to be some of the most cheerful, friendly, and helpful of any I've encountered.
Mar 2nd, 2005, 02:46 PM
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Neil, I think you have a good point. I've noticed that people, where tips aren't expected, seem to expect something from me when they find out I'm American. I've also heard people from European countries that I'm not visiting complain that Americans are ruining things by setting expectations.
