I'm always confused about concierge tipping. I have had dinner reservations and airport confirmations made for me but it was not a hard to get reservation. Am I supposed to tip $10-20?

Diane, I don't think so. I only think you should tip them if they do something extraordinary, like get hard to get tickets, or impossible reservations. Of course people will probably tell me I'm wrong, but I thought it was their job to make simple reservations, recommendations, and provide answers.

I'm often accused of over-tipping, but the concierge is one person who doesn't get a lot from me. I agree that if a hotel offers the services of a concierge, then their making standard dinner reservations or giving directions, etc. is simply their job and does not call for a tip. If they get you into a restaurant that was fully booked, or get you last minute tickets to a sold out show, that's another matter -- and deserves a nice tip. When friends couldn't make it into San Franscisco due to a death in the family and we had already gotten their non-returnable tickets to Beach Blanket Babylon, we spoke to the concierge who suggested we leave them with her. By mid afternoon she had sold them and gave us our original price -- so we did give her a $20 tip.

Thanks for the replies. I also thought it was their job and have not been tipping. Not sure if that was right after reading recent posts on the subject.

I've been a concierge and agree with what everyone has said.

ttt.

I have also been perplexed about this area. Not many guides seem to cover. When do you / do you not tip them.

good question...

My take on it is that while it is their job, I do thank them for making my life easier. If they make a simple dinner reservation for me, I tip them a couple of dollars. Some of them just throw a bunch of menus at me to look at...then I don't see the point in tipping. I also won't tip a grumpy one!

I guess I go by that "extra" policy...If I can do it, but they do it instead, I tip. I'll tip the bellboy if he brings my bags to the room, because he made my life easier (even though it's his job). It doesn't make sense to tip the front desk person who checks you in, because you can't do that yourself.

I don't know if my theory makes sense or not. Bottom line, I guess I tip if someone is nice.

Agree on not tipping grumpy or for quick questions. We tend to try popular, new places that do require reservations made in advance of our arrival (via fax request typically). Between making some dinner reservations, providing a few recommendations upon arrival and arranging theatre tickets, we usually will tip between $10-$20. Glad it sounds like we're in the range, agree this is more confusing than most tipping.

I agree with Mina. I was once a concierge in a big tourist area and that seemed to be the norm...just a buck or two for making someone's life/vacation a little easier/nicer. We also received commissions from businesses all over town for sending them business.

for kim!

Up - Thank you for pointing these out to me although I could do without the "!". I'm new to this site and I guess I'm learning that posting anything that may have been posted before is offensive. When you think about it...are there really any new questions?

Up - I apologize for being so nasty in my last post. I looked a my first post and noticed an "!" there too. Sorry, it sounded like I was being yelled at for not doing enough research first. I have seen some very snotty messages on other threads. Those were great and thank you.