Tipping at a B&B
 

I have never stayed at a B&B, but will be in a few weeks. What is the tipping etiquette for room cleaning? In a hotel, I usually leave a few $$ on the day I check out.<BR><BR>Does it matter if the B&B is owned, managed, and run by the same person? Like, is it an insult to tip the owner for cleaning your room at the end of your stay?<BR><BR>Please help!

Jeremy,<BR>I've been staying at b&bs for years, and still haven't come up with an absolute answer.<BR>The question has been discussed before in this forum, with no consensus.<BR>The only thing that I can say with certainty is that a tip for the included breakfast is not expected. I don't know what to do when the b&b serves dinner not included in the price. <BR>I've always heard that a tip is in order for room cleaning if your stay is over one night at hotels. I use that rule with b&bs, and leave a tip the remainder of the stay. I am not sure either what is proper if the owner does all the work.<BR>Tipping at b&bs has always been awkward for me.<BR>Anyone?<BR>

I've stayed at several B&B's, and never left a tip. Perhaps if someone else than the owners made up the room, it would be reasonable, but for breakfast, I would say it was not necessary. I have never had dinner at one.

ttt

I have stayed at hundreds of B&Bs in the USA and Canada and have never left a tip. B&B's are usually very expensive and small owner operated places so I figure they more than made enough money off me already with the $150+ night's stay in what is really just a subsidized house (we guests pay their mortgage so they can live in some wonderful location in a dream luxury house).

As a B&B owner for the past 10 years, I would suggest that tips are not generally expected by the owner. If the property has staff and you have daily room service then use your own discretion -- and you should expect daily room service!<BR><BR>And to Sharon. I don't know the location of the B&B's that you are staying in but in our location, our rooms are in the range you quote and that is half to one quarter of what you pay in the local hotels and you get a full gourmet breakfast, free parking, unlimited concierge service, free internet connection, and a lovely garden to relax in.

B&B's tend to have interesting "policies". We generously tipped every day at breakfast and left a generous tip for the maids recently, only to discover upon checkout that a 20% gratuity/service charge was added to our ENTIRE bill when we checked out. When I questioned this, explaining that we had already left generous gratuities, we were advised that this was "in addition to the room rate". This was not mentioned on their website, or on the confirmation we received in the mail, which I politely pointed out - whereup I was handed a "rate sheet" that is included within the glossy brochures at the front desk (but was not included in the confirmation mailed to us) which included the tiniest of asterisks with a note in the teeniest of fonts that a 20% gratuity/service charge was applicable to the room rates. I also questioned adding a 20% gratuity to the ROOM portion of the tarriff. The proprietor informed me, quite unpleasantly, that "this is our policy" and "we already have your credit card number". Since this was never "communicated" to us on their website, on the phone when I confirmed the arrangements, or upon check-in, I disputed the additional charge with my credit card provider when I received my statement, and the 20% was credited to my account. I sincerely doubt that the staff benefits in any way from that 20% gratuity/service charge. On top of that, there was virtually NO water pressure or hot water when we jumped into the shower. Since there were no phones in the rooms, we had to get dressed and go down to the front desk, whereupon the nasty lady there said only, "well what do you expect when everyone wants to shower at the same time???" Add to that, breakfast, we were informed upon check-in, was available only from 7AM-8AM. (Which would explain why everyone was headed for the shower at the same time, you think?) And, there were no choices whatsoever. "Today we're serving.." Our room could not have been more sparsely decorated and furnished, and looked NOTHING like those on their website. We paid extra for a room with a fireplace, only to discover that "fire regulations" prohibit actually lighting a fire in the fireplace. Huh? We could hear absolutely everything going on the the adjacent rooms...conversations, bathroom activities, and our room was directly above the "common room". Our bed squeaked whenever we were just breathing in and out. So, after not being able to take a decent shower, and rushing down to the kitchen in time for breakfast, and having attempted to sleep in the most uncomfortable bed ever, we were served a really terrible breakfast. Watery juice, positvely awful coffee, and some sort of "flan" with eggs and broccoli, along with "smoked bacon" all of which was entirely unappealing not to mention impossible to even CHEW. All in all, you should be way more concerned with the experiences of others at the specific B&B you've selected than the gratuities....

Oh we are, Marla, we are!<BR>But that doesn't eliminate our concern over tipping, which was, after all, the point of this thread.<BR>Sorry for your bad experience - sounds truey dreadful!