Concierge
Tipping the crew, the staff and the driver
The part of every trip nobody explains. What is customary on a yacht, in a villa, in a restaurant in eleven countries, and how it is handed over without awkwardness.
Members ask about tipping more than about anything else, and always quietly. The rules are simple once they are written down, and the desk applies the same ones on every trip. Here they are.
The yacht
Ten to fifteen per cent of the base rate, given to the captain at the end of the charter in cash or by transfer, to share among the crew by their own custom. It is not in the contract and it is universally expected. A week that was extraordinary earns the top of the range; a week that was ordinary earns the bottom, not nothing.
The villa
Five to ten per cent of the rental, or an envelope per member of staff for a small team, handed to the house manager on the last day with a word about who did what. A chef who cooked every night gets his own envelope, ten to fifteen per cent of his bill.
The restaurant
This is where the countries differ. In France and Monaco service is included by law and rounding up is generous. In Italy, Spain and Greece five to ten per cent in cash is appreciated and not expected. In Croatia ten per cent is the norm. In the Gulf a ten per cent service charge is on the bill and a further five to ten is customary. In the Maldives ten per cent is included by law. In the United Kingdom 12.5 per cent is on the bill. In the United States eighteen to twenty-two per cent is the norm and not optional.
The driver, the guide, the therapist
Ten to fifteen per cent of the day rate or the bill, in cash, at the end. For a driver on a longer engagement the desk settles it through the office so that nobody is handing over envelopes every evening.
The hotel
Housekeeping five to ten euros a day left in the room, porters two to five a bag, and the concierge twenty to fifty for a real favour, given at the end of the stay with thanks. The general manager is not tipped; the general manager is thanked.
How to hand it over
On a yacht, to the captain, at the end, with the words for the crew. In a villa, to the house manager. In a restaurant, on the bill or in cash on the table. Never to the owner, never in public, never with ceremony. The desk carries cash in the right currency for exactly this, and arranges the transfer when cash is not wanted.
Use it now
Tipping Guide
What to give the crew, the villa staff, the chef, the driver and the restaurant, in eleven countries, with the amounts worked out.
