Tipping in the Galapagos

August 19, 2016 5:59 AM

My friend and I have had a fantastic 50th birthday vacation in the Galapagos (without luggage, but that's a different story!). We've been staying a boutique hotel. The staff had not only cleaned our room but provided us with breakfast and about half of our dinners. What's the appropriate amount to tip? Searches suggest $1 per day for cleaning staff, but that doesn't seem like enough.
posted by Wet Hen to Travel & Transportation around Ecuador (10 answers total)

Yeah, no, $1 a day is not nearly enough for what they've provided. I don't think there's any hard and fast rule here. I would suggest perhaps 10% of the cost of the stay? For a 5 night stay in a $200 room that would amount to a $100 tip. Maybe that's too generous, but I think that's fair.
posted by bologna on wry at 6:47 AM on August 19, 2016 [2 favorites]

I've usually heard more like $2-3/day (in the US) for cleaning staff, plus I'd tip about the same % you would at a restaurant for each of the meals (if the price was included in your stay, I'd estimate by the cost of a comparable restaurant meal). If you can afford it, there's no better way to celebrate an amazing vacation (IMO) then leaving some extra-generous tips on top of that as well.

Since you're planning on tipping for everything at the end of the stay, I'd be a little concerned about making sure it's distributed appropriately - I'd probably leave a note to make it clear who I intended it for ("thanks so much for making our stay so enjoyable - this is for cleaning and room service!") or even leave a few different, labeled envelopes.
posted by R a c h e l at 6:49 AM on August 19, 2016

Oh, and to me, the $2-3 would be for basic cleaning - if they provide extra services (turndown service, setting up an extra cot, anything requested specially) or if the room is particularly large I'd think $5+/day would be more appropriate.
posted by R a c h e l at 6:51 AM on August 19, 2016 [1 favorite]

I'd tip $5/day for the cleaning staff at minimum, maybe an extra $20 on the way out (since turning a room over is a lot more work and it's a nice way to say "had a great stay, thanks for everything.")

I'd also tip as each meal was delivered, but that's just me. In my experience tipping long after a service has been delivered can be confusing and/or not delivered to the person that actually did the work.
posted by JoeZydeco at 6:59 AM on August 19, 2016 [2 favorites]

Maybe consider how much you would have had to spend on meals etc. if they hadn't provided it for you and factor that in to your tip. All the breakfasts and half the suppers for two people could have cost you a lot I'm guessing.
posted by PuppetMcSockerson at 7:00 AM on August 19, 2016

On a recent stay of several days we left $10-20 for the cleaning staff at the end and went around right before leaving to tip the guy who'd brought breakfasts $10, then tipped the baggage guys on the way out something like $3-5? Local economy can mean adjusting a little (this wasn't in the Galapagos), but I decided on those numbers by deciding that being (at worst) overgenerous could be one of my pleasures of the travel.
posted by ldthomps at 7:12 AM on August 19, 2016

Maybe consider how much you would have had to spend on meals etc.

wait. are you (op) implying that the food was free? or just that the same people also worked on the room service?
posted by andrewcooke at 7:12 AM on August 19, 2016

I've never left less than $5 a day, even at the dumpiest of Motel 6s. For the level of service you're describing, I'd say $10 a day, at the very minimum. And even then I'd feel I was being on the miserly side.
posted by Capt. Renault at 7:33 AM on August 19, 2016

Woof, I've definitely left less than $5/day - we normally leave a buck or two in tip per night for the cleaners.

I'd tip more like $5/day + tips to cover meals (whatever you would have tipped at a restaurant). But it turns out maybe I'm cheap?
posted by samthemander at 8:02 AM on August 19, 2016 [1 favorite]

Good question, andrewcooke. My answer above was based on the interpretation of "provided us with breakfast and about half of our dinners" to mean "we ate free those meals."

If that's not what was meant, then my suggestion is outlandish and I'd scale back my recommendation to somewhere around $5/night.
posted by bologna on wry at 9:17 AM on August 19, 2016