Tip inclusive holidays

The team at one of our valued travel partners, Experience Travel Group, has recently taken the considered decision to go tip inclusive on all their holidays.  In essence, this means that all tips for guides, drivers and other experience providers are now included in the cost of your trip.

We at Greenstar Travel work closely with Experience Travel Group to tailor make the most incredible tailor made experiential holidays to Asia.  Read on for more about why they took this forward thinking decision, the consequential benefits and some answered questions.

• When you receive a quote for your holiday, the cost will better reflect the actual cost of your holiday with no hidden costs.

 

• There will be less awkwardness between you and the experience provider in country. This will lead to an overall more positive experience as well as encouraging reciprocal interaction with the people who are keen to show you their home. In addition, this initiative increases security.

 

• There are invariable questions around the amount tipping will add to the overall cost of your holiday. The average tipping cost across an ETG holiday is £30 per day.  There are of course huge variations, for example the expected contribution in Bhutan is £70 per day split between guide and driver and in India the cost is much lower however there are many people to tip along the way.

 

• The tip inclusive element enables ETG to deliver value and do the right thing by the guides that work for them. Tip payments are no longer a ‘tip’ as such but part of their expected income so by including tips, they can ensure that their guides are fairly paid for doing a good job. Of course, in the unusual event of a complaint the tip would be removed and refunded.

 

• All guides are completely aware that any tip is prepaid and understand this which avoids any awkward situations.

 

• Some people have questioned whether guides will lack motivation as a result however normally there is no direct correlation between performance and reward. Some people tip more than others regardless of the guide’s performance and tip what they feel to be ‘right’. A tip therefore serves as a poor motivational tool.

• Guides are well trained and are given regular feedback as well as receiving appreciation for outstanding service. If guides are certain they are being adequately remunerated they are generally likely to be more highly motivated.

 

• Holidays to certain destinations will not be tip-inclusive. For example Thailand, Oman, Hong Kong and Singapore do not have a tipping culture so it would be inappropriate to include tips in the cost of any holiday to these destinations.

 

• Tips for some staff you will encounter on your trip, such as hotel staff, are not included as they are not expected and there is no obligation to tip these staff members. There may be a collective tip box to which you may want to contribute but this is a choice.

 

• By not tipping there are more meaningful ways you can offer your appreciation such as giving a small gift to a guide to take back to their family or by simply saying, thank you!

In short, this approach completely banishes the stressful nightmare of tipping and means the right people are being correctly remunerated for a good day’s work.

What do you think?  Get in touch, we would love to know your thoughts.