tipping house & grounds staff

[glencliff1]

:cool: I'm renting a house in soliman bay...What is correct amount to tip house keeper? Does anyone tip the folks raking the beach in the mornings? Will be there 1 week.
and of course thankyou everyone for for your posts!

3 days til tulum!

[CindyM]

We rented a house on Soliman Bay......we tipped the husband/wife team, the husband then tipped the gardener. We took a percentage of our stay, not sure what the percentage was. I think there tipping tips on Locogringo website.

[CindyM]

This is from locogringo.com FAQ section:

How much should I tip at a restaurant? How much should I tip the staff if I rent a house?
Usually 15%, 20% if you had good service and food. Not less than 10% if you were satisfied. If you rent a house, usually the recommendation is to tip 5% of the rental fee for the week if the staff was attentive.

Our staff we VERY attentive.

[minniemex]

I like to tip daily and I do remember someone saying that they tipped the man raking the beach and he was very pleased. They got the impression that he really never saw any tips. Really is up to you and what you are comfortable with tipping.

[beachreader]

I tend to tip the cleaning staff daily if I'm staying at a hotel, but if I were renting a house, I think I'd give one big tip at the end and ask that it be shared around. Since a house has a smaller staff, I think that would work, but at hotels, you never know who you'll get if you wait until the end.

Many places, even at hotels, the staff shares out their tips, but I'll still give more if I like someone because even if they're sharing out their tips, at least they'll know they did well.

[Lynnette]

When you arrive, the recommendation for tipping the caretakers should be listed in your welcome packet. We rented a casita on Soliman, and I believe it was 10% of the total cost....it was well deserved!!!! :)

[hummingbird_206]

Does it matter if the tip is in Pesos or Dollars?

[PhyllisB]

I usually try to tip in pesos, I think it's more considerate -- and saves them a trip to the bank to change the money. But I have occasionally used dollars when I've run out of pesos.

[beachreader]

Some canny local (a bartender, I think) told me that he liked getting tipped in dollars, because most folks would give either $1 bills or 10 pesos. As we know, the exchange rate means that $1 is worth more than 10 pesos (say, 10.60 or so), so even though it meant he had to go stand in line, he felt he got more money that way.

But that was a canny local in Playa, where they get dollars all the time and the bank is a short walk away. In Tulum, maybe not so much. I'm with Phyllis, I use pesos unless I run out.

[PhyllisB]

That's interesting, BR - never thought about it from that perspective before...

[Lynnette]

I try to pay in pesos in Tulum...it does save them a very long wait in line at the bank. I was told by a local, that they also have to pay a small fee for the dollar to peso exchange....I don't know if that's a fact, but a consideration.

[AdGuy]

By the way, one thing to look out for on your restaurant bill is if a 10% propina is already included. Many places will factor that in as a "convenience" to their customers. :rolleyes: