Tipping at Grand Luxxe NV????? Housekeeping and drivers

[radley]

At the Grand Luxxe RM we were told at check in by the concierge that weekly envelopes would be left in our apartment to tip the housekeeping staff. They also gave us a clear idea of how much to tip.

I found that a bit surprising but also very easy. Here in NV there are no envelopes .....How much do you tip the housekeeping staff at NV?

Thanks

Radley

 

[Eric B]

We give about the same as in RM. your concierge has envelopes if you ask; they should know at least the day maids’ names; we just checked out and got envelopes from ours with the maids’ names printed on them for tips.

No idea why they do things differently, but they’re much less overt about it in NV. Don’t forget to mention folks by name in the survey when you check out, too. It has an impact on bonuses and whether they are offered permanent jobs.

 

[bizaro86]

How much did they tell you to tip at RM, do you recall? We had an envelope but no suggestions. We are going to NV in October, so I'd love to know

 

[T-Dot-Traveller]

We give about the same as in RM. your concierge has envelopes if you ask; they should know at least the day maids’ names;

Don’t forget to mention folks by name in the survey when you check out, too. It has an impact on bonuses and whether they are offered permanent jobs.

Yes -this is VERY important for housekeeping , Joy Squad , front desk , bell staff , pool restaurant service etc - that you mention names in the survey.

At MP- PV - Marina we tip about 800 pesos / $ 45 USD week / to the daily housekeeper / usually a day or 2 before check out
We also will do 20 pesos nightly to the evening turn down housekeeper .


We also ask the housekeeper if they want any food & fridge leftovers. They have always said yes.
I generally bring a disposable fold flat cardboard cooler and / or pick up cardboard boxes at OXXO.
I will sometimes buy McCormack’s instead of Great Value / Walmart’s house brand - so we can leave
half a jar of name brand strawberry jam etc .

 

[Eric B]

Someone told us that the waitstaff earns about 1,800 pesos in salary every 15 days, so they rely pretty heavily on tips. Individual waiters get to keep 75% of what you tip, with the other 25% shared with the cooks & dishwashers. Tipping isn’t mandatory, of course, and the cost of living is significantly lower there. All in all, they probably do a bit better than folks outside of the ones that customarily are tipped, but that salary is pretty darn small.

Also, only one or two in each restaurant or bar have permanent jobs that pay year round with some vacation. The rest are on their own in the low season when some of the facilities get closed. How you treat them matters.

 

[T-Dot-Traveller]

I was told this as well : by a bell staff member - he had a full time contract .

A few days later-
We had them store our luggage after checking out - (since we had a evening flight)
When I went to get it and gave him the ticket ; he basically had me give the tip to the younger/ part time /seasonal staff member who actually went and got our bags .

 

[Passepartout]

In Mexico, don't count on management passing through the gratuities you intend to the people who actually help make your stay more enjoyable, place the tip you intend them to have- IN THEIR HANDS. It doesn't need to be an amount you would tip in the USA, but believe me, they will appreciate it and do anything in their power to make your stay the best it can be!
I gave our daily maid the tip I was going to leave, but at the beginning of our stay instead of as checking out, and we had more towels than we could possibly use, and fresh flowers on the table every day (wife was impressed). Who knows what extra she did?

Jim

 

[dmurray007]

In Mexico, don't count on management passing through the gratuities you intend to the people who actually help make your stay more enjoyable, place the tip you intend them to have- IN THEIR HANDS. It doesn't need to be an amount you would tip in the USA, but believe me, they will appreciate it and do anything in their power to make your stay the best it can be!
I gave our daily maid the tip I was going to leave, but at the beginning of our stay instead of as checking out, and we had more towels than we could possibly use, and fresh flowers on the table every day (wife was impressed). Who knows what extra she did?

Jim

I did it slightly differently because it is not the same maid every day what we have done is leave a tip daily for the housekeeping staff, basically, the same result, tip the bellhop, tip the driver, tip the wait staff etc. and if you can, record their names and put on the survey

 

[Suncoast]

Thank you for bringing this topic up. I Have always wondered if the automatically included tip on the bill at the restaurant was fair or if I should leave extra, cash or on account? Also I would like to know the percent of how much the automatic tip is, does any one know that?

 

[Eric B]

Thank you for bringing this topic up. I Have always wondered if the automatically included tip on the bill at the restaurant was fair or if I should leave extra, cash or on account? Also I would like to know the percent of how much the automatic tip is, does any one know that?

If there is an automatic tip or service charge, the menu or the bill should show you what the percentage is. At Grand Luxxe (Vidanta), there isn't an automatic tip included in any of the bills. What place were you asking about?

 

[Suncoast]

We have stayed as GB and GL guests, all at RM so far and all restaurant receipts state ‘tip included’ once a server at Poolside in Saturio actually pointed it out. We had already noticed but I thought it was great he did that.

 

[Suncoast]

 

[Hineschr]

10 percent is put on automatically

I left $10 for the day and night staff for 4 nights. That's more than i usually tip here in usa but didn't know i should have left more

 

[Eric B]

10 percent is put on automatically

I left $10 for the day and night staff for 4 nights. That's more than i usually tip here in usa but didn't know i should have left more

That's odd; I don't remember a 10% charge for anything. What bill was that on and what was it labeled?

 

[PamMo]

We have stayed as GB and GL guests, all at RM so far and all restaurant receipts state ‘tip included’ once a server at Poolside in Saturio actually pointed it out. We had already noticed but I thought it was great he did that.

Yes! We were told several times at the Riviera Maya Vidanta restaurants that the tip was included, and we didn't like it at all. We didn't know what percentage was added, as it was not line itemed on the bill. It made it very difficult to determine what/if we should add something extra. We usually left something extra in cash for our servers.

 

[rpennisi]

Suncoast's bill shows Havana Moon and Propina Includa/ Tip Included is on the bill.
But it doesn't show the amount of the included tip, just a total.
I added up the items ordered and it came out to the same 2970 pesos with no separate item for the tip amount.
I remember having tip included in the past, but the propina amount was listed separately.
Now it seems to be built into the item cost (?) Very strange
We're going to PV, NV and RM early next year so we can check it out.

 

[Hineschr]

That's odd; I don't remember a 10% charge for anything. What bill was that on and what was it labeled?

It wasnt labeled i think it is a cost that is included in the food price. First night i tipped too much and he very politely explained to me that they get 10% so me tipping another 20% is too much.

I think that ammount is shared with all the staff so i wohld leave a few bucks no more than 10 usd for dinner for good service.