Best Of

I was also told by several tour directors that the room attendant in hotels are not tipped by Tauck.

I agree with Mike. At our age we are more than happy to have a tour company that takes care of everything including our luggage. I think RS tours are for younger people. Also, at our age we like a little luxury.

At our age, I want a tour company that takes care of everything. We used to travel on our own but that takes a lot of research, planning and effort. I'm happy to pay someone else to do all that.

We have only done fifteen trips with Tauck, but I have witnessed what long days and hard work the TDs perform. If it is shown as a thirteen day trip, it is at least thirteen days of tips. They often spend all day and some of the night with the guests, and then they have work to do behind the scenes. When the TD is gone on the last day of the trip, it is often because they have to get in position for their next trip. But, they make sure your departure arrangements have been made. In my experience they perform a lot of work on day one.

Some people would say what you describe as penny pinching. The Tour directors do an unbelievable amount of things behind the scenes. As soon as someone starts moaning about their room allocation, gets sick or leaves something behind, that all becomes an additional behind the scenes burden.
The culture of tipping in the US is so alien to other cultures. I think we should all be paying the same amount for the tour, but it differs according to how much you give for a tip. To think that you will only get good service if you tip, that’s just so awfully to think about.
Once you have been on your first Tauck tour, you realize that the Farewell dinner is when most people give their tip along with their returned review form.
As far as not seeing the TD on the last day. The other company we now travel with, the TD even gets up in the middle of the night to ensure every person gets their transport to the airport. On some Tauck tours, our TD has already left the area by then.

Having worked in the service industry all during college and into my summer months as a young teacher, I would never stiff anyone. I would, however, let corporate know my concerns about a poor quality TD.