Tipping the TD
Curious for those who have done this tour….it ends in New Zealand but if our TD is Australian, what do you do about the currency for the tip? I hate the idea of carrying so much AUD for the last 10 days. But I want to tip in the TD’s currency. Thoughts?
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You probably won't know until you get there what the TD's nationality is. I usually bring dollars for the TD and local currency for the bus drivers. On my recent trip to Ireland, when I learned that the TD was Irish, and did only the Ireland tours, I got euros out of an ATM for him. I will have no trouble spending the extra dollars! I leave cash in the hotel safe and on the days that we move from one hotel to another, keep it and my passport with me or on the locked bus.
True, you won’t know where they usually live until you get there. American dollars are easy to change in New Zealand if necessary. Whatever money the TD is given, which will amount to hundreds of dollars on each tour, they will eventually have to deposit it in a bank.
I would be extremely surprised if every TD didn't know the best, cheapest, safest, etc. way to convert or deposit their tips, whatever the currency! This is their profession and they should know that kind of stuff for the area they work!! If they don't, I'm sure Tauck or other TD's can tell them.
Our gratuity was in U.S. currency. For me, it's not the currency but the gratuity itself that really matters. We always take the exchange rate into consideration as well.
Everyone has their own way of handling the gratuity; this is not our first Tauck trip by far. On this trip since you’re beginning and ending in different countries with different currencies, whether you use AUD, USD, GBP, Euro, or from wherever you live, you’ll be carrying a lot of cash (recommended $400 USD per couple) unless you tip in NZD. My question was directed to those who have already taken this trip, wondering how you handled it and perhaps the TD gave you some guidance. PayPal? Venmo? I personally don’t want the TD to have to be shortchanged by dealing with converting into their own currency.
Never heard of anyone doing anything other the tipping in cash, either US$ or local. TDs are prohibited by Tauck rules from discussing tips, so they give no guidance.
Ken, someone on FB mentioned their TD had a Venmo account. Curious.
I have taken the tour. Most tours go to different countries. It’s hardly discreet standing in line to discuss PayPal and Venmo at the final dinner when is the usual time to give the tip. If it’s a tour where you also tip the driver, it would be even harder to do this and I’m not sure Tauck would approve of these methods. As has been mentioned, the Tour directors know the best way to change money. If you are concerned about ‘short changing’ due to exchange rate, then give the TD more money, many people do that and it also makes up for those who don’t tip at all.
I took this tour early this year, I tipped in dollars, always do.
I did this tour 2019- my TD was from CA. I tipped him in USD.
Exchange rates are fluid but they do not fluctuate wildly from day to day unless there is some turmoil/catastrophe that causes a market collapse. That's highly unlikely to occur on a Tauck tour.
We always provide gratuities in U. S. currency and make adjustments based on the level of service, almost always an upward adjustment based on our experience with tours. As I mentioned before, giving a gratuity is far more important than the currency itself. This is merely my opinion. Do what you are comfortable with.
I didn’t mean for this to turn into such a big issue. My point was having to carry so much cash for over 3 weeks, regardless of what currency you prefer to tip in. It’s different if you’re in Europe and can get Euros at the end of the trip. I asked the FB poster and she said they asked their TD about Venmo and that’s how they handled it. Let’s end this. Thx.
Mfrancis, get your point now. Most of the tours we take with Tauck would not have us anywhere near an ATM at the end of a tour.
Could someone call Tauck to verify this Venmo suggestion. My husband uses Venmo occasionally to give our kids money if we owe them for a purchase or whatever, It’s not what we would do, we don’t keep much money in our regular bank account, we only deposit it there when we have a bill to pay, otherwise we have it in accounts with interest and it’s safer. Just can’t see it being viable if everyone did it at the farewell dinner, lining up to verify the transfer etc.
We are about to take two separate three week tours where the suggested tip is $12 a day each. Do that math. Yes, it’s a concern carrying all the cash and that’s why we keep cash for buying things on tour to a minimum and mainly use credit cards. It will get worse when Tauck increases the suggested tip amount and I think they will soon.
A few hundred bucks is so much cash?! Nowadays, it's what you need for a trip to the grocery store.
P.S. There' usually a room safe, and a hundred dollar bill doesn't take up much room.
Crumbs BKMD, not $100 bills, They are often difficult to change anywhere, even banks in other countries due to fake ones. But let’s not keep this going too long😃
@British I am curious why for your tour you are instructed $12/day for the TD. I thought the guidelines were standard across the board. In my packet that came 8/1, my instructions were:
We ask that you extend gratuities on an individual basis rather than as a group, and we offer the following guidelines to assist you in determining an appropriate amount:
USD $10 per traveler, per day for the Tauck Director.
USD $7 per traveler, per day for the driver.
@Sherrill
Tipping guidelines for the TD and any others varies from tour to tour.
For our upcoming Essence of South America tour the recommended amount is $10/day/person for the TD. All other tips are included in the price of the tour.
Sherill, sorry to confuse , it’s not a Tauck tour.
So @smilingsam You were suggested the same $10 as me. I honestly had not seen anything other than the recommended $10/day in recent information. I was not aware tauck varied their recommendations. British has since pointed out that her $12/day is from a non-Tauck tour company.
@mfrancis We are doing a one week land tour. We are just carrying the cash. I know others suggest ATM, but DH has no interest in using an ATM. If I were doing this on my own, I would have gotten that money in Scotland from an ATM when I needed it. We don't have Venmo, so even if the TD takes it, it would not be an option for us. So cash it is!!! (for us)
In our final email docs on Aug 18, Tauck said only the TD should be tipped ($10 per traveler per day), everyone else (including bus drivers) are taken care of. I was surprised.
It’s worth checking the tipping policy for each tour when you get the final paperwork because each tour is different. Enjoy your tour.
TexasGiGi-I’m guessing it’s because we’ll have so many different drivers on this tour. Which tour are you on? Ours is October 23. The icing on the cake for this tour is that we got tickets to see Paul McCartney in Melbourne before the tour begins!
On our upcoming Japan trip, it is stated in the paperwork that "we have made an exception to our policy and have included all gratuities for the Tauck Directors, as well as the motor coach drivers, local guides, hotel bellmen and restaurant staff, in the price of your journey."
Haven't seen this before.
We took this tour last September and our tour director was an American. Gary was great, and we tipped in USD.
It might be because Japan is not a country that tips. Maybe if the TD is Japanese, they find it difficult to not be embarrassed
On the Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand tour I took recently, the recommendation was $12/day/person for the TD. No need to tip bus drivers because they were different in each location (so Tauck tipped).
I always tip in USD.
I mis-spoke about the documents for Japan. I was reading an older one from Peru and Galapagos.
Ah. Well that’s more like it