Tipping tour directors
Numerous folks have expressed concern about the safety of carrying so much cash to tip TD and Driver. How about using a prepaid VISA card as a gift/tip?
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Numerous folks have expressed concern about the safety of carrying so much cash to tip TD and Driver. How about using a prepaid VISA card as a gift/tip?
Comments
Don’t you have to call to activate some cards? Might not be a problem for tour director but maybe drivers in certain countries might have difficulty. Say in Africa, some of the jeep drivers who want to give amounts of money to different members of their family etc etc etc.
Think for a minute how much money the TD is carrying around. They normally do multiple trips, so they have all that tip money in addition to operating funds from Tauck. I always carry a substantial amount of cash on these trips cuz you can find yourself in a situation where credit cards don’t work. My wife never carries cash and it drives me crazy because she is constantly in my wallet. I was once in Granada (last time I did not carry cash) and my credit cards did not work when trying to pay for lunch. It was a big deal to get the card reactivated, which they said they could not do until I told them we would be washing dishes to get out of the restaurant. If you don’t carry a wad of cash when traveling, you are begging for a disaster. I only carry what I think I need for the day’s expenses, but I always have five or six hundred in the hotel safe. On the plane or in transit you just need to be careful.
Safeguarding cash while traveling is no different than safeguarding your passport, credit card(s) and mobile phone.
The different is that thieves are often only wanting cash and its not replaceable like the other items you mention, when its gone, its gone.
I have never had a thief break into a safe or rip my clothing to search for well hidden and secured valuables. I would much rather have to replace a nominal amount of cash than passports, especially while abroad.
Has anyone used Traveler Checks “ Don’t leave home without them “. ? Personal Check ?
No, I don’t think a tour director would even know what to do with a Traveler Check. How is a tour director supposed to cash a personal check if they are directing tours for months on end before they can get to a U.S. bank? I’m just asking.
I would not recommend giving a personal check, but if you did, the TD could deposit it elctronically through their bank app. For most bank apps, that involves taking a picture of the front and back of the check. I never tried it, but I assume you can do that no matter where you are in the world. The bank doesn't have much risk. If the check is bad, they just deduct the money from your account (if they already credited you for it).
Are "travelers' checks" even sold any more? If they are, you sure don't want to give a TD a travelers' check.
Reminds me of the joke about the guy in church who wrote a check made out to God for the collection plate, then took the cash as change.
Travellers checks, they are never used any more.
Do not assume banks in other countries operate the same as in the USA.
If you have never come across someone who has had a bag snatched off you or a gold chain ripped off your neck or a phone taken out of a zippered and Velcro-ed pocket, a credit card skimmed at a foreign bank ATM or been smashed unconscious. then you haven’t traveled and met as many people as I have who have had those things happen to them. When you are changing hotels etc, when you have cash with you and not in a hotel safe because you have checked out, that is when you are vulnerable.
If you give a bank a bad check, it will cost you about $30 from what I recall.
Oh, I even know of seven people who have had their hotel safes broken into and small amounts of money taken in the hope that it will not be noticed by hotel staff.
The European banks are as modern - maybe even more so - than American banks. Don't know about the rest of the world. I would assume a TD has a bank account in a modern bank. But I still would not give a personal check to a TD.
And giving a TD a bad check - as British mentioned above - would be really bad form.
I don’t do many Tauck European tours compared to other parts of the world
It depends on where the TD is from, not where you do the tour. The TD is likely to have a bank account in their home country. Even if they're not from a country with a modern banking system, the TD may have an account in a country with a modern banking system, just for safety of their money.
But no matter what, I wouldn't give a TD a personal check.
Believe me, when you receive a check form another country it’s a massive inconvenience and it will cost you money and it takes forever, having lived in another country and received the odd check, its actually a nightmare.
Another negative for giving a check to a TD .
It can take weeks to clear a US check in many foreign countries as they may send it for collection, rather than crediting the acount when it is deposited and they will charge the depositor usually about $25 (depending on the bank and the country).
All good reasons why Tauck suggests tips be given in US or local currency. When I have local currency left at the end of the tour, instead of buying odds and ends to spend it, that becomes part of the tip amount.
We have never felt like we are bringing a wad of cash for gratuities. Our strategy is to only take $50 and $100 bills for gratuities, so even for longer tours it isn't a large number of bills.
Before leaving home, we estimate the possible range (minimum and maximum) for our gratuity amounts.
Tauck always provides a guideline for the appropriate amount for the Tauck Director and the driver. We consider this to be our minimum gratuity, our starting point. We often give more. And we have a general idea of what our maximum might be, for an outstanding TD and/or driver.
At the end of the tour, we decide on our actual gratuity amounts. We usually round up to the nearest $50 to fit our $50/$100 bill strategy to keep it simple and easy.
More of our gratuities strategy:
This never-ending discussion about tips makes it very clear that Tauck needs a better way. A portal on their web site to manage tips and make payments via credit card would make it so much easier for all.
Perhaps, if people feel strongly they should add a comment about safety concerns, suggestion for a better method, etc. on the end of tour comment cards about tipping.
Same goes for people that believe too many meals are not included in tours, there is too much free time, etc.
After all, we hear all the time, that the after tour comment cards are reviewed promptly by upper management. They might be a better avenue to lodge your concerns than the forum.
Excellent post, R_from_S. We do the same as you, and I agree that with higher denominations there is no “wad” of money being carried around. I am referring to my European land tours only. For river cruising, I bring smaller denominations and ‘thank you’ cards for the crew.
Even if Tauck did change their guidelines, I would still take $s and €s. My choice.
I like what you say Sam. On a couple of the online discussions with Jennifer Tombaugh, things like this have been discussed and there is always a stock answer that it will not be changed.
I’m sure many people who travel with Tauck a lot like yourself have brought these things up on comment cards or emailed or written separately.
When people talk about tips, I wish people would think globally. The suggestion of giving out $50 and $100 bills for example, in many African countries they are very difficult to exchange, even in banks. They are looked upon with great suspicion.For example, the safari drivers who have so many people who rely on them for financial help. Expecting to get change from a small establishment from such big notes.
Here in New Zealand where I am now, tipping is not expected unless exceptional service is given, I realize I am not talking about the Tour director tip. We Americans have to understand that our tipping culture is not normal for many other countries. I’m convinced that is why the rest of the world think we are so rich, handing out what to them are huge tips, which in reality, people like us who can afford travel with Tauck only represents a small percentage of our population when many live hand to mouth for every day necessities.
Tipping or paying for things around the world can be problematic, especially in third world countries or remote locations.
We were in Iguazu Falls, Brazil. We had booked an extra tour. Payment was expected at the time of pickup for the tour. When our pickup arrived their credit card reader was not working (at least for two different credit cards we tried). They would only accept brand new American dollars (no folds, wrinkles, etc.) if paying in cash. We ended up having to cancel this extra tour.
Tauck typically publishes, in the final documentation prior to going on a tour, the desired method for tipping the Tour Director (if one is expected - land tours). In our Essence of South America tour (2024), the last land tour we did (2025 were only ship or riverboat tours), the final documentation stated that Tauck recommended a USD $10/day/person tip for the Tour Director. All other tips for drivers, porters, local guides, etc were included.
If Tauck only recommends client tipping for the Tour Director, then it is reasonable to me that any other tips that the clients wish to provide are strictly between the client and the person receiving the tip, not something that Tauck needs to be concerned about providing recommendations, methods, etc for the distribution of these tips.
Sam - I've mentioned those items in every end of tour comment card for several years. I must be the only one
One thing I've noticed is the thank you letters we get post-tour used to be somewhat personalized, addressing some of the comments made. That seems to have devolved into simple form letter over the last few years.
On another note and I don’t know why this hasn’t been mentioned that could apply to the tipping discussion. Not to long ago y had to send funds to England and the store wanted me to wire the funds through the WISE app. At first I hesitated, but it was incredibly easy although a very minimal fee. If the tour directors had an account with this app and associated with their bank, then guests could tip him/her through the app. It’s just another alternative.
We also carry enough cash with us to cover an emergency situation if need be.
BKMD - My follow-up letters to a comment card comment are still personalized to the extent of something like,
We’re sorry the ‘X’ was not up to your expectations. Where ‘X’ is the item that I had commented on.
These are not concierge tours so a bit of ‘form’ or standardized attention should be expected, in my opinion. To get the concierge type of treatment where every single customer’s individual concerns are addressed individually, would increase the cost of the tours significantly more than they are already increasing.
Never heard of that app. But that is England, they are almost a cashless society and people rarely use checks. I rarely write a check. I haven’t carried a check book around with me for years. If I do have to write one, I hesitate to remember how to write one, carefully checking I’ve remembered to fill in all the necessary parts.
Tips. What a nightmare! If only the US had a decent living minimum per hour pay. Here in NZ it’s $26 an hour and most commonly $30. That of course is yet another discussion, still relevant for the US tours.
One thing I wish Tauck would do is set up a way to provide feedback through the Internet. On my last Silversea cruise, we received an email several days after we got home with a link to a website where we could provide feedback. Before we left the ship the staff reviewed how we would receive the review requests, and lobbied hard for us to do the reviews (and to give them good marks
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That worked very well for several reasons:
1. I much prefer to write on a computer than with a pen or pencil on paper. I can review and edit what I want to say much better to get my point across.
2. The paper forms have very limited space to make comments. I suppose you could use additional paper and attach it to the form, but why make you go through that. Maybe management doesn't want to have to read too much text.
3. It was nice to have gone through the whole tour/cruise, including the flights home, before making the comments. Additionally, it allowed time for reflection on the tour.
There are companies who provide these review services, so Tauck doesn't have to develop it themselves. Silversea used someone (don't remember who). I would bet that the contract company will summarize the comments for the tour company management and provide numerical statistics (how many people mentioned x in either a positive or negative context).
British: WISE is an international way to transfer funds worldwide. I've only used it a few times and successfully. The point I was making is that guests can transfer money in this case to a tour director via WISE without carrying cash. It's easy.
We travel with a couple of other companies. One does send us an online survey a couple of days after we return, it includes comments about each hotel, best local guides etc The other company is just river cruises and I doubt anyone complains about those they are so good…tips on those are collected at the end and given together and are not huge….it’s a British travel company, the Brits are not big tippers
You cannot assume US based TD's maintain bank accounts overseas where they are giving tours. It is very difficult as an American to open up an account overseas since the Swiss bank account tax avoidance scandals.
I have also had a TD claim that many European residence TD's want cash gratuity payments rather than more of a salary from Tauck (as on river and small ship sailings) because European taxes are so high, which brings desires for tax avoidance. And that results in more non-European salary based TD's on river/cruise based itineraries, and more European based TD's on cash tipped itineraries. I can understand that even if I don't condone it..
As for comment cards, limited space is often frustrating, and sometimes there is not much time to spend on them between distribution and collection. So sometimes I follow up with an email to guest services elaborating on my concerns. And there is a separate phone choice for callers who have comments on prior trips.
I don't find carrying cash for gratuities to be a terrible problem. And you can split the funds with your spouse so you can reduce exposure if victimized by a petty thief. I also don't put much faith in hotel safes.