Gratuities in Tahiti on private tours

[Piaa]

Being from the US and running a day catamaran sailing company in the Virgin Islands (taking guests snorkeling etc) it is customary to tip the crew 20% of the cost of the sail so I would just like to confirm this is the "norm" in Tahiti as we have several booked on our upcoming cruise (private whale swim, full day snorkeling etc)

 

Thank you 

[Strenz]

I never know but that is basically universally what we tip. If it is extraordinary

it is more. I have a fear of being thought of

as cheap. 20% is my go to, when in doubt. Happy Sailing Tahiti was a dream come through. 

[Host Jazzbeau]

I’m an American so I’m supposed to know this (hah!),  and I do sympathize with wait staff and tour guides. But — when I was younger a reasonable tip was 12.5% and a good tip was 15%. Menu prices and tour prices have kept up with inflation, so why is 20% now the standard?

[Strenz]

Personally I tip 20% not a standard that I know of  it is  simply what I do. Happy Sailing

[dandee2]

Sorry but there is no way I would do a 20% tip on a 350$ tour (for 2) when there are 6 other couples participating. But that's us.

[Strenz]

I guess it depends if it was  $360 total cost for the group, which seems pretty cheap pp,  or is it $360 per couple for a group which seems pretty expensive. I have never done that either way. I do tip 20% restaurants, private tours for the two of us etc. On WS I tip the cabin cleaner extra when we leave, if there is a waiter/s we have used a lot we tip him/ her extra. We try to be generous on how we define generous. That is it. We are not bothered by what others do or do not do.  We do what we think is kind in a particular situation. That is what I meant. 

[Tahitianbigkahuna]

Here is the straight skinny  ....

 

Back before cell phones/PDA's tips were rare ... actually you could offend some Polynesians ... they did a great job for fair compensation and expected no more ... most offend they would not accept. 

 

Than came along the wifi/cell phones and the younger Polynesians became westernized and felt entitled. You now need to be careful not to offend the older Polynesians but know the youth now have an expectation.

 

Remember most restaurants already have a built-in tip ...

Rule of thumb  ... if your on an excursion and you have one vendor to consider. Does he/she own the boat or vehicle? If they do you never tip  ... if there is a younger (18 - 35) person handling the excursion and they don't own the company then tip  ... never more than 10%

 

I've traveled to FP over 30 times over 3 decades ... I know what I'm talking about 😉

 

[Piaa]

18 hours ago, Tahitianbigkahuna said:

Here is the straight skinny  ....

 

Back before cell phones/PDA's tips were rare ... actually you could offend some Polynesians ... they did a great job for fair compensation and expected no more ... most offend they would not accept. 

 

Than came along the wifi/cell phones and the younger Polynesians became westernized and felt entitled. You now need to be careful not to offend the older Polynesians but know the youth now have an expectation.

 

Remember most restaurants already have a built-in tip ...

Rule of thumb  ... if your on an excursion and you have one vendor to consider. Does he/she own the boat or vehicle? If they do you never tip  ... if there is a younger (18 - 35) person handling the excursion and they don't own the company then tip  ... never more than 10%

 

I've traveled to FP over 30 times over 3 decades ... I know what I'm talking about 😉

 

 

@Tahitianbigkahuna - thank you so much 

[Joc123]

Tipping is part of the American culture but it is not a worldwide culture.

Please don’t tip in Australia if you are passing through to Tahiti. Our workers are paid by the company, not their costumers.

[flygod]

Plus 1 for @Joc123 

 

In Scotland, one used to tip a barber, taxi driver and restaurant staff. On a bus tour, there would be a "whip round" for the driver - ie someone would pass a hat round and people would put a few pounds in it. That's it.

Now, following the introduction of Uber etc, most folk now don't tip taxi drivers. I still tip a barber - after all, they hold a cut-throat razor to one's neck! In restaurants, most now include "service" in the bill, so waiting staff really don't expect a tip.

As for my business, the only people to tip are the - once or twice in a year - Americans. Frankly, it is embarrassing. We all try to be as friendly and welcoming as possible, and know that people from different countries expect different things and try to provide that as part of the experience.

 

Many UK folk are very tolerant of very poor service. So if we had a tipping culture here in Scotland, we might feel that we were just trying for tips by offering excellent service instead of just trying to provide excellent service because that's who we are.

Hence the embarrassment with North American folks! (And an extra £10 or £20 a couple of times a year doesn't make much difference to annual income. I'd just rather not be embarrassed!)