quote:

Originally posted by Tangata:

If bonuses were not built into the cost of the tour where would the money come from? Insight has to get it from somewhere.

Tangata........My (earlier) Post inferred that the TD's (Bonus) in lieu of collecting tips at the door to the coach, originate from INSIGHT's profit margin.

Perhaps, for example, the deferred cost of purchasing and supplying the INSIGHT travel bag could be a viable source for Bonus funding.

TC

We do exactly the same as Pauline stated in an earlier post (I put the suggested amounts for the tips in envelopes and then as the tour progresses, I either add to that or take some back and then at the end of the tour, hand the envelopes to the TD and the driver). We are quite happy to follow the Insight tipping recommendations because:

1. AFAIK, neither the Tour Directors nor Drivers used on Insight tours are employees of Insight: the TDs are contractors and the drivers work for the European coach companies that provide vehicles to Insight and other similar coach tour companies.
   
2. Given point 1, Tour Directors do not receive paid vacation or sick or bereavement leave, do not have have defined working hours (up to 24 hours if necessary), do not receive public holidays, superannuation benefits, nor other common employment benefits, nor guaranteed continuity of work throughout the year nor superannuation/pensions at the end of their employment.
   
3. Tour Directors and Drivers frequently work up to 16 hours per day during a tour and even longer when the need arises.
   
4. as far as tours are concerned, the working year for the majority of Tour Directors and Drivers is from late Spring to early Autumn (May to OCtober). There are far fewer Autumn, Winter & Spring tour starts than in the prime tour season.
   
5. Many Tour Directors are multi-lingual and many have one or more degrees (often in the arts and history areas). They also need to have a very broad knowledge of the political, economic, sociological, religious, literary, musical, architectural, etc., aspects of the regions in which they work.
   
6. Not all 40 passengers on a tour are necessarily nice, well-behaved people and not all are willing to cooperate/comply with the rigid schedules necessary to keep tours running efficiently as well as tour aspects such as seat rotation. Tour Directors therefore frequently require bucket loads of "diplomacy" and/or "authority" to resolve these kinds of issues as they arise.
   
7. in my experience, not every passenger on a tour will contribute the Insight-suggested tipping amount: a few may tip the suggested amount or more. Many, (particularly those from countries where there is no embedded tipping culture) may tip less or even nothing.
   
8. I understand that many countries in Europe (if not all) apply their taxation regulations to workers who typically receive gratuities in their job role such that they notionally apply typical average gratuity income figures to these workers, irrespective of whether they have received these amounts or not.
   
9. I have read statements from others on this BB (but have not confirmed) that apart from gratuities and possibly a retainer, Tour Directors make up their earnings with commissions from the selling of Optionals and from certain stores that tour groups visit.
   
10. Insight's view (as expressed many times by the BB Moderator) is firstly that their tipping suggestions are no more than suggestions and secondly that matters of remuneration for Tour Directors and Drivers are confidential and really none of our business.

phil

This message has been edited. Last edited by: phil,

Phil, well said.

I second that!
I've had some amazing TD's and drivers who've made my tours worryfree. The TD's educate, entertain, listen, provide some amazing advice in addition to confirming all our arrangements and special needs, to name just a few things. We put our trust in the drivers, who have always been professional and made me feel safe at all times.
Just follow the advice by planning ahead - and end the tour with a big Thank You!(when it's deserving of course) It needn't be uncomfortable.

I think Phil has made some valid points - Tour Directors work very hard for their money, which isn't great - tipping does make up a large part of it - I'm sure the majority of Tour Directors do a fantastic job and deserve better treatment. I prefer to look at tipping as a necessary cost of a holiday, fortunately I've yet to experience a Tour Director who didn't deserve their tip.

We only experienced one bad tour director out of the 7 tours we have taken. It was on a G****s tour and not an Insight tour. She actually stood in the front of the coach on the second last day of the tour and announced to everyone on the tour that tipping anything less than the recommended guideline tip would be considered an insult to her.

Must have been the same one we had in 2001. She was always talking about her not getting enough tips since travel was down then. She too also asked for tips. She was from G****s also

Phil - very well put - I agree wholeheartedly.
The TD's and bus drivers on the trips I have been on have been fantastic and they deserve all the tips they can get.

Firstly, I cannot complain about our TD. Our tour was 35 days long which was not a problem at all. I do believe in tipping good/exceptional service and understand that in some countries tips are the only source of income for some so obviously tipping is more important in these cases. I suppose the query in all of this is that no-one really knows if the TD is being paid by Insight as well which would make a whole big difference if they are. I know our TD worked for Insight so presumably was being paid a "retainer". The annoying part of our wonderful 35 day first class tour was being continually asked almost on our daily basis to tip the local guides. I found this extremely annoying when we have paid top dollar to go on our top shelf tour. This constant scrounging around for coins certainly tainted the local experiences and devalued the tour. I personally would have preferred that the tips if necessary be added to the price of the tour and then paid descreetly to the local guides. As far as the TD goes it was discussed on our tour that why should the TD get paid a tip on the days that the local guides are used. It is a very awkward area and paying travellors should not be being continually harrassed about tips as it certainly does spoil the overall experience and after 35 days you are certainly over tipping regardles if the service is good or not.

I do agree that the Tour Director and Driver deserve their tips, or at least the people I have had on past tours most certainly have.

On many of my tours I have found a lot of people opt out of tipping the local guide for one reason or another.

Personally, If I have found the local guide to be exceptionally good, I have given them 2 euro, which as a single person is all I could afford, and is basically the price of a grill bar coffee.

I have to admit, that at times I did not contribute to the tips purely because I didn't really find they were useful, and particularly so if they left you behind, which occurs quite often as they don't always count everyone.

There was one tour guide I had in Florence a few years ago who would not tell us where to find a toilet until the group had seen the statue of David. Thankfully, there were people in the group who had been to the Acadamia before and knew where the toilets were. Needless to say, this local guide was 'very' short on his tips for this particular group.

On the other hand, I had an exceptionally great guide in Rome who looked after our group during a two day stay. The knowledge he shared and the friendship he showed to us really deserved to be rewarded, so I gave him 10 euro. If you are ever lucky enough to come across Gino in Rome, you are in for a real treat. He is the only tour guide I can remember well, he had character.
Gen