Cruisers Forum
 


Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Rate Thread Display Modes
Old 02-09-2018, 07:38   #1
Senior Cruiser

Cruisers Forum Supporter

Join Date: Jun 2018
Location: Rock Hall, MD
Boat: Mariner 39
Posts: 693
Tipping Bareboat Charter Company Staff

Are bareboat charterers generally giving gratuities to the charter company staff? At the end of a recent charter, I tipped 20% of the charter fee. I wonder if that is typical or unusual.

The office staff and the checkout captain were very helpful in a number of ways such that we had a great trip, so I was comfortable giving the monetary "thank you". Still, 20% of a charter fee is a huge chunk of change, so as I prepare for my next bareboat charter, I am wondering again what are the tipping etiquette rules for this situation, and what others generally do.

Regards,
Joe R.
JoeRobertJr is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 02-09-2018, 09:34   #2
Registered User

Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: W Carib
Boat: Wildcat 35, Hobie 33
Posts: 13,480
Re: Tipping Bareboat Charter Company Staff

Wow, thats quite generous but very unusual. Base staff almost never get tipped.

However, one charter company Ive worked for does have a standing policy that charter crew tip base crew from their tips. Good policy I think, since the base crew works hard to turn around boats between charters...often in 24 hours or less...and, other than office staff, most have no contact with guests.

Dock/base crew usually get the CLOs (Charter Left Overs...food, booze, etc) too from bareboat charters...this can sometimes be quite a haul as bareboaters often WAY over purchase...and usually good quality stuff.
belizesailor is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-09-2018, 10:40   #3
Registered User

Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Australia
Boat: Island Packet 40
Posts: 6,432
Images: 7
Re: Tipping Bareboat Charter Company Staff

Nasty habit, should be discouraged. These things always morph from gratuity to entitlement.
RaymondR is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 02-09-2018, 11:05   #4
Registered User
 
Saleen411's Avatar

Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Discovery Bay, CA
Posts: 1,183
Re: Tipping Bareboat Charter Company Staff

Quote:
Originally Posted by RaymondR View Post
Nasty habit, should be discouraged. These things always morph from gratuity to entitlement.
Exactly and getting worse! I travel the world for a living and the "culture" (usually American) of TIPPING for everything is not always appreciated and IMHO has really gotten out of hand.

For example, our sailing school pretty much required a large "TIP" after completion. Said expected "tip" added many hundreds of dollars to a course that already costs thousands of dollars. There's already a thread about this.

Point is, there are businesses and even whole countries where tipping is NOT customary and IMHO, these customs should be respected and maintained.
__________________
"Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore"- Andre' Gide
Saleen411 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-09-2018, 11:10   #5
Registered User

Join Date: Oct 2015
Posts: 2,007
Re: Tipping Bareboat Charter Company Staff

Tipping is very much a local cultural thing. In the case of a bareboat charter, I would tip individuals who did a special service some amount that seemed reasonable. If the maintenance crew did an amazing job, I might drop a shared gift at the office.

For crewed charter I'd tip at 20% of the charter fee for great service, less than that for "normal and expected service."

As a charter capatin and instructor based in San Francisco for many years, I developed a rule about customers tipping. Start in Times Square, New York City. Draw concentric circle around that point. The further the client's home address was from Times Square, the less likely I was to get a tip. Anybody from NYC, virtually assured. Chicago? 50/50 shot. Anywhere in California? Forgetaboutit. They were entitled to whatever you could do for them.
billknny is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-09-2018, 11:55   #6
Registered User

Join Date: Mar 2010
Posts: 166
Re: Tipping Bareboat Charter Company Staff

Quote:
Originally Posted by JoeRobertJr View Post
Are bareboat charterers generally giving gratuities to the charter company staff? At the end of a recent charter, I tipped 20% of the charter fee. I wonder if that is typical or unusual.

The office staff and the checkout captain were very helpful in a number of ways such that we had a great trip, so I was comfortable giving the monetary "thank you". Still, 20% of a charter fee is a huge chunk of change, so as I prepare for my next bareboat charter, I am wondering again what are the tipping etiquette rules for this situation, and what others generally do.

Regards,
Joe R.
A recurring question I have in regard to a crewed charter or bareboat charter why the heck should we base the tip in the rental cost of the boat? The crews cost to the charterer pales in comparison to the cost for the boat but we are asked to base a tip on total cost including the boat, This seems idiotic and it is not an American thing as many like to cry but seems to exist throughout the charter industry. I for one would prefer doing in a straight forward manner and prefer to leave ambiguity out of it.
Iaangus is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-09-2018, 04:12   #7
Senior Cruiser

Cruisers Forum Supporter

Join Date: Jun 2018
Location: Rock Hall, MD
Boat: Mariner 39
Posts: 693
Re: Tipping Bareboat Charter Company Staff

Thanks, all, for the interesting and helpful response.
JoeRobertJr is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 03-09-2018, 05:02   #8
Registered User

Join Date: Apr 2013
Posts: 11,002
Re: Tipping Bareboat Charter Company Staff

Quote:
Originally Posted by billknny View Post
As a charter capatin and instructor based in San Francisco for many years, I developed a rule about customers tipping. Start in Times Square, New York City. Draw concentric circle around that point. The further the client's home address was from Times Square, the less likely I was to get a tip. Anybody from NYC, virtually assured. Chicago? 50/50 shot. Anywhere in California? Forgetaboutit. They were entitled to whatever you could do for them.
They paid for your services. If you didn't charge enough to make a living, that's your poor business planning.

To the original question: Unless they did something out of the ordinary, no tip is required for a bareboat.
valhalla360 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-09-2018, 05:14   #9
Registered User

Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: Ponte Vedra Beach, FL
Boat: Leopard 40 / Moorings 4000
Posts: 49
Re: Tipping Bareboat Charter Company Staff

We do not throw away food left over at the end of the charter as our "tip" to the boat cleaners. My wife loves to bake and we will give muffins & etc. to the office and technical staff in what we feel is a much more personal "thank you" for extra service than simply cash.
tmccaffery is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-09-2018, 07:32   #10
Marine Service Provider
 
Snore's Avatar

Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: St. Petersburg, FL
Boat: Retired Delivery Capt
Posts: 3,683
Send a message via Skype™ to Snore
Re: Tipping Bareboat Charter Company Staff

Quote:
Originally Posted by valhalla360 View Post
They paid for your services. If you didn't charge enough to make a living, that's your poor business planning.


I agree bareboat topping is very much optional, unless they went “above and beyond.”

While I am sure to get flamed- I am posting so people know the other side of the story.

Charter captains (Masters) are notoriously underpaid for the work they do and the responsibility they have. Most arrive an hour before the charter and wrap-up 45 min or more after you are gone. While some will say “they should charge more” the reality is that charter captains do NOT set the rate. The rate you are charged is set by the charter company. Some even take a percentage of what you are billed for the captains services.

So if at the end of your one day, or multi-Day charter the captain did a good job, please tip him. If he did an exemplary job— tip him well.

Just a different viewpoint.
__________________
"Whenever...it requires a strong moral principle to prevent me from deliberately stepping into the street, and methodically knocking people's hats off- then, I account it high time to get to sea..." Ishmael
Snore is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-09-2018, 07:56   #11
Registered User

Join Date: Apr 2013
Posts: 11,002
Re: Tipping Bareboat Charter Company Staff

Quote:
Originally Posted by Snore View Post
Charter captains (Masters) are notoriously underpaid for the work they do and the responsibility they have. Most arrive an hour before the charter and wrap-up 45 min or more after you are gone. While some will say “they should charge more” the reality is that charter captains do NOT set the rate. The rate you are charged is set by the charter company. Some even take a percentage of what you are billed for the captains services.
And the reason they are "underpaid" is because people tip...so the compnay doesn't feel obliged to pay a fair rate.

Though I suspect many in the charter business do so because while hard work, they get to spend time cruising on boats and get paid...so even without the tips and being "underpaid", they would still do it.

PS: I put "underpaid" in quotes because if the companies have no trouble finding licensed captains at the rates they offer, they are paid appropriately.
valhalla360 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-09-2018, 08:21   #12
Registered User

Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Bellingham, WA
Boat: Bruce Roberts 44' Steel Mauritius
Posts: 919
Re: Tipping Bareboat Charter Company Staff

I never received a tip as mgr. in bareboat charter industry nor did I know of anyone else on staff who did.
We received tips as captain and crew. Less up here in the PNW. 10 to 15% in the Caribbean & Med unless the weekly rate was over 50G's then more like 10% on the high side. Biggest tip was 85G's for 400K. 20% to captain & crew was generous but not all that uncommon. Definitely on the high side. Tipping is changing. I remember when service compres (spelling?) was standard in Paris. Now no tipping throughout most of Europe. They just charge more.
Mithril Bham is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-09-2018, 08:59   #13
Registered User
 
S/V Illusion's Avatar

Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Lakewood Ranch, FLORIDA
Boat: Alden 50, Sarasota, Florida
Posts: 3,467
Re: Tipping Bareboat Charter Company Staff

Police who risk their lives don't get tipped. Firemen who save lives dont get tipped. Surgeons who cure disease dont get tipped. Yet those who carry food to a table, tie a rope to a cleat or pump diesel fuel into a tank are?



Are you people serious?
S/V Illusion is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-09-2018, 08:59   #14
Registered User
 
Mike OReilly's Avatar

Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Good question
Boat: Rafiki 37
Posts: 14,138
Re: Tipping Bareboat Charter Company Staff

Quote:
Originally Posted by RaymondR View Post
Nasty habit, should be discouraged. These things always morph from gratuity to entitlement.

What he/she said!

Institutionalized tipping that we see all over the service sectors is simply a way for owners to offload the cost of their workers directly onto the customers. They can artificially keep prices lower by hiding the full cost of the service.

It's an expanding practice that should be discouraged.
__________________
Why go fast, when you can go slow.
BLOG: www.helplink.com/CLAFC
Mike OReilly is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-09-2018, 09:03   #15
Registered User
 
Dooglas's Avatar

Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Oregon City, OR
Boat: 37 Uniflite Coastal Cruiser
Posts: 799
Re: Tipping Bareboat Charter Company Staff

Quote:
Originally Posted by JoeRobertJr View Post
Are bareboat charterers generally giving gratuities to the charter company staff? At the end of a recent charter, I tipped 20% of the charter fee. I wonder if that is typical or unusual.
Holy smoke! 20% on a bareboat charter? Well, I don't know what to say except it would be damned unusual for me to do that.
Dooglas is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
bareboat, boat, charter

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes Rate This Thread
Rate This Thread:

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
St. Martin/Anguilla Bareboat Charter Company MamaMidi Atlantic & the Caribbean 4 16-07-2015 20:09
Best BVI Bareboat Charter Company? ageppler Atlantic & the Caribbean 17 02-04-2014 19:17
Bahama / Exumas bareboat: Which charter company to choose? CMan General Sailing Forum 15 28-01-2013 12:25
Bareboat Charter Company Recommendations Wanted caseymichael Atlantic & the Caribbean 9 26-02-2011 11:04
Need a good bareboat charter company in the Keys. Amish Pirate Atlantic & the Caribbean 10 09-12-2008 12:13

Advertise Here


All times are GMT -7. The time now is 04:21.


Google+
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Social Knowledge Networks
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.

ShowCase vBulletin Plugins by Drive Thru Online, Inc.