FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
The average cost across our destinations is a bit less than £30 per day. Within that there are large variations however: the tipping contribution in Bhutan is £70 per day split between your guide and driver; in India, the individual amount is much lower than this but there is a plethora of people who expect a tip along the way. Remember, if you’re on a holiday with a company that doesn’t include tips, this is money that will be expected from you in cash as you travel around.
We do not offer the option to take out the tip-inclusive element as it is a critical way for us to deliver our value and do the right thing by our guides. It is important to note that this guide payment is no longer a ‘tip’ as such. The additional amount has become part of their expected income (albeit one that we won’t hesitate to remove and refund in the - extremely rare - event of a complaint).
Yes. We have negotiated and legally contracted this (radical) initiative with our local partners and service providers in our destinations. Our guides will know about this and understand the situation.
We believe a tip is a poor motivational tool, not least because there is no direct correlation between performance and reward. Simply put, some people tip more than others, whatever the performance of the guide. Most tip what they feel to be the ‘right’ amount whatever they feel about the quality of the guiding.
Instead, we will continue to ensure our guides are well-trained, follow our code of practice and receive regular feedback on their performance. We will also endeavour to pass on feedback and comments from clients and be more regular with our awards programme to show appreciation for outstanding service.
The certainty around being adequately remunerated will mean we have more highly motivated guides in general. We have seen this work with our travel consultants when we abolished commission – why would the same not be the case for our local guides?
We have pre-included an additional ‘tip’ amount on top of the fixed daily wage for anyone delivering an experience that we are arranging, ie our guides, our drivers, our local site guides, and people such as the boatmen in water-based excursions. Everyone that you come across as part of a pre-arranged excursion or trip.
We cannot include tips for hotel staff. If you do wish to give something, we suggest that staff will appreciate a contribution to the collective tip box, but you are under no obligation and it won’t be regarded as essential to their day’s work in quite the same way.
If an excursion is led by a hotel/safari camp/ship staff member, the tip will not be included but tips in these circumstances are never expected (they're usually covered by a service charge). Again, there’s often a collective tip box if you want to contribute at the end of your stay but this is your choice.
Finally, overnight boat trips and public transportation such as trains and planes are not included as it is just not practical (or necessary) to include these areas.
Please note that holidays in Thailand, Oman, Hong Kong and Singapore will not be tipping-inclusive because these countries do not have a tipping culture.
By just saying thank you! The great thing about tip-inclusive holidays is that a thank you becomes so much more meaningful. Previously, a tip would have been ‘expected’ so it wasn’t an effective demonstration of gratitude (unless you went very big indeed). A personal gesture such as sending a postcard or giving a small gift to take back to the family will be much appreciated.
When we send you a feedback form after your holiday there is space to nominate a guide for our outstanding service award. This is keenly competitive in certain countries, so your vote makes a difference and it’s a great way to say thank you!
