Tipping Question

If it were me and my family, I would invite the driver to dine with us at mealtimes and at refreshment times, paying for his food and drink of course. It's Good will and will be noticed and appreciated. When I go out of my way to gift my hosts in Italy, I always get a special invitation to return to them.

Then I probably would not offer an extra cash tip because I don't know how to tip on $765. But I do know how to extend family courtesies when in close proximity for hours at a time. I watched my Mom.

That's some price for a driver.

Way too rich for my blood. I'd take the train and bus for a fraction of that.

But if I did travel in such circles I would do as the previous poster said and invite him to the table. Unless he is miraculously great I would say that I have paid him what he is worth in that fee and no more.

If he were an employee I might give him a little.

I work with tourists all the time, and nobody tips me,

If it were an employee rather than than the sole owner/proprietor, we would give a 20% gratuity and include meals with us. This is because, like in the USA, people serving the public get very low wages and depend on tips. Since he is the sole proprietor, he gets all of the money so that is not an issue. We would pay for his meals and leave it at that. We would have given a large tip to an employee.

The last domestic trip we took in the USA was to an elegant hotel and a room that costs $600 a night. People like the doorman there get $3.50 an hour and depend on tips. Everytime the door man hailed us a cab, we gave him $50. Each housekeeper who did our suite got $100 at the end of the week and the doorman got a final $100. We also gave tips to the concierge, bell staff, dry cleaning staff and wait staff in the restaurant. Even in a luxury chain hotel, these people get sub-minimum wage, That doorman made $3,50 an hour and depends on tips to live on.

Nigel- That seems like a steal for a driver/guide spending that much time and effort with the family, especially in Italy. People should be tipping you for your own work. In the USA, we believe in tipping those who work with tourists.

My God, a $50 tip to a doorman for hailing a cab! I've never heard of such a thing. I guess it buys you lots of servility, though.

Europe and the U.S. are very different in terms of wage scales, waiters and housekeepers are paid a living wage (unlike here). I have tried many times in Italy to tip hosts/proprietors for extra services, until I realized I was insulting them. Employees (tour guides working for a company, for example) will usually accept tips.

Just my experience.

I would send an email of to Rick Steve's web site. It doesn't sound like anyone really knows. I have always gotten a good answer when no one seems to know. I would really hate to insult anyone. That is a pricey tour so I would think something would be expected. Even on large bus tours the guide is usually tipped, but not a huge amount.

I would include the driver/owner for lunch. Most of these guys are very entertaining
and will give you a peek into the real Italy.

Terri Lynn...Time spent for the driver is 17-18 hrs. Well over $40 per hour.

190mi. Fuel about $70

Lest anyone think you will be tip poor in Europe, what TerryLynn did in the U.S. is generous beyond belief. In Italy, no one expects a tip for hailing a taxi. You will be seen as a rich American if you insist on doing this. As has been said many times before, rounding up the bill is sufficient in most cases at a meal. In a hotel, leave a couple of euros for the maid if you like. Round up the cab fare: €10.30 fare becomes €11.00. Nothing ostentatious.

At holidays or for people who serve you often, a little more generosity. We give three waiters that we see once a month all year €20 to €50 each at Christmas. When we want a table on a crowded July evening, they find us a place. When we stayed at a resort hotel for 5 nights over Christmas, at the end we tipped the three servers and one shuttle driver that helped us/served us the most and at that €20 each. That was a special circumstance.

I would not tip the private driver. MAYBE buy him one meal. That would be more than generous.

BTW, there is a year-end practice for private service people in Italy -= household workers and nannies -- and some companies do this too, I am told. They are supposed to receive a 13th month of pay at Christmas. I think restaurant workers receive this as well. Sort of a year-end bonus, a practice long gone in most of the U.S.

You do not need to tip (American style) at all for anything in Italy. I certainly wouldn't tip the owner/operator after paying so much for a two day driving tour. Terri lynn is incorrect about their wages also. They make a living wage unlike the wait staff in the U.S. who make just over $2 an hour and depend on their tips.

As for the examples, I have never tipped anyone $50 for hailing a cab. That's insane and is not the normal practice here in the States. I'm not sure where she got her information about their wages but she is way off.

If you want to include him in your meal plans you should. If you want to leave something for the waiter at the table you should "round up", meaning to the next $5. You do not leave a percentage of your bill like you would in the U.S. You don't need to tip everyone you come in contact with as Terri Lynn suggests. You won't see Italians doing it so you shouldn't either. When in Rome, do as the Romans, they round up, they don't "tip American style".

donna

Terri Lynn (with tongue firmly in cheek) - can I hail your cab next time you are travelling? ;)

We used Sorrento Silver Star for an 8 hour private tour of the Amalfi Coast. The cost I think was 350 euro (there were 3 of us) and I almost had convulsions when I booked it, but my mom was along and I wanted to do something special (and it was one of her favourite days on the trip). I tend to stick with buses and trains, but what we did would not have been possible in a day using public transport. I think we gave the driver an extra 30 or 35 euro (but he was an employee, not the sole owner). So $765 isn't that bad for 2 days...

Keith, in the US, the standard wage scale doesn't really vary by the class of hotel, as far as I know (having never stayed in a $600/night hotel). Restaurant serving staff (among other classifications) are exempt from minimum wage laws, as well, because of the expectation of tips/gratuities making up the difference between the ridiculously low wage and the minimum wage (also ridiculously low in many states).

If you travel in Washington state, you may be comforted to know that minimum wage workers are earning about $10/hour this year and tips are not allowed to make up that minimum; tips are extra; this is different from many other states. The cost of living in Seattle is not cheap, so minimum wages there are planned to rise over the next few years.

I would be unlikely to tip this Italian driver. I'm not much in the habit of tipping for anything except meal service. Offering a shared lunch or drink is nice but don't be offended if he doesn't accept. Many drivers and guides will wander off to see their colleagues, or will know the restaurant owner, etc. They are probably in these same spots every day.

Why not just pay people a living wage and be done with it. Expecting people to survive off tips is a disgraceful and humiliating system.

And thank you Terri Lynn for your lifestyles of the rich and famous update.

The rich and infamous.

Well, I work at one of the only 5 star hotels in the state, and while it is standard across the city (and most of the industry), that they make a base salary of below minimum wage, the volume of cars and guest interactions that they have leaves them FAR from destitute.....and it is VERY rare that they receive large sums of money as a one time tip.....

I would just include the owner/operator driver on the meal times, treat him with friendliness, and give him just as pleasant a time with your family as you are having, and call it square....

Let's stop making comparisons between tipping practices in the US with those of another country. That's like comparing apples with limoncello. Under the circumstances given by the OP, it wouldn't even occur to me to tip the guy anything. It can be perceived as an insult since the implication is that he doesn't know how to price his own services and that you have money to burn so you're going to throw some extra at this poor man. (And for everyone who wants to volunteer to be so insulted, remember that we're talking about a different culture, not about you.)

If you were to have him join with you for meals, you could even get more of a glimpse into his life as an Italian in the area, ask him some random questions, and he could help you make some fun food decisions! :) haha

Helpful post for me as I will be in Italy for 3 weeks in May and have arranged some private guides. Thanks to those who contributed (well... maybe except for one).

We used his services and they were outstanding. Worth EVERY penny. The only meal we could have shared with him was lunch on the Amalfi Coast tour day and he declined.

I didn't know what to go, so I would up giving him a $50 tip on top of the $765.

Tbrenk, I am so happy it proved a wonderful experience for you.