Hi
I'm about to go on a 2 week tour in Scotland with a small tour group. The people that own the tour company will also be the guides. They are recommending at tip percentage that would be more than 650 per person. I was think more in the range of 10 per day so 150 per person. Thoughts?
Remember they guides are the owners of the tour company and the drivers.
Thanks for the input.
tell them to go swivel.I have never heard anything like that but then i don't do tours in my own country.,me i would not tip and if any Scottish company had a suggestion of tipping on their info i would avaoid completely.
would you care to name and shame please.
The aren't recommending a tip level. They are trying to increase the price of their tour and potentially swerve tax since they are self employed by how you describe it. Since there is never any kind of obligation to give a voluntary tip you could take the tour and pay them nothing, or considering their conduct go elsewhere.
Listen to what the locals say - a scam. Do not tip in Scotland.
BTW "650 per person. . . . . 10 per day so 150 per person" - what currency do you mean?
What you posted strikes me as, well, outrageous. Have you made a deposit (or pre-paid) for the tour? If the "tip" is 650 GBP (or any other currency of the US/Canada or the Euro Zone, I wouldn't hazard a guess of the (high) cost of the tour, or maybe, on the other hand, the cost of the tour is remarkably modest and, this is, as another comment suggests, calling the price of the tour by a different name.
We took a small group (4 guests) full day tour of Pompeii last August with a tour operated by a single woman (she hired a private limo and driver the cost of which was included in the price of the tour). At the end of the tour we offered her a tip, and at first she declined, but we insisted (we tipped Euro 40 for the two of us, and she thanked us profusely. We also tipped the driver a nominal amount.
Tipping in Scotland is generally accepted as 10% in restaurants and for taxis. If you receive exceptional service, tip a wee bit more. Bar staff appreciate a small tip, but you're under no obligation. As with anywhere in Scotland, check your bill at a restaurant to see if a service charge/gratuity has already been charged. Restaurant front of house staff in Scotland generally pool their tips, and share them with the kitchen staff/bus persons
As a former tour bus driver, I can honestly say that any tip is appreciated, but if a tip is not already built in to the total charge (and it shouldn't be), then something along the order of five to ten pounds per day per person would not be over the top. That would be the case in a 6 to 12 passenger minivan, especially if you're getting narration in addition to driving. In the case of a huge tour bus, a whipround at the end would be more than adequate. That said, tipping your driver/narrator is not obligatory.
Hope that clears things up a bit.
Mike (Auchterless)
menehunehk you never returned to say what the tip percentage that would be more than 650 per person was denominated in - what currency?
Or did you just post and run?
Dialogue is so much more fulfilling than monologue in an empty room...
Thank you everyone for your comments. Mike, your thoughts were really helpful!
