Gratuity distribution??

[whitford]

How is the room service gratuity distribution made for the crew and staff. Anyone know the approximate percentages? Does the Company take a cut of the gratuities? Nice to know who is getting what of the mandatory tips.

[kazu]

3 minutes ago, whitford said:

How is the room service gratuity distribution made for the crew and staff. Anyone know the approximate percentages? Does the Company take a cut of the gratuities? Nice to know who is getting what of the mandatory tips.

 

Basically, cabin steward and dining room stewards get a major portion along with Lido staff.

 

Remainder goes to all the behind the scenes staff like laundry, the people cleaning the bannisters, etc.

 

It all goes to the crew.

 

There is no way anyone can thank all of the behind the scene people that do a lot to make your cruise enjoyable so to me, this works out just fine 😉 

 

 

[albingirl]

41 minutes ago, kazu said:

 

Basically, cabin steward and dining room stewards get a major portion along with Lido staff.

 

Remainder goes to all the behind the scenes staff like laundry, the people cleaning the bannisters, etc.

 

It all goes to the crew.

 

There is no way anyone can thank all of the behind the scene people that do a lot to make your cruise enjoyable so to me, this works out just fine 😉 

 

 

Well said.  We like to leave additional for great service.  Good staff is essential to an enjoyable cruise.

[RocketMan275]

1 hour ago, whitford said:

How is the room service gratuity distribution made for the crew and staff. Anyone know the approximate percentages? Does the Company take a cut of the gratuities? Nice to know who is getting what of the mandatory tips.

What difference does it make as long as the percentages are agreeable to the crew.

Tip early, Tip often, Tip a lot.

[pilot]

2 hours ago, whitford said:

How is the room service gratuity distribution made for the crew and staff. Anyone know the approximate percentages? Does the Company take a cut of the gratuities? Nice to know who is getting what of the mandatory tips.

Doesn’t matter to me. Let the company and their employees sort it out. 

[gatour]

3 hours ago, whitford said:

How is the room service gratuity distribution made for the crew and staff. Anyone know the approximate percentages? Does the Company take a cut of the gratuities? Nice to know who is getting what of the mandatory tips.

Assuming you are currently employed in a salary job.  How much are you being paid on an annual basis?  How much is you company contributing for your health care premiums?  How much is your company contributing to your 401K/pension?

 

If you are an hourly employee where tips are not involved, see above.

 

If you are an hourly employee where tips are involved.  How much do you make per year?  How much do you declare for income tax purposes?

 

I worked by way through college in restaurants.  Server received the tips.  They were required to tip out a certain percentage of their tips to the busboys.  The Maitre'D got a very small percentage.  Everyone was happy.  If we weren't we would have moved on.

 

Don't quite understand this fascination about how the tip are distributed.  It pops up every few months or even more frequently.

 

I just tip the recommended about, and may give additional tips, if I experienced extremely good service.  However, if someone just wants to give the recommended amount, I think this is fair.

[rkacruiser]

8 minutes ago, gatour said:

I worked by way through college in restaurants.  Server received the tips.  They were required to tip out a certain percentage of their tips to the busboys.  The Maitre'D got a very small percentage.  Everyone was happy.  If we weren't we would have moved on.

 

Well stated!

 

8 minutes ago, gatour said:

Don't quite understand this fascination about how the tip are distributed.  It pops up every few months or even more frequently.

 

 

I think people are curious as to what really happens to that Hotel Service Charge that we pay.  

 

It's kind of like:  what happens when I give an end of the cruise gratuity to the bartenders at the Ocean Bar.  If I offer it to Bartender Y, does he pocket it?  (Yes, I have seen that.  And, no, I have seen it placed in an "area under the bar" or in a drawer across from the bar.)  If the gratuity is shared, is it shared as well with the Stewards and Stewardesses who work in that Lounge?

 

Think back to the days of yore when HAL was advertising "Gratuities not Required".  How could one NOT offer a gratuity for service that exceeded one's expectations?  Does one remember how appreciative those staff members were?  (And, I would include today's Room Service Stewards in that thought.  Most expect zero $ from what I have witnessed and usually show genuine appreciation for the $ that I offer them.)

 

The bottom line for offering gratuities to service personnel is simple for me.  If the person deserves it, offer it in whatever amount one feels is appropriate.

 

But, even then, I also wonder:  how much of my daily hotel service charge does that gentleman that irons my underwear really get?  (Thanks, sir:  my underwear gets better treatment on a cruise than it EVER does at home.)  

 

  

[moosegrin]

I have had a few interesting conversations over the years with HAL employee's about the gratuities that we pay per day on the rooms.   

Basically, all employees, except that the captains leadership team, managers and entertainment staff, are in the gratuity share  pool.   Each of those employees are assigned point shares by job function.    Your room primary steward has x number of point shares and his assistant has something less than x points.    Each of the primary table waiters will have the same point shares and their assistant something less.  Employee's behind the scenes like the kitchen staff, engineer room, laundry etc, are also assigned (lesser) point shares.   Basically, the closer you get to the customer and the more likely to impact customer satisfaction, the higher the share point value you get.    So,  HAL sums up all the  $ from the daily room gratuities ship-wide,   then sums up all the employee point shares and every employee in the share pool gets their mathematical  portion of that total ship-wide pool.  So all cabin stewards will get the same share from this daily room gratuity.   It is important to understand that the behind the scenes employee's deserve and will get a share of the room gratuities.   And it is a SIGNIFICANT portion of their pay.  

 

Please , please, please do not zero out the room gratuity on your bill.  If the carpets were clean, if the tables were clean, if the cafe food was good,  put something in the pool for these folks.      Now, if you found that the room steward or waiter did an exceptional  job, then feel free to discretely put an  envelope with cash  in their hand and tell them you appreciated their service.    It will   be very much appreciated, and they may occasionally forget to report that money  to the big ship- wide pool.    Also, their advancement is somewhat based on their names showing up with positive comments in your end of cruise evaluation.  "Frank did a great job cleaning our room" is much better than, "the room was always clean".    And wouldn't you want Frank to be someday managing the other room stewards?   

 

 This is solely my understanding as related to me by  unnamed employee's and does not reflect the views of HAL, their staff or management.    I would like to hear replies  if anyone else has heard of this point share system  from HAL employees.  

[CruiserBruce]

@moosegrin, what you posted is most of the story. The other main exception you don't mention  is the bar staff. The "automatic" tip on drinks is split between the bartender (I have heard 9 or 10%) the waiter (4 or 5%) and the house (1%) for a "employee benefit fund". This is per their contract, and is a significant portion of their pay.

[RuthC]

5 minutes ago, moosegrin said:

 Now, if you found that the room steward or waiter did an exceptional  job, then feel free to discretely put an  envelope with cash  in their hand and tell them you appreciated their service.    It will   be very much appreciated, and they may occasionally forget to report that money  to the big ship- wide pool.

So long as you do not reduce or remove the HSC, anyone to whom you give an additional tip is free to keep it. It does not have to be turned in or reported under those circumstances. No 'forgetting' necessary. 

 

I have heard about a point system, but not precisely as you describe. I have heard that seniority also comes into play in the distribution of the money in the pool---which makes sense. I have also heard that there is a minimum that has to be distributed, and if the HSC does not meet that minimum HAL must make up the shortfall. 

[Crew News]

Room Stewards and waiters each receive 30% with 40% distributed to those behind the scenes: plumbers, cooks, engineering folks, laundry staff, etc. 

 

Those delivering Room Service are MDR/Lido Market waiters that have volunteered to give up their off time to make extra tips.  A few years ago my MDR waiter delivered daily appetizers to me at 3:00 PM and I asked him.  Before he left the room, he always asked if I would be at my table for dinner and if he should save me the dinner menu.

 

When touring the Nieuw Statendam Recycling Center, I learned that all of the reclyclables are sold with the income going to the "Crew Fund". So, when the art auctions stopped sending their flyers, the Crew Fund suffered.

[Shmoo here]

36 minutes ago, moosegrin said:

It will   be very much appreciated, and they may occasionally forget to report that money  to the big ship- wide pool.

I believe there would be repercussions if they did this, once it's found out.

[Crew News]

14 minutes ago, moosegrin said:

........ Also, their advancement is somewhat based on their names showing up with positive comments in your end of cruise evaluation.  "Frank did a great job cleaning our room" is much better than, "the room was always clean".    And wouldn't you want Frank to be someday managing the other room stewards?  

 

This absolutely the case but an even better way to give kudos is via "Comment Cards" available from your Room Steward.  The Comment Cards presented daily at the Captains Staff meeting with the cards then being posted in the crew living area.  Recognized crew members receive recognition from both their peers and supervisors.  Best to submit one kudo card per crew member.

 

FWIW I submit lots of card on each cruise throughout the cruise.  When I see one of my kudo card recipients later in the cruise, they express their gratitude with broad smiles and sometimes tears.  Be it kudos or issues, it is better that the ship management know and be able to recognize the crew member or fix the issue before it goes into your end-of-cruise survey. 

[catl331]

9 hours ago, Shmoo here said:

I believe there would be repercussions if they did this, once it's found out.

Not at all, as long as the passenger has not removed or reduced the HSC.

[whitford]

17 hours ago, gatour said:

Assuming you are currently employed in a salary job.  How much are you being paid on an annual basis?  How much is you company contributing for your health care premiums?  How much is your company contributing to your 401K/pension?

 

If you are an hourly employee where tips are not involved, see above.

 

If you are an hourly employee where tips are involved.  How much do you make per year?  How much do you declare for income tax purposes?

 

I worked by way through college in restaurants.  Server received the tips.  They were required to tip out a certain percentage of their tips to the busboys.  The Maitre'D got a very small percentage.  Everyone was happy.  If we weren't we would have moved on.

 

Don't quite understand this fascination about how the tip are distributed.  It pops up every few months or even more frequently.

 

I just tip the recommended about, and may give additional tips, if I experienced extremely good service.  However, if someone just wants to give the recommended amount, I think this is fair.

I do not have a job. Not sure about the  tone of this post. I wanted to know so I can adjust the large tip that we always leave in addition the the daily gratuity The fascination is for a good reason.

[aliaschief]

Here’s a question I have often had. With so many bookings offering wavering or not charging Service Fee does Hal really contribute money to supplement the crew?

 

 

Edited February 24, 2020 by aliaschief

[kazu]

11 minutes ago, aliaschief said:

Here’s a question I have often had. With so many booking offering wavering or not charging Service Fee does Hal really contribute money to supplement the crew?

 

 

 

Yes, they absolutely do. 🙂.  I’ve asked as if they didn’t I would have given much more than my additional tip.

[aliaschief]

5 minutes ago, kazu said:

 

Yes, they absolutely do. 🙂.  I’ve asked as if they didn’t I would have given much more than my additional tip.

Thanks!

[hal2008]

Many cruiselines wil give you breakdown of how automatic tips are allocated.

 

If you never went to MDR but instead were served specially prepared meal by fixed 2 guys for breakfast and fixed 2 guys for dinner, you certainly want to tip those guys and chef handsomely and dont want them to receive very small fraction of automated tips.

 

In that case, your overall tipping should be much higher than what automated tips would have been (because you were taken care of specifically) .  But by removing tips, you can direct money to people who actually served you.

 

Tipping people who never interacted with you is a recent concept which is difficult to accept for some people.

 

(well, tipping for routine service  (not exceptional, just routine) is strange concept for most countries outside Americas any way)

Edited February 24, 2020 by hal2008

[catl331]

18 minutes ago, hal2008 said:

But by removing tips, you can direct money to people who actually served you.

If you remove the HSC they don't get to keep anything you give them.

[kazu]

21 minutes ago, hal2008 said:

But by removing tips, you can direct money to people who actually served you.

 

Incorrect.  If you remove the HSC, any money you tip to the people has to be turned over to be shared amongst the pool.  IF you truly want to reward someone who served you, then you need to leave the HSC in place and then, any tip you give to any crew member over and above the HSC is theirs to keep.

 

 

[janmcn]

Comment cards are important!!! And you can also do it from your app on board! The crew person might get to sleep a bit longer, have time off, take a crew-only excursion, etc because of them! Don’t wait until the end! Comment often when you see good work! ( we try to do it at least once a day...even the stair-rail person when they are constantly cheerful!)

So, if you don’t want to tip extra, at least consider this...it costs nothing.

[Shmoo here]

5 hours ago, catl331 said:

Not at all, as long as the passenger has not removed or reduced the HSC.

It seemed to me that poster was alluding to not turning in any cash tips.  I believe the person receiving such tips are required to turn them in, to confirm the status of the HSC before being allowed to keep such tips.

 

 

[HamOp]

2 hours ago, kazu said:

 

Incorrect.  If you remove the HSC, any money you tip to the people has to be turned over to be shared amongst the pool.  IF you truly want to reward someone who served you, then you need to leave the HSC in place and then, any tip you give to any crew member over and above the HSC is theirs to keep.

 

 

So, answer me this.  You're walking along and see the hardworking crew member polishing the rails and decide to thank him with a $5.  He doesn't know you or your cabin number.  How does he know if you removed the HSC or not?  Same goes for the workers in the lido. 

[kazu]

13 minutes ago, HamOp said:

So, answer me this.  You're walking along and see the hardworking crew member polishing the rails and decide to thank him with a $5.  He doesn't know you or your cabin number.  How does he know if you removed the HSC or not?  Same goes for the workers in the lido. 

 

Well, believe it or not....

They do know who you are.  If not, they can find out since the pics that go with your key card are readily available.  And, they do know who removed HSC since there is a list.

When I was on the Rotterdam, I enjoyed the service in the retreat.  They knew who I was and when I tipped the great guy who took such superb care of us extra, he beamed and said thank you.

 

The logistics aren’t that important IMO.  The crew know if you removed HSC they can’t keep the money.  They are not about to risk their jobs over $5.