Tipping and Bartering

Tipping

Professions that typically work for tips count on the gratuity for income and will provide better future service for those who tip appropriately. Housekeeping especially will go the extra mile in cleaning and may possibly leave more or better guest items such as the shampoos and lotions.

Tipping is discretionary, if you received particularly commendable service you might consider tipping more than average, if the service was poor then tip less than average.

It can be uncomfortable to be in a new situation and not be certain about customary tipping amounts. Do your homework before traveling to a foreign country.

The following is general tipping amounts for typical tipping situations within the United States:

Doorman: $2 for help with bags, $1 for a hailed cab.

Taxi driver: Ten to 15 percent. Add an extra dollar or two if he helps with the bags.

Airport porter: Most porters charge $2 for the first bag. If they don’t, you should pay at least that. Add a dollar or two for good service.

Other airport staff (ticket agents, flight attendants): Don’t tip them. It can be tempting to slip an agent a $20 bill in the hopes that you’ll get better treatment, but that comes off as smarmy.

Bellhop: $2 for the first bag, $1 a bag after that.

Housekeeping: $2 to $5 a day. Leave this tip daily, as you often have a different person cleaning your room each day. (Include a note so the housekeeper knows the money is for her.)

Concierge: $5 to $10 every time she helps you with something above and beyond the job description, like scoring hard-to-get tickets to a show.
(Taken from Real Simple.)

To learn more about tipping in the United States go here.

To learn more about tipping in foreign countries go here.


Bartering

When traveling find out if the country you are visiting usually uses bartering to negotiate exchanges. If bartering is expected, then know how to be prepared. To start, make sure to bring $1, $5, and $10 dollar bills, plus the equivalent in the appropriate currency. Do not carry very much on you at a time to minimalize the impact of petty theft, and to keep a low profile. Also, consider separating the amount that you do carry into two separate wallets so that when a negotiation is finalized you won't flash extra money while paying for the item.

When you find an item you are interested in, decide what amount you are willing to pay for the item. If you are in a busy area, listen to other negotiations to see what the process is and which tactics were more successful. Ask how much the item is and then make your counter offer.

The counter offer is usually one half of the original selling price. After another few exchanges the settling price is typically about 70% of the original price in a successful barter. In order to barter effectively, you must be willing to leave the item if they won't come down to a price that reasonable. If you really are willing to pay the high price, then send perhaps send a pal back after a few minutes to try again, but with different tactics and willing to pay the higher price. This will help to save face after you've put your foot down and it wasn't effective.

If you have seen the item elsewhere, mention that you saw it somewhere else and that their price was cheaper. Another tactic you could try is saying that a friend got the same item there at the price that you are hoping to pay. When you do purchase the item, you should try to use exact change, especially if part o your tactic was to say "that is all I have."

Go here to read about bartering in Mexico.

Go here to read about how bartering works.