Tipping Guideline For Galapagos Liveaboards?

[runsongas]

i doubt any liveaboards aren't at least paying a living wage by the standards of the country they operate in. the difference is tipping makes it a good wage for the liveaboard staff instead of just enough to get by.

 

[CWK]

i doubt any liveaboards aren't at least paying a living wage by the standards of the country they operate in. the difference is tipping makes it a good wage for the liveaboard staff instead of just enough to get by.

OK. I was on the Aggressor last month. She takes 16 guests and had a crew of 10 on my trip. Lets see what a 10% tip works out to be.

1 week (7 nights) is USD6,995 of which 10% is USD700. USD700 x 16 guests is USD11,200. Occupancy on the Aggressor is pretty high, and I believe that the online booking agencies will show that many trips are full. Let us assume 90% average occupancy, so USD11,200 x 90% = USD10,080. Let us round this down to USD10,000 to be conservative. USD10,000 divided by a crew of 10 is USD1,000 per person. There are 52 weeks in the year. Assume downtime of the boat and crew is 4 weeks a year. therefore each member of crew will work 48 weeks and receive USD48,000 in tips (which is tax free) on top of their living wage.

I think everyone will think of USD48,000 differently. Everyone is welcome to make up their own minds whether this level of tipping is appropriate or excessive. Do remember that Ecuador is a third world country with an annual per capita GDP of less than USD6,000.

 

[runsongas]

you also realize that if the crew worked 48 weeks a year at 7 days a week, this works out to about 2 days off a month and most days are 12 hours or possibly longer?

if you think that is a reasonable work load, you are mental. i doubt any are working every single trip. also if you bothered to check the aggressor site, you would see 36 trips scheduled for 2020.

 

[CWK]

you also realize that if the crew worked 48 weeks a year at 7 days a week, this works out to about 2 days off a month and most days are 12 hours or possibly longer?

if you think that is a reasonable work load, you are mental. i doubt any are working every single trip. also if you bothered to check the aggressor site, you would see 36 trips scheduled for 2020.

Feel free to adjust the parameters. What numbers do you come up with?

 

[chillyinCanada]

Most staff in Belize, whether dive crew, hotel staff, waitress at a restaurant or a bartender with no cutomers, all work about 12 hours per day (except for days off). They don't make much either
Should their customers ensure that they make more than the doctors do?

 

[runsongas]

Feel free to adjust the parameters. What numbers do you come up with?

doesn't matter what numbers it comes out to. at the end of the day, you just don't feel the crew deserve to be paid more than third world wages.

 

[CWK]

doesn't matter what numbers it comes out to. at the end of the day, you just don't feel the crew deserve to be paid more than third world wages.

You are absolutely wrong. I would love for the crew to get USD48,000 per annum in non taxable tips on top of their living wage. It’s no skin off my nose and I wish them well.

To me, tips are discretionary and I exercise my discretion. Likewise, you are at liberty to exercise your discretion.

 

[runsongas]

right, because you aren't tipping them.

 

[CWK]

right, because you aren't tipping them.

Wrong again. I do tip for service above expected service levels. If anyone wants to tip at 10%, I applaud them. And if anyone steps up to the American standard of 20%, that’s even better. Be generous by all means. People from different parts of the world have different tipping customs. The LOBs know and understand this.

 

[runsongas]

So why do you have a problem with liveaboard operations asking ALL their guests to be generous then? At the end of the day, you either value the service provided or you don't. And to me that means you don't value the people providing the service.