In Reply to: you cant afford to tip 95 cents a day? posted by bogden on Friday, 11. October 2013 at 13:02 Bali Time:
Firstly, where did I say that I don't tip? What I am saying, is that many visitors to bali, and to other countries which have a different standard of living to their own country, often apply their own standards to the country they are visiting. And yes, 95 cents can be as much as 20-25% of a hospitality workers daily pay. I was merely asking if the poster would tip 20-25% of a cleaners pay in Australia each day?
As part owner of a tourist resort in another disadvantged country, I see first hand how some of the resort staff, the ones in the "public eye", tended to get all the tips, while others who work in the background get nothing. We actively discourage tipping individuals, and suggest instead that our guests leave something in a "tip box" which is shared equally between every staff member, with the percentage calculated as the number of hours worked by the individual divided by the total hours worked by all staff. Everyone gets their fair share that way.
Now,on a personal note, we stay at the same hotels each time in Bali. All are small and we know all the staff. Every staff member gets a tip at the end of our stay. And that includes security staff, the kitchen hands and even the lady who performs the ceremonies to keep us safe.
So please don't ask me if I think 95cents is a lot of money. I just prefer to see that all the staff involved in making my stay enjoyable get a reward, rather than just a few.