A CEO Confession: The One Topic I’ve Been Avoiding (Until Now)!
Let’s Talk About Tipping: A Message From Leatherback Travel’s CEO…
Since Rebeca and I founded Leatherback Travel, tipping has always been a tricky topic.
Most guests accept it, but I doubt that anyone really likes it.
And in that time, at Leatherback Travel we’ve used vague terms to explain tipping to our guests. We’d say that a tipping kitty is required because of, “customs related to tipping” and leave it at that.
But, we’ve realised it’s not really fair, as the reality is a bit different.
It’s not just about ‘customs’ – the truth is a bit more complex. So we thought it was time to explain – clearly and honestly, what’s actually happening behind the scenes.
Let’s start with the obvious. Tripping is not a fun topic for Aussies and Kiwis. None of us like it either. It feels awkward, unclear and vaguely uncomfortable. And culturally, it just isn’t how we’re wired.
But, it just happens to be the case that there’s one very large travel market that feels the exact opposite.
The American Tipping Reality
The United States has a deeply ingrained tipping culture. Everyone knows it. And because of that, American travellers tip a lot by global standards.
And whether we like it or not, this has a knock-on effect that most travellers never see.
Why Guides Love Working With American Groups
Guiding is not a casual job in many parts of the world.
In fact, in many countries it’s a high-status profession.
It’s common for excellent guides to have left careers as lawyers, doctors, professors, architects or academics to do this work. And if someone is going to give up a stable, high-paying career for seasonal, uncertain income, it’s completely reasonable that they’ll try to maximise their earnings.
And quite simply, the highest earning potential comes from American tour groups.
That’s the reality that we need to accept, if we’re going to find the best trip leaders..
What This Looks Like Behind the Scenes
Every year, when we’re scheduling trips, this becomes very clear.
The best trip leaders will always be booked. For them, it’s not about if they’ll be booked. They get to pick and choose which brands they’re going to work with.
So when you call them, one of the first questions they’ll ask is, “Where are the guests from?'”
If the answer is “mostly America”, the conversation is easy.
If it’s not, you suddenly have to work harder. You have to explain that your travellers, while coming from elsewhere, still value the guide, still contribute fairly, and still make the trip worthwhile, and have agreed to contribute to a tipping kitty.
Generally, it works, because Leatherback Travel (including all of our different communities/brands) has a good reputation within the guiding community for keeping our promises.
Should We Try to Fight This?
Often, when people are talking to us, our first instinct is often to say, “How can we combat this?”
But it’s worth asking a better question: “Why should we?”
Yes, Australians don’t like tipping. I’m Australian, too – I get it. I loathe it.
And yes, when tipping is factored in, some guides earn far more than the average person in their country.
But here’s the thing – these guides are not your average people. Many of these countries simply don’t have an abundance of highly educated English speakers on tap who are willing to leave their families for weeks on end.
Many of the best guides could walk back into a stable, well-paid professional career tomorrow if they wanted to. They could, if they wanted, get jobs where they’re with their family at home every night.
So, given how difficult this job can be…
Is there something actually wrong with them wanting to earn as much as possible during a short guiding season?
When you think about it, there’s only one answer:
Of course not.
Why Not Just Pay Them More Instead?
And then the next question is just as understandable.
“Does this mean the guide is underpaid? Just pay them more!”
This sounds sensible, but in practice it changes less than you’d expect. Even on trips where tips are officially “included”, American travellers tend to tip anyway. It’s cultural, habitual and deeply ingrained.
So for trip leaders, the same questions still matter: is the brand reputable? Does the company treat its guides well? Are the travellers American?
If not, is there a tip kitty – and how much goes into it?
But Isn’t the Tip Kitty For Many Service Providers, not Just The Trip Leader?
Yes.
It is meant to be shared among drivers, porters, hotel staff, local guides and service providers along the way. (And it is.)
But, it’s also true that the here’s the uncomfortable truth :The bigger the tip kitty, the bigger the trip leader’s share.
It’s just how the system works.
Why We’re Being Honest About This
We’re not saying this to pressure anyone.
We’re certainly not saying you must like tipping. But we’ve reached a point of acceptance of this topic.
We had to make a choice – do we want the best trip leaders or do we want to stand on principle because we dislike tipping so much.
And in the end, we’ve decided that we want to compete for the best trip leaders. And our hope is that this explanation goes some way to helping you understand this dynamic.
Transparency beats vagueness every time.
And now, at least, you know exactly what’s going on behind the scenes.
Mat – CEO – Fencox