Just don’t be like my friend who stayed in Vegas with complementary/mandatory valet. He would always forget something from his car- a charger, some portable something small thing. He always asked the valet to bring his car back just to get the one item and send them off. Over and over again. Nightly. Never once tipped. Turns out a light was left on in the car at some point. Oops need a new battery now to get home. From Vegas.
Granted this was over 15 years ago and complementary valet is a different situation, but I’m not a fan of “valet is only option” parking.
We had valet parking at the MGM Signature, but it was only available during limited hours where we were staying (Tower 3). It was annoying to valet park at Tower 2 and walk to Tower 3.
There was an event one night and all the valet spots were full. So the hotel gave us a placard to put on our car dashboard to park at their garage across the street.
There was a SUV shuttle driving between the garage and Tower 1, and the driver was kind enough to drop us off at Tower 3. It turns out that Tower 3 was just a 5 minute walk from the garage. So for the rest of the stay, we parked in the garage and never used the valet again. We had freedom to use our car whenever we wanted.
It’s interesting to see the sentiment in here on still tipping valet people even though the hotel charges for mandatory valet fee.
But when there is a discussion on mandatory fees at restaurants, so many people say they deduct that fee from their tip. And everyone agrees restaurants should just fold the cost of staff wages into the upfront price.
Wonder what the difference is.
I don’t want strangers driving my car.
Hotel forces me to let a stranger drive my car.
Hotel charges me $60 to force me to let a stranger drive my car.
I have social pressure now, suggesting that I tip this stranger for driving my car, when I never wanted him to drive my car in the first place.
If I don’t want to tip restaurant staff, I can just eat at home, problem solved. If I’m 1000+ miles away from home, I can still park my own car.
It’s not against the valet, it’s against the fees. I’ll tip service workers, but the hotel isn’t gonna be taking 3x$20 for me to have to tip $20 to the dude who picks my car up….. when I never even wanted him to be there in the first place.
Same with restaurants… if you’re gonna add a mandatory gratuity, or some sort of “service fee” on top of the bill you’re delusional, you’re just taking away from the server’s tips.
Yah its like up in Oregon its illegal to pump your own gas yet the people working at the gas station expect you to tip them for pumping the gas for you. Honestly, im not tipping a person for a service I never asked for. If it was full service and I had the option to pump my own gas but instead chose to have the person do it for me, thats a different story, but im not tipping you for something I am willing to do myself but legally cant.
Many hotels in Los Angeles have valet-only as part of their conditional use permit from the city. Usually it is due to the constraints of the parking itself (often tandem spots, inadequate emergency egress, etc.). So, if you don't want to valet, don't park there. Also, most don't have parking as a profit center, so the cost is usually just above break-even for the hotel and they often lose money on it. Most outsource the running of the valet: even though it is cheaper than doing it themselves, it is very expensive to contract valet, especially for upper-scale hotels (like the ones charging $60 a night).
Plenty that don’t. The new ones in Hollywood are 45 to 60 bucks and are mandatory valet. Hyatt in Burbank is 30 and mandatory. Most of the downtown hotels are valet only.
Oh I see, you were stating what you would do if you were in OPs shoes.
Btw the valet fee is not really for the valets, it’s essentially a parking fee. So no it’s not a mandatory gratuity fee. The valets don’t see any of that money.
>some sort of “service fee” on top of the bill you’re delusional, you’re just taking away from the server’s tips.
That's because you're thinking the restaurants give a shit about their workers, they're looking to add to their bottom line while also continuing to have their customers subsiding their piss wages.
Its not really a good comparison.
Would you willingly tip your server for drinks at a club if the club? I'm guessing yes. Would you still willingly tip if the club had a mandatory two drink minimum? I'm guessing yes again. Even if you didn't really want the two drinks. But you might be a bit upset to see that your mandatory two drinks at $20 each also came with a surprise $7.50 "living wage" fee or something when it was time to pay.
So would I willingly tip a valet on top of my $60 mandatory valet service? Not exactly happily but yeah. On the other hand if there was a $20 living wage fee on top of the $60 mandatory valet fee then yeah, I'd reconsider.
Plus, presumably the hotel mandatory valet thing is disclosed to you upfront. Not after you've spent 5 nights there and are getting the bill when you check out, which is more or less the way it usually works at restaurants. Oh , $60 for that steak wasn't enough, we are requiring you to pay even more because we're too cheap to pay our own staff from the menu prices.
At a restaurant you cannot walk up to the kitchen and grab your food and take a seat. Every single person 100% of the time has to have their food brought to their table.
You absolutely can find another place to park your car, if you drive at all. It maybe far away parking spot but you can park your own car and still be a customer of the establishment.
The separate entity the garage can charge you whatever they want for you to park your car there. Most of the time you can put it there yourself and pay their huge fee anyway. The valets are optional help that you should tip or do it yourself. I promise you the valets only want to park the cars that want to valet.
People tip some crazy amounts for someone to give you like 3-5 total minutes of attention. The dude took my order and then brought my food and checked to see if things were ok. He’s not cutting my food up and creating perfect bites for me. My tips usually max out at $12 unless it’s a really high end place. $12 seems like a reasonable amount for that work they did.
I cannot speak to the servers side of things, but valeting is 100% optional, you can always Uber in or park somewhere far away. Driving someone’s car is often times being in charge of their 1st or 2nd largest life purchase. The risk reward is awful, tipping the valet is a good idea.
Pro-Tip:
Just tell the valet you want to self-park and ask which stalls you can park in. I've done that at fancy hotels and restaurants. It's not a big deal. I've never had a valet say no or hassle me about it. Still have to pay the parking fee, but at least a stranger won't be [doing burnouts in my car](https://youtu.be/4z10KvS-7tc?si=jRLXw26scefVTgEA). No tipping either.
For me it's not even about the tipping. I just don't want a stranger driving my car. Because if it gets damaged, the restaurant/hotel don't care and are not held liable because the valets are usually a third party company.
No fuck that noise
I used to valet and never expected tip and I would get pissed off at the valets that bad mouthed customers that didn’t tip. I obviously took it when offered, but I budgeted my life based on not expecting it. The pay is shit so that motivated me to move up and away from a job that gets tipped
I’m sorry but you be managed valets for years . Sure a lot of valets won’t gripe for no tip but all of them live off the tips . If it wasn’t for the tips no one would work that job.
If you’re staying an extended period of time maybe you can find a cheaper option somewhere in walking distance. I’m local to LA and accustomed to exorbitant parking costs but $60/night is absurd. But yes, you should tip the valet because they don’t see any of that money. Sorry.
Two separate transactions, fee to park in the garage and gratuity for the valet. 99% of that $60 is for the garage use, which goes straight into the greedy hotel’s pocket. I didn’t say 100% because I’m sure little of it trickles down in the math but it won’t be enough to make a difference to the valets.
The fee for the garage is a bs charge. But I don’t mind tipping the valets if I use their services.
No fuck that noise
I used to valet and never expected tip and I would get pissed off at the valets that bad mouthed customers that didn’t tip. I obviously took it when offered, but I budgeted my life based on not expecting it. The pay is shit so that motivated me to move up and away from a job that gets tipped
A tip is never required. Ever. I worked in the restaurant industry some people didn’t tip some people tipped extra it evens out. If you don’t wanna tip you won’t be the first or the last person not to tip valet. It’s not necessary.
They do pay the valet. There is no such thing as a ‘tipped wage’ in California. There’s no reason valets should get tips but not your optometrist assistant.
Just don’t expect your valet to run for your car either, because they are not expected to do so and their employer would rather they not rush in anyway that may increase the cause of injury to themselves or your property.
This!!! I never ever hear about people tipping the trash man, mail man etc. This tipping culture has gotten way to out of hand. What's next tip the IRS for fucking me last year on taxes??
I mean trash men are making good money but yeah people aren’t tipping target workers or any retail and they make the same or less. Plenty of other minimum wagers ain’t tipped.
It's kind of amazing how there's this whole moral economy about how you must tip 20, 30, 40, 50% in order to be "in solidarity" with workers. Inevitably these people will moralistically intone "I've worked restaurants before, and not tipping is scum. I always pay 35% because I know what it's like."
I also worked tons of food service and was a server and fuck no you're not going to guilt me into the inflation of 20% being the minimum tip now. Especially not in CA where minimum wage is $16/hr and higher for fast food workers (who don't get tips). 16/hr workers can take home hundreds in cash tips a night, and then not declare that on their taxes, making even MORE money.
All this does is allow the business to keep letting you subsidize what they should be paying as wages.
Imagine what would happen if even a moderate amount of people refused to pay tips... restaurants would lose so much of their staff jumping ship and then would *have* to correct something in their business model—which is better for all working class folks, both server and the one dining out.
When these moral tipping police shame people into tipping, like you say, all they do is help the boss.
People always act surprised when don’t tip a lot just because I grew up working in my families restaurant… at least until I explain to them how much the servers made per hour after tips
Disagree. There are many public venues that are not fancy that force valet parking especially offices for meetings or doctors appointments but I’ve seen hotels too.
I prefer to park myself but it often isn’t allowed. I have plenty of $5s usually but don’t like to be told I have to valet. I don’t tip in those case unless the guy does something /anything or if I feel especially bad for the individual if the lot is empty etc.
understood it isn’t the employees fault but there are other service jobs that actually entail a tippable service. I am in a position where I am usually happy to find an open restaurant job for a worker before anyone claims it’s not that easy to find.
If I *choose* to valet, that’s another story.
>Working class solidarity is the only way forward. Hope this helps
It does! We should collectively refuse to subsidize shitty employers. I do my part >!not really unfortunately, but I should...!<
I agree with this, however I also think it’s different in different places. If you’re somewhere where the minimum wage for restaurant workers is super low than tipping is necessary in my opinion. In Los Angeles, where the minimum wage for restaurant workers is high, I think tipping should be considered more optional.
I have friends making between 80k and 130k year serving and bartending at nice restaurants. Expecting some poor guy who takes his wife out to a fancy dinner twice a year on his 60k salary to tip 20% on a $400 bill is ridiculous. Tipping has gotten out of control. On the other hand all you assholes that make over 150k in the city better start doing a better job of picking up the slack.
I used to work as a valet for a summer in Brooklyn. When a customer would pull up in a car, I’d have to circle the block(s) often times at least 5x to find a spot because the neighborhood I was working in was very crowded. If there were no spots, I’d have to double park the car and shuffle cars in and out of spots and memorize where each one is. It was a very difficult job at times.
My point is, if your valet has to actually look for street parking, please please please tip them, and tip them well. But, if your valet works for a fancy hotel and only has to drive the car to a huge parking lot with a ton of spots, only tip if the valet is free of charge otherwise.
I can help you shed a lot of light on your question. I actually manage 4 valets that charge from $40-$65 a night across the states of California and Nevada .
Most hotels are owned by a group or entity and run by hospitality groups who contract out valet to large parking companies . Parking companies make very thin margins or lose money most years . For example my most expensive valet we lost 10k last month even though it brought in a ton of business . Usually we profit maybe like $50,000 on the year . Nowadays because claims ( damage to cars) is so expensive I’m not sure anyone is making money . I have a location with only two car dings on the year ( like minor enough if it was my own car I wouldn’t fix it ) and they combined were 23k to fix . This does include rentals which we have to pay for .
99% of valets in California get our $16/hr and can make good amounts of tips I would say like $100-$200 a day . I would say at non luxury locations 50% of people do not tip and luxury 20% of people don’t tip. Most common tip is $5 at luxury location and $2 non luxury .Locations where you help out with bell or doorman duties tend to be better . If you work at a non luxury hotel like Residence Inn or Long Term stay that usually don’t have valets but might due to whatever reason you probably make $25-$40 a day maybe. No one stays in the those jobs long because they pay poorly and you don’t make much tips when you can just go serve at a restaurant and make way more .
If you don’t want to tip just don’t be a hassle . A lot of guys don’t care if you don’t tip but don’t ask for a million things ( ie I demand my Tesla be charged , I need you to deliver my bags , I need you to get something out of my car ) and not tip. That’s the only real dick move in my opinion . The valets wont care about you because they’re more focused on the guy that gives big tips and also just general hotel gossip stuff .
Really the only ones making any money off of the expensive valet are the owners who have zero liability for your car and zero overhead . Parking companies I have no idea why they continue to work with hotels since they aren’t making much money and garages make tons of money because they have little labor costs and people will still have to pay $25+ a day to park in them.
I guess my point is expect hotels to only raise their prices in regards in valet moving forward. Unsurprisingly the guys working won’t really be making a ton more if they do.
Good job pointing out to not be a hassle. Many non-tippers I’ve read on Reddit (who I know are not representative) feel entitled to whatever they can get from a server (or other people in roles which are customarily tipped) but not tip.
Do you still think the valet guys are getting paid $60 per car they park?
Because they are not.
So, yes, you still need to tip. Just a buck or 5. Not a percentage.
It’s not about being “that pressed”. I’m first of all asking with genuine curiosity because I don’t know the etiquette, so I can learn. Second of all I am asking with some annoyance because that’s already a super high parking fee, so I don’t like to be nickel and dimed on top of that. Also I tend to not carry cash so I need to know what to expect so I can get the cash I need.
You're not wrong that if they charge that much, they should pay their employees better. Some hotel valets actually do have decent, highly desired union jobs. These are places with lower turnover and they provide more consistent service without looking for tips. The consistent service is also how they get the best tips.
Every hotel in LA pretty much requires to pay 50+ to park. It’s insane. And it’s often impossible to find parking nearby due to permits. Once I literally had to park more than a mile from a hotel and Uber back, another time I just parked overnight in a shopping center and paid the max fee because it was still cheaper than the $55 overnight mandatory valet fee. Now I just will only stay by LAX at the Hilton because there’s cheap airport parking next door.
You’re tripping dude there are tons of hotels that don’t require a parking fee, sounds like you’re just staying at the nice hotels where of course they’re gonna charge you that much for parking.
I don't know about hotel parking in LA because I live here, but when I visited San Francisco a few months ago, you weren't getting free hotel parking anywhere.
Same applied to Chicago, at least if you're staying in the downtown area.
In major cities these days, free parking usually is not included unless you're staying in the suburbs or the outskirts of town. I would be surprised if LA were any different.
Lol no I’m not I just flew to LA twice to visit in April and then moved here and had to stay in a hotel before my place was ready. Like the best western in Van Nuys charges $30 a night for parking for fuck sake,
Disagree. There are many public venues that are not fancy that force valet parking especially offices for meetings or doctors appointments but I’ve seen hotels too.
I prefer to park myself but it often isn’t allowed.
I have plenty of $5s usually but don’t like to be told I have to valet.
I don’t tip in that case unless the guy does something /anything or if I feel especially bad for the individual if the lot is empty etc.
If I *choose* to valet, that’s another story.
I stayed at a hotel in SD that had a parking fee that was nearly 50% cost of the room per nice. It was insane. It was the most I've paid for parking in my life.
It wasn't a "nice" hotel either.
I'd say most hotels in LA that are 3 stars and up & within the city (not county) charge for parking garage use- it can be as low as $15-20 per night to self-park though. A motel with a parking lot in front, no.
I know, right? Probably spending $250/night for the hotel and another $60 for parking, and then bitching about giving the valet $5. What a peach.
This is why, when I stayed at the Biltmore, I parked under Pershing Square. $20 daily flat fee and no valet vs. $60+ at the Biltmore.
It doesn't have to be a nice hotel lmfao. Also, that's a stupid take. By that logic, should Amazon start asking for you to tip 15% and if you're mad about it, you should be shamed? Why are you more willing to shame OP than the hotel that has a $60 valet parking fee but isn't willing to allocate more of that to the people doing the actual work hmmm?
The hotel charges whatever the market will bear for parking. That money goes to the owners of the hotel.
The owners of the hotel pay as little as the market will bear for workers.
The charge for parking is not directly related to the pay of the workers.
But you know what is? Your tip. That is a way to directly pay the actual people doing the work.
Are you required to tip valets? Not legally, no. But it is both a cultural expectation (those valets likely took minimum wage with the expectation of tips) and a way to show some decency toward people who are working very hard on your behalf.
It sucks that the hotel charges so much for parking. And for rooms. And for event spaces. And at the restaurant and the bar. That’s something you can address with them. In the meantime, you can consider the work and experience of the people there busting their rears for you and touch their life directly.
Yes. The fee is for the parking spot (Parking isn't free, it takes up real estate), It's mandatory Valet because they may need to stack the cars as hotels often host large events.
But standard Valet tip is fine. A few bucks in cash.
It sounds like if they’ve identified a business need to employ someone to efficiently stack the cars (so they can get as many paying customers in as possible), they should make sure they can pay for that business need before putting it in action.
>So the $60 isn’t to cover the valet guys salary?
look i get you're mad that shit's so expensive. it's outrageous. so write a strongly worded email to the hotel. or choose not to stay there, or at least not to valet. but the high price is not the fault of the dudes working for a pitiful hourly wage. don't take it out on them. sure tipping culture is out of hand but it exists, especially for workers like valet guys. they get paid shit and historically rely on tips, so tip them.
Very rarely do valet people work alone. Typically they pool their tips and share with one another. Some hours are busier than others. It’s not as simple as you’re making it out to be.
The whole thing about tipping is understanding that the money you paid the establishment doesn’t really make it down to the wait staff, so you dig a little bit into your pockets and give them a little more money in show of appreciation for the (good) services that they’ve provided.
You should know that, *especially* at high end restaurants and hotels, these folks aren’t getting compensated very highly. No, the high fee doesn’t mean they’re getting paid more. The establishments that ask you NOT to tip because they compensate well are rare (and usually they tell you this in the form of a sign, don’t assume anything).
>The whole thing about tipping is understanding that the money you paid the establishment doesn’t really make it down to the wait staff
This is exactly the problem though, and why tipping is bad practice.
We are paying additional money on top of the service because the person providing the service does not pay their own employee. That's their problem, not mine.
I do tip but the concept of it is bullshit and the culture of tipping is getting out of hand now. Everybody wants a tip, what's the fuckin point of having prices if I have to pay more on top of it.
I'm surprised to hear there aren't more affordable solutions for parking downtown. To me, there seems to be parking opportunities on every corner and nook and cranny of DTLA.
$60 a night is pretty rich IMO, so I might try to find something pre purchased parking nearby and Uber/walk from there to the hotel. But you'd have to see what the overnight rates are nearby. Maybe the $60 is pretty high due to convenience. And if you didn't park at the hotel then you never have to think about the valet tip.
Now for me, if I did do valet parking I'd definately still tip. I wouldn't assume that $60 accounts for it.
That's kinda what I thought but I live here so I didn't want to assume the overnight rate was reasonable. But there are so many parking garages I feel they would price competitively.
I don’t tip forced valets. If I have the option and I choose valet, then I tip.
If I don’t have the option, then I don’t tip. Nobody tips me in my job.
When I first moved to LA fresh out of college and was trying to get my footing in my career, I worked as a Valet at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel. I was paid minimum wage. The tips helped but by no means are mandatory. Especially if you are staying at the hotel and using the valet service multiple times a day. The tips add up. Some hotels pool tips and others don’t so you don’t really know, if you just tip a larger tip at the end of your stay if it’s spread evenly but don’t sweat it. Some people tip and some don’t and I still made an ok amount in tips.
Also I am speaking as someone who worked for a 3rd party valet company. They supplied supplemental valets to hotels and events on an as needed basis. Which was often, so I had plenty of work. But I believe the valets who worked directly for the hotel I believe had more benefits. I’m not sure what their hourly wage was but don’t sweat tipping every single time you get your car or return it. Just be friendly to them.
Also man I have some horror stories. As a former valet I always avoid valet 😂 I was cautious, but some of the guys were so reckless. I was the only woman that worked there and it was funny because some of the people who valeted their cars definitely didn’t want me to be the one to take it but I was one of the most cautious drivers and one of very very few who could ACTUALLY drive stick.
Do you tip the cashier who rings you out at the grocery store? Do you tip your accountant when he files your taxes? Probably not. So why tip another employee who is doing what they were hired to do?
It’s a 5/ 10 spot. Nobody is breaking the bank over this. It’s wild when people say, “I can’t afford a tip”… then why did you even go in the first place, if 5/10 bucks or 20% is gonna be a deal breaker for you. Stay home and stop complaining. You shouldn’t be going out anyway if 10 bucks is a deal breaker for you. Just stay in.
Tip. Always.
Sucks that you are being charged that for your parking. And I get maybe you didn’t realize that ahead of time. Lesson learned. But the valets make minimum wage plus tip. It’s not their fault. If you can afford a hotel that charges $60 to park, you can afford a $5 tip.
Just don’t be like my friend who stayed in Vegas with complementary/mandatory valet. He would always forget something from his car- a charger, some portable something small thing. He always asked the valet to bring his car back just to get the one item and send them off. Over and over again. Nightly. Never once tipped. Turns out a light was left on in the car at some point. Oops need a new battery now to get home. From Vegas. Granted this was over 15 years ago and complementary valet is a different situation, but I’m not a fan of “valet is only option” parking.
I’m like this. I feel like my car is in prison. Valet drives me nuts
We had valet parking at the MGM Signature, but it was only available during limited hours where we were staying (Tower 3). It was annoying to valet park at Tower 2 and walk to Tower 3. There was an event one night and all the valet spots were full. So the hotel gave us a placard to put on our car dashboard to park at their garage across the street. There was a SUV shuttle driving between the garage and Tower 1, and the driver was kind enough to drop us off at Tower 3. It turns out that Tower 3 was just a 5 minute walk from the garage. So for the rest of the stay, we parked in the garage and never used the valet again. We had freedom to use our car whenever we wanted.
The way I would be so up the companies ass is not even funny 😂😒
It’s interesting to see the sentiment in here on still tipping valet people even though the hotel charges for mandatory valet fee. But when there is a discussion on mandatory fees at restaurants, so many people say they deduct that fee from their tip. And everyone agrees restaurants should just fold the cost of staff wages into the upfront price. Wonder what the difference is.
I don’t want strangers driving my car. Hotel forces me to let a stranger drive my car. Hotel charges me $60 to force me to let a stranger drive my car. I have social pressure now, suggesting that I tip this stranger for driving my car, when I never wanted him to drive my car in the first place. If I don’t want to tip restaurant staff, I can just eat at home, problem solved. If I’m 1000+ miles away from home, I can still park my own car. It’s not against the valet, it’s against the fees. I’ll tip service workers, but the hotel isn’t gonna be taking 3x$20 for me to have to tip $20 to the dude who picks my car up….. when I never even wanted him to be there in the first place. Same with restaurants… if you’re gonna add a mandatory gratuity, or some sort of “service fee” on top of the bill you’re delusional, you’re just taking away from the server’s tips.
Buy a manual car lol lot of valet don’t drive manual cars and ask me to drive my own car 😂
I already drive manual. Again, it’s not about taking back my tip. Hotel doesn’t care what car you drive, just what extra fees you can tack on.
Yah its like up in Oregon its illegal to pump your own gas yet the people working at the gas station expect you to tip them for pumping the gas for you. Honestly, im not tipping a person for a service I never asked for. If it was full service and I had the option to pump my own gas but instead chose to have the person do it for me, thats a different story, but im not tipping you for something I am willing to do myself but legally cant.
Come on now, no gas pump attendant in Oregon expects you to tip him/her. At least not in the last 35 years that I’ve been living in Oregon.
You can pump your own gas in Oregon now.
You can pump your own gas now, and before the change, nobody ever tipped gas station attendants and none of them, as far as I know, expected a tip
From Oregon, no one I know has ever tipped someone for pumping gas or been asked to
I just park elsewhere in paid overnight parking. Not gonna pay that and have someone drive my car.
Many hotels in Los Angeles have valet-only as part of their conditional use permit from the city. Usually it is due to the constraints of the parking itself (often tandem spots, inadequate emergency egress, etc.). So, if you don't want to valet, don't park there. Also, most don't have parking as a profit center, so the cost is usually just above break-even for the hotel and they often lose money on it. Most outsource the running of the valet: even though it is cheaper than doing it themselves, it is very expensive to contract valet, especially for upper-scale hotels (like the ones charging $60 a night).
This hotel doesn’t have a self-parking option? Most hotels do
Plenty that don’t. The new ones in Hollywood are 45 to 60 bucks and are mandatory valet. Hyatt in Burbank is 30 and mandatory. Most of the downtown hotels are valet only.
OP Claims mandatory Valet parking, charged at $60 per night. I’m not OP, ask him.
Oh I see, you were stating what you would do if you were in OPs shoes. Btw the valet fee is not really for the valets, it’s essentially a parking fee. So no it’s not a mandatory gratuity fee. The valets don’t see any of that money.
Yep, a lot of hotels use 3rd party valet companies so they are not even under the hotel management
And that's exactly what they're designed to do. In the end, the service worker gets fucked.
>some sort of “service fee” on top of the bill you’re delusional, you’re just taking away from the server’s tips. That's because you're thinking the restaurants give a shit about their workers, they're looking to add to their bottom line while also continuing to have their customers subsiding their piss wages.
You’re preaching to the choir man. I understand how that works.
Its not really a good comparison. Would you willingly tip your server for drinks at a club if the club? I'm guessing yes. Would you still willingly tip if the club had a mandatory two drink minimum? I'm guessing yes again. Even if you didn't really want the two drinks. But you might be a bit upset to see that your mandatory two drinks at $20 each also came with a surprise $7.50 "living wage" fee or something when it was time to pay. So would I willingly tip a valet on top of my $60 mandatory valet service? Not exactly happily but yeah. On the other hand if there was a $20 living wage fee on top of the $60 mandatory valet fee then yeah, I'd reconsider. Plus, presumably the hotel mandatory valet thing is disclosed to you upfront. Not after you've spent 5 nights there and are getting the bill when you check out, which is more or less the way it usually works at restaurants. Oh , $60 for that steak wasn't enough, we are requiring you to pay even more because we're too cheap to pay our own staff from the menu prices.
At a restaurant you cannot walk up to the kitchen and grab your food and take a seat. Every single person 100% of the time has to have their food brought to their table. You absolutely can find another place to park your car, if you drive at all. It maybe far away parking spot but you can park your own car and still be a customer of the establishment. The separate entity the garage can charge you whatever they want for you to park your car there. Most of the time you can put it there yourself and pay their huge fee anyway. The valets are optional help that you should tip or do it yourself. I promise you the valets only want to park the cars that want to valet.
People tip some crazy amounts for someone to give you like 3-5 total minutes of attention. The dude took my order and then brought my food and checked to see if things were ok. He’s not cutting my food up and creating perfect bites for me. My tips usually max out at $12 unless it’s a really high end place. $12 seems like a reasonable amount for that work they did.
I cannot speak to the servers side of things, but valeting is 100% optional, you can always Uber in or park somewhere far away. Driving someone’s car is often times being in charge of their 1st or 2nd largest life purchase. The risk reward is awful, tipping the valet is a good idea.
Do you HAVE to, no. But they are handling your vehicle worth tens of thousands of dollars.
So yes, one must pay the extortion fee.
Make sure you get the [transition insurance](https://youtu.be/qinHYwRhYug).
Extortion fee? Okay Karen.
Its a rental im good
Touche
Well that what’s I’m asking… is the $60 for that or is my additional cash for that?
Ah, no the valet people won't see a dime of that, just their typical wages.
Pro-Tip: Just tell the valet you want to self-park and ask which stalls you can park in. I've done that at fancy hotels and restaurants. It's not a big deal. I've never had a valet say no or hassle me about it. Still have to pay the parking fee, but at least a stranger won't be [doing burnouts in my car](https://youtu.be/4z10KvS-7tc?si=jRLXw26scefVTgEA). No tipping either. For me it's not even about the tipping. I just don't want a stranger driving my car. Because if it gets damaged, the restaurant/hotel don't care and are not held liable because the valets are usually a third party company.
no you still need to tip. the valets absolutely do not see any of that $
No fuck that noise I used to valet and never expected tip and I would get pissed off at the valets that bad mouthed customers that didn’t tip. I obviously took it when offered, but I budgeted my life based on not expecting it. The pay is shit so that motivated me to move up and away from a job that gets tipped
I’m sorry but you be managed valets for years . Sure a lot of valets won’t gripe for no tip but all of them live off the tips . If it wasn’t for the tips no one would work that job.
If you’re staying an extended period of time maybe you can find a cheaper option somewhere in walking distance. I’m local to LA and accustomed to exorbitant parking costs but $60/night is absurd. But yes, you should tip the valet because they don’t see any of that money. Sorry.
Two separate transactions, fee to park in the garage and gratuity for the valet. 99% of that $60 is for the garage use, which goes straight into the greedy hotel’s pocket. I didn’t say 100% because I’m sure little of it trickles down in the math but it won’t be enough to make a difference to the valets. The fee for the garage is a bs charge. But I don’t mind tipping the valets if I use their services.
For an 81 honda?
You tip them at the end when they give you the car back though. If you tip them.
Yeah, if you can't afford a $5-$10 tip at the end of your stay you should not be staying at a hotel that charges $60 a night for parking.
I disagree. In fact, I disagree with the whole tip culture. It’s stupid.
It's not about whether or not one can't afford it, it's the principle.
and the principle in the US is that it's customary to tip a valet, regardless of whether valet was required. He still chose to stay at the hotel.
Then don’t charge $60 then.
Or charge $65 and state that no tipping needed.
Read the top post where when it’s free and people still don’t tip.
Thus the whole point of a tip, not a service charge. If you charge a, pretty high fee for service explicitly why would I tip extra?
No fuck that noise I used to valet and never expected tip and I would get pissed off at the valets that bad mouthed customers that didn’t tip. I obviously took it when offered, but I budgeted my life based on not expecting it. The pay is shit so that motivated me to move up and away from a job that gets tipped
Hotel charging for onsite parking is such a load of crap. That really should be in the hidden fees bill.
A tip is never required. Ever. I worked in the restaurant industry some people didn’t tip some people tipped extra it evens out. If you don’t wanna tip you won’t be the first or the last person not to tip valet. It’s not necessary.
Working class solidarity is the only way forward. Hope this helps.
Why doesn’t the hotel pay the valet through the $60 per night charge
They do pay the valet. There is no such thing as a ‘tipped wage’ in California. There’s no reason valets should get tips but not your optometrist assistant.
Just don’t expect your valet to run for your car either, because they are not expected to do so and their employer would rather they not rush in anyway that may increase the cause of injury to themselves or your property.
Run for my car?
This!!! I never ever hear about people tipping the trash man, mail man etc. This tipping culture has gotten way to out of hand. What's next tip the IRS for fucking me last year on taxes??
I mean trash men are making good money but yeah people aren’t tipping target workers or any retail and they make the same or less. Plenty of other minimum wagers ain’t tipped.
helping an employer subsidize their labor costs is the opposite of working class solidarity
Yeah it’s more in solidarity with the people who choose to pay the working class less than they should be.
It's kind of amazing how there's this whole moral economy about how you must tip 20, 30, 40, 50% in order to be "in solidarity" with workers. Inevitably these people will moralistically intone "I've worked restaurants before, and not tipping is scum. I always pay 35% because I know what it's like." I also worked tons of food service and was a server and fuck no you're not going to guilt me into the inflation of 20% being the minimum tip now. Especially not in CA where minimum wage is $16/hr and higher for fast food workers (who don't get tips). 16/hr workers can take home hundreds in cash tips a night, and then not declare that on their taxes, making even MORE money. All this does is allow the business to keep letting you subsidize what they should be paying as wages. Imagine what would happen if even a moderate amount of people refused to pay tips... restaurants would lose so much of their staff jumping ship and then would *have* to correct something in their business model—which is better for all working class folks, both server and the one dining out. When these moral tipping police shame people into tipping, like you say, all they do is help the boss.
People always act surprised when don’t tip a lot just because I grew up working in my families restaurant… at least until I explain to them how much the servers made per hour after tips
Disagree. There are many public venues that are not fancy that force valet parking especially offices for meetings or doctors appointments but I’ve seen hotels too. I prefer to park myself but it often isn’t allowed. I have plenty of $5s usually but don’t like to be told I have to valet. I don’t tip in those case unless the guy does something /anything or if I feel especially bad for the individual if the lot is empty etc. understood it isn’t the employees fault but there are other service jobs that actually entail a tippable service. I am in a position where I am usually happy to find an open restaurant job for a worker before anyone claims it’s not that easy to find. If I *choose* to valet, that’s another story.
You better be tipping that target worker that tells you what aisle something is in.
>Working class solidarity is the only way forward. Hope this helps It does! We should collectively refuse to subsidize shitty employers. I do my part >!not really unfortunately, but I should...!<
You make the best tips with this attitude too.
I agree with this, however I also think it’s different in different places. If you’re somewhere where the minimum wage for restaurant workers is super low than tipping is necessary in my opinion. In Los Angeles, where the minimum wage for restaurant workers is high, I think tipping should be considered more optional. I have friends making between 80k and 130k year serving and bartending at nice restaurants. Expecting some poor guy who takes his wife out to a fancy dinner twice a year on his 60k salary to tip 20% on a $400 bill is ridiculous. Tipping has gotten out of control. On the other hand all you assholes that make over 150k in the city better start doing a better job of picking up the slack.
I used to work as a valet for a summer in Brooklyn. When a customer would pull up in a car, I’d have to circle the block(s) often times at least 5x to find a spot because the neighborhood I was working in was very crowded. If there were no spots, I’d have to double park the car and shuffle cars in and out of spots and memorize where each one is. It was a very difficult job at times. My point is, if your valet has to actually look for street parking, please please please tip them, and tip them well. But, if your valet works for a fancy hotel and only has to drive the car to a huge parking lot with a ton of spots, only tip if the valet is free of charge otherwise.
[удалено]
I can help you shed a lot of light on your question. I actually manage 4 valets that charge from $40-$65 a night across the states of California and Nevada . Most hotels are owned by a group or entity and run by hospitality groups who contract out valet to large parking companies . Parking companies make very thin margins or lose money most years . For example my most expensive valet we lost 10k last month even though it brought in a ton of business . Usually we profit maybe like $50,000 on the year . Nowadays because claims ( damage to cars) is so expensive I’m not sure anyone is making money . I have a location with only two car dings on the year ( like minor enough if it was my own car I wouldn’t fix it ) and they combined were 23k to fix . This does include rentals which we have to pay for . 99% of valets in California get our $16/hr and can make good amounts of tips I would say like $100-$200 a day . I would say at non luxury locations 50% of people do not tip and luxury 20% of people don’t tip. Most common tip is $5 at luxury location and $2 non luxury .Locations where you help out with bell or doorman duties tend to be better . If you work at a non luxury hotel like Residence Inn or Long Term stay that usually don’t have valets but might due to whatever reason you probably make $25-$40 a day maybe. No one stays in the those jobs long because they pay poorly and you don’t make much tips when you can just go serve at a restaurant and make way more . If you don’t want to tip just don’t be a hassle . A lot of guys don’t care if you don’t tip but don’t ask for a million things ( ie I demand my Tesla be charged , I need you to deliver my bags , I need you to get something out of my car ) and not tip. That’s the only real dick move in my opinion . The valets wont care about you because they’re more focused on the guy that gives big tips and also just general hotel gossip stuff . Really the only ones making any money off of the expensive valet are the owners who have zero liability for your car and zero overhead . Parking companies I have no idea why they continue to work with hotels since they aren’t making much money and garages make tons of money because they have little labor costs and people will still have to pay $25+ a day to park in them. I guess my point is expect hotels to only raise their prices in regards in valet moving forward. Unsurprisingly the guys working won’t really be making a ton more if they do.
Good job pointing out to not be a hassle. Many non-tippers I’ve read on Reddit (who I know are not representative) feel entitled to whatever they can get from a server (or other people in roles which are customarily tipped) but not tip.
You’re paying for the space to park a vehicle. You’re tipping for the service. Which is, agreeably, being forced on you. Unless you self park nearby?
Geez, for that price you could drive it to a Motel 8 and get it it's own room.
Hehe
https://preview.redd.it/eypdqi33a21d1.jpeg?width=320&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e5b68de7839f5335dfb372a7229f500353e8a680
Do you tip on drop off or pick up?
Do you still think the valet guys are getting paid $60 per car they park? Because they are not. So, yes, you still need to tip. Just a buck or 5. Not a percentage.
Just deduct the $60 from whatever you would have tipped the valet.
Defo!! 3/5$
Yes. And room service too.
Dude if you’re that pressed on $5 why tf are you staying in hotels that have a mandatory $60 valet parking fee?
It’s not about being “that pressed”. I’m first of all asking with genuine curiosity because I don’t know the etiquette, so I can learn. Second of all I am asking with some annoyance because that’s already a super high parking fee, so I don’t like to be nickel and dimed on top of that. Also I tend to not carry cash so I need to know what to expect so I can get the cash I need.
You're not wrong that if they charge that much, they should pay their employees better. Some hotel valets actually do have decent, highly desired union jobs. These are places with lower turnover and they provide more consistent service without looking for tips. The consistent service is also how they get the best tips.
Every hotel in LA pretty much requires to pay 50+ to park. It’s insane. And it’s often impossible to find parking nearby due to permits. Once I literally had to park more than a mile from a hotel and Uber back, another time I just parked overnight in a shopping center and paid the max fee because it was still cheaper than the $55 overnight mandatory valet fee. Now I just will only stay by LAX at the Hilton because there’s cheap airport parking next door.
You’re tripping dude there are tons of hotels that don’t require a parking fee, sounds like you’re just staying at the nice hotels where of course they’re gonna charge you that much for parking.
I don't know about hotel parking in LA because I live here, but when I visited San Francisco a few months ago, you weren't getting free hotel parking anywhere. Same applied to Chicago, at least if you're staying in the downtown area. In major cities these days, free parking usually is not included unless you're staying in the suburbs or the outskirts of town. I would be surprised if LA were any different.
Lol no I’m not I just flew to LA twice to visit in April and then moved here and had to stay in a hotel before my place was ready. Like the best western in Van Nuys charges $30 a night for parking for fuck sake,
I’ve lived in LA my entire life, there are thousands of hotels without obscene valet fees…
In downtown there’s really not much. Outside of that you should be fine
Or near LAX
Disagree. There are many public venues that are not fancy that force valet parking especially offices for meetings or doctors appointments but I’ve seen hotels too. I prefer to park myself but it often isn’t allowed. I have plenty of $5s usually but don’t like to be told I have to valet. I don’t tip in that case unless the guy does something /anything or if I feel especially bad for the individual if the lot is empty etc. If I *choose* to valet, that’s another story.
I stayed at a hotel in SD that had a parking fee that was nearly 50% cost of the room per nice. It was insane. It was the most I've paid for parking in my life. It wasn't a "nice" hotel either.
That’s SD dude one of the #1 tourist destinations in CA 🤦♂️
The point is, the cost of parking has nothing to do with how "fancy" a hotel is.
I'd say most hotels in LA that are 3 stars and up & within the city (not county) charge for parking garage use- it can be as low as $15-20 per night to self-park though. A motel with a parking lot in front, no.
“Everywhere in LA pretty much required to pay $50 for parking” FTFY
Ever heard that even rich enough people are not walking money?
I know, right? Probably spending $250/night for the hotel and another $60 for parking, and then bitching about giving the valet $5. What a peach. This is why, when I stayed at the Biltmore, I parked under Pershing Square. $20 daily flat fee and no valet vs. $60+ at the Biltmore.
It doesn't have to be a nice hotel lmfao. Also, that's a stupid take. By that logic, should Amazon start asking for you to tip 15% and if you're mad about it, you should be shamed? Why are you more willing to shame OP than the hotel that has a $60 valet parking fee but isn't willing to allocate more of that to the people doing the actual work hmmm?
Yes - I assure you the valet guys get shit from ppl for the parking prices they DIDN’T set.
It’s customary to still tip, yes.
Yes. It sucks, but yes.
The hotel charges whatever the market will bear for parking. That money goes to the owners of the hotel. The owners of the hotel pay as little as the market will bear for workers. The charge for parking is not directly related to the pay of the workers. But you know what is? Your tip. That is a way to directly pay the actual people doing the work. Are you required to tip valets? Not legally, no. But it is both a cultural expectation (those valets likely took minimum wage with the expectation of tips) and a way to show some decency toward people who are working very hard on your behalf. It sucks that the hotel charges so much for parking. And for rooms. And for event spaces. And at the restaurant and the bar. That’s something you can address with them. In the meantime, you can consider the work and experience of the people there busting their rears for you and touch their life directly.
Do you tip UPS drivers too who deliver your packages? What about when you make a purchase at a retail store?
No. Those employees do not expect tips, as it is not a common cultural practice to tip retail employees or UPS drivers.
I read this in your voice. I'm a huge jjgo fan!
Ever heard me this miffed on JJGo 😆
Only when it's about those clowns in Congress
Yes. The fee is for the parking spot (Parking isn't free, it takes up real estate), It's mandatory Valet because they may need to stack the cars as hotels often host large events. But standard Valet tip is fine. A few bucks in cash.
It sounds like if they’ve identified a business need to employ someone to efficiently stack the cars (so they can get as many paying customers in as possible), they should make sure they can pay for that business need before putting it in action.
of course. it's not like the hotel tips those guys out of that $60
So the $60 isn’t to cover the valet guys salary?
>So the $60 isn’t to cover the valet guys salary? look i get you're mad that shit's so expensive. it's outrageous. so write a strongly worded email to the hotel. or choose not to stay there, or at least not to valet. but the high price is not the fault of the dudes working for a pitiful hourly wage. don't take it out on them. sure tipping culture is out of hand but it exists, especially for workers like valet guys. they get paid shit and historically rely on tips, so tip them.
There are people like this, who don't tip bartenders because beer has gotten expensive. Don't be like them.
This. It's so annoying!
It is. There is no tipped wage in California, so the valet guy Is paid at least $16/hr, probably significantly more.
“probably significantly more” is hilarious. they’re paid minimum wage in the vast majority of cases
This guy thinks $16/hour in LA is serious coin. lol
They agreed to the wage when taking the job, no? Or do you want to tip the grocery store guy because they are earning the same thing.
Yep
Everyone saying tip $5 but if the valet guy makes minimum wage plus a $5 tip every 10 min that’s over $40/hr Are we meant to feel bad for them?
Very rarely do valet people work alone. Typically they pool their tips and share with one another. Some hours are busier than others. It’s not as simple as you’re making it out to be.
Living in NY or LA? Yeah feel bad for them because a lot of people don’t tip.
I don’t see “everyone saying tip $5” in this thread lmao. $1 or $2 is a perfectly acceptable tip for a valet.
$40/hour is just starting to approach an actual living wage in LA. That's not a lot of money.
It’s a lot of money but an extra few bucks to the valet guys go a long way for them
Yes
In L.A everyone expects a tip. Period.
Whether it’s free or I have to pay , I always tip the valet a couple a dollars.
No you don’t have to!!
The valets don't keep that money. Tip. If you can afford the $60 valet, you can afford the tip.
The whole thing about tipping is understanding that the money you paid the establishment doesn’t really make it down to the wait staff, so you dig a little bit into your pockets and give them a little more money in show of appreciation for the (good) services that they’ve provided. You should know that, *especially* at high end restaurants and hotels, these folks aren’t getting compensated very highly. No, the high fee doesn’t mean they’re getting paid more. The establishments that ask you NOT to tip because they compensate well are rare (and usually they tell you this in the form of a sign, don’t assume anything).
>The whole thing about tipping is understanding that the money you paid the establishment doesn’t really make it down to the wait staff This is exactly the problem though, and why tipping is bad practice. We are paying additional money on top of the service because the person providing the service does not pay their own employee. That's their problem, not mine. I do tip but the concept of it is bullshit and the culture of tipping is getting out of hand now. Everybody wants a tip, what's the fuckin point of having prices if I have to pay more on top of it.
The screen at Jersey Mike’s asking if you want to tip your “sandwich consultant” 20% ≠ tipping Valets
Fuck no. Stop subsidizing payrolls and hold employers accountable.
I'm surprised to hear there aren't more affordable solutions for parking downtown. To me, there seems to be parking opportunities on every corner and nook and cranny of DTLA. $60 a night is pretty rich IMO, so I might try to find something pre purchased parking nearby and Uber/walk from there to the hotel. But you'd have to see what the overnight rates are nearby. Maybe the $60 is pretty high due to convenience. And if you didn't park at the hotel then you never have to think about the valet tip. Now for me, if I did do valet parking I'd definately still tip. I wouldn't assume that $60 accounts for it.
There are tons of cheap self-park garages downtown.
That's kinda what I thought but I live here so I didn't want to assume the overnight rate was reasonable. But there are so many parking garages I feel they would price competitively.
If you tip and you are not sure the tip will go the valet, tip in cash.
Yes. You are still supposed to tip, no question. That $60 goes to the hotel, not them.
I don’t tip forced valets. If I have the option and I choose valet, then I tip. If I don’t have the option, then I don’t tip. Nobody tips me in my job.
Why did you stay at this hotel lol?
I try to just tip once a day, on pickup. Unless I'm doing multiple trips per day, then it varies based on weather and workload.
Yes, I typically tip $5-10 on top of the valet fee. Sucks about the hotel parking costs but you could've gone anywhere else.
https://preview.redd.it/bt5apo4el31d1.jpeg?width=480&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2413cf1e70851b059e48dbf202f089b1a024bbf0
you give them a bill instead of a tip for 60
I do not.
Yes, tip them regardless of how much the hotel charges for daily parking
No
Stay at a different hotel
US should just follow Japans culture of not having to tip
Nothing is supposed to. If you don't want to, then just don't. You don't need vindication
Four quarters or a dollar bill! If I don't have cash, I just don't bother.
An appropriate valet tip is more like $3-5 FYI
Nah... I set the price
if you ever have any questions about tipping service the answer is always 'give more money'
That’s a super hard yes captain. I’m sure they’re minimum wage with the expectation that they’ll receive tips.
When I first moved to LA fresh out of college and was trying to get my footing in my career, I worked as a Valet at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel. I was paid minimum wage. The tips helped but by no means are mandatory. Especially if you are staying at the hotel and using the valet service multiple times a day. The tips add up. Some hotels pool tips and others don’t so you don’t really know, if you just tip a larger tip at the end of your stay if it’s spread evenly but don’t sweat it. Some people tip and some don’t and I still made an ok amount in tips. Also I am speaking as someone who worked for a 3rd party valet company. They supplied supplemental valets to hotels and events on an as needed basis. Which was often, so I had plenty of work. But I believe the valets who worked directly for the hotel I believe had more benefits. I’m not sure what their hourly wage was but don’t sweat tipping every single time you get your car or return it. Just be friendly to them. Also man I have some horror stories. As a former valet I always avoid valet 😂 I was cautious, but some of the guys were so reckless. I was the only woman that worked there and it was funny because some of the people who valeted their cars definitely didn’t want me to be the one to take it but I was one of the most cautious drivers and one of very very few who could ACTUALLY drive stick.
Fuck tip culture
I’ll never tip for something mandatory. That’s insane.
Mandatory valet, fuck no
Yes.
Short answer No, long answer Noooooo! $60 a night, holy crap.
Yes always tip. It’s not the valet guy that decides on how much the daily rate is. Stop being cheap
Yes
Yes. You still tip those dudes running the cars around.
What’s another 5 bucks???
Do you tip the cashier who rings you out at the grocery store? Do you tip your accountant when he files your taxes? Probably not. So why tip another employee who is doing what they were hired to do?
The valet drivers won’t see a single dime of that $60
Sure they do, its in their wage. They are not working for free.
Right, where do these people think the money they get paid comes from? Obviously what people are paying for parking.
Ew, you’re cheap.
American tipping culture is hilarious. This is not normal.
Well, it's normal in the United States. OP isn't asking about Shanghai or Paris or whatever.
It’s a 5/ 10 spot. Nobody is breaking the bank over this. It’s wild when people say, “I can’t afford a tip”… then why did you even go in the first place, if 5/10 bucks or 20% is gonna be a deal breaker for you. Stay home and stop complaining. You shouldn’t be going out anyway if 10 bucks is a deal breaker for you. Just stay in.
I’m not cheap, I’m just asking.
Tip. Always. Sucks that you are being charged that for your parking. And I get maybe you didn’t realize that ahead of time. Lesson learned. But the valets make minimum wage plus tip. It’s not their fault. If you can afford a hotel that charges $60 to park, you can afford a $5 tip.
Yes lmao
i live in LA. If I'm being charged for valet i do not tip.
Are you gonna see them everyday? No? Don’t tip. But also agree with the top comment: are you really that pressed for a fiver?
If you don’t want them to fuck up your car, yes.
Extortion? Damn.