Yes, always yes, about 20 euro per person is reasonable for a week.
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Cynic, Yes, with either "wear a warm hat in the winter" or "get out of town" for the instructor who took me down this on salomon Lab 3Vs (67 underfoot) as my introduction to off piste skiing with conditions ranging from ice to 3 foot with a hard crust !
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Cynic, sorry, the above isn't my footage although it is the same route we took. Just used as something to highlight the ridiculousness of taking a newb down something they shouldn't have been taken down. The conditions at the end of last January were a lot less forgiving. That said, Im now hooked. So maybe I'll buy him a "RustyNail" if your reading Lauren.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
I'd buy a fat ski 100 underfoot, 15 years powder experience just jump on. Then you need a guide, they have 30 euro a week and would expect a nice lunch.
Cynic, just bought some Preachers 112 underfoot, and looking to get a lot more off piste experience and instruction, bring it on ! 30eu per week sounds a little cheap, I was paying equiv 240eu per day last Jan in Courmayeur, all be it super qualified guide & Instructor.
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Cynic, but back to the OP, if the instructor has delivered and improved your technique or shown you a good time, then yes show your appreciation in some way, lunch/dinner/night out/cash, whatever. If they haven't then keep your money in your pocket and advise them how they didn't perform. Instruction is a two way process afterall, and a true instructor will want to learn how they've failed as much (if not more) than how they've delivered.
After all it is free
After all it is free
Cynic, as Snakeskin Si says, but over here it's nice to get @ $100 per day for a private lesson, or $5 per hour per person for a group lesson.
In reality it varies, from nothing to a couple of thousand for a week - just don't drag me all over town, be really difficult, expect me to carry and store your skis, and then not even buy me a coffee when you insist we stop every half hour for one! And if you leave your screaming kids with me, and we all come back smiling, that is literally priceless, but I'd still like a tip!
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
Snakeskin Si, I used to tip my regular instructors in food... specifically home cooked decent food - coq au vin, breakfast muffins, choc chip cookies, osso bucco, cakes, soup, muesli cookies, 3 course dinners etc etc...
If you had seen the food on mountain most places in Oz you would know why.... if you heard what some ski schools feed their live in staff you would understand why dinner for 6-8 worked well... those 6-8 could collect THEIR "meals"(part of accom) and hand them to a different 6-8... hence me feeding 6-8 meant 12-16 got a good feed at least ONE night that week.
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
You shouldn't always tip your instructor, if they've done a poor job, then they don't deserve it. But people should definitely tip more, so many lessons I've taught people have been really happy, but then still not tipped, I guess it's not in the culture in some places.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
Yes, around €500 in bangers and mash seems about right!
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
Don't think its to be expected anymore in smaller resorts.
It can be a bit hit and miss, I get tonnes of positive feedback from some people and then get no tip
But then i'll have a few kids who's parents seem totally uninterested and they'll tip me more than the price of the lesson, weird but nice
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
Surely it depends on the instructors are being remunerated. I wouldn't dream of tipping a high ranking ESF instructor as they're already earning a nice profit share from the ski school. In the US however an instructor might be seeing very little of the high cost of a lesson so might merit a tip. What I really object to is the instructor taking me to a pricey on mountain restaurant of his choosing then expecting I pick up the cost of his meal, particularly if I'd be quite happy skiing through (though to be fair its many years since I've experienced this).
You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
skinanny wrote:
In reality it varies, from nothing to a couple of thousand for a week
Do the IRS expect instructors to declare tips?
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
I have twice tried to tip instructors (private lessons both times) and on both occasions my attempts were met with a rather embarrassed "Non, non!" Since then, I haven't offered tips.
Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Personally I have never accepted a cash tip. On the many occasions that it’s offered, to avoid any awkwardness, I always ask them if they would mind putting into the charity box at the top of the main cable car. Mind you I understand that in some areas the tip is really important as it’s seen as part of the wages, so I have nowt against tipping.
With UK school groups it’s different, as it seems to have become the norm to get the instructor a gift at the end of the week. It’s turned into a little bit of a game now as me and my mates will drop hints during the week about how much we really like, or really need XYZ or ABC. This way I do get a continual supply of Haribo sweets though the season.
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Only if he/she's a) not very good and b) quite close to an edge
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Yes, around €500 in bangers and mash seems about right!
Hey don't laugh one trip up from town I brought back about $50 in gourmet sausages... I gather they had quite a BBQ from those...
A dinner party for 8 was a few packs worth of food and grog I needed to carry up the chairlift... and then cook...
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
fatbob, yes, the IRS expects you to declare your tips. And, unfortunately, I wasn't the one who got the couple of thousand........the plus side is not getting it means not paying tax on it!
To put it in perspective on the US side of things - a full day private lesson with me last season cost @ $600, of that I would have got @ $100, plus $30 if it was a request. Tipping in the US is usually accepted as 15 to 20%, so it makes a big difference to me if you do tip.
However, I don't EXPECT a tip, but if it's cold and I have to take your child in to get warm with hot chocolate, please reimburse the cost of drink.
In the Arlberg where there is a huge proportion of private rather than group lessons, tipping is very common. On average (for me) for the whole season it was probably 50EUR a week, some weeks you'd get nowt and others you'd get 150-200EUR.
However as an instructor I would never expect a tip, infact I prefer when my guests go to the skischool and tell them how much they enjoyed their lessons with me. The prospect of getting a tip does make me try harder to ensure my guests are a.) enjoying themselves and b.) learning, my background is working in demanding customer services, and I apply this all the time in instructing.
fatbob if i'm choosing the lunch location i'll go where I know the restaurant will give it to me for free (for bringing guests) or go where I get staff discount, would never dream of expecting my guests to pay for me. However if the guests organise and invite you to go to a top notch swanky restaurant for lunch then thats slightly different, then I would be a bit miffed if I had to pay, ski resorts are expensive for us instructors too.
My opinion is, provided you learnt something, your instructor was nice and most importantly you enjoyed your lessons then I think tipping the instructor is a nice touch. Even if it is simply buying them a drink on the last day after lessons.
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
I can't speak for other places but please tip if you come to Mayrhofen and the instructor actually does a good job, especially the younger non-locals, they are most likely (not always of course) living in squaller earning 1/5th what you just paid for you lesson, my first couple of seasons it really made all the difference if your students gave you even just a few euros, and we really do appreciate it! (oh and i don't want to sound unappreciative but money is better than alcohol)
After all it is free
After all it is free
€300 per day for a guide for a group of 5 or 6 would be rock-bottom in my experience. More usually €350 and €400 not uncommon. On top of that you normally buy them lunch. We tend to give a €25 or €30 tip each for a week but I know many people don't. In the USA a 15% tip would be normal.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
When I was an instructor aged 18 to 23 in Switzerland I got the odd tip, mainly from private rather than group bookings. I never felt uncomfy about accepting them and I think the possibility of a tip makes people go the extra mile.
My best tip - about 70 francs, I think - was from the parents of a little boy who I took for the whole week, each afternoon. He was only about four but very solid and he talked a lot. Anzere, where I taught, is nearly all t-bars and I think they felt I'd earned extra cash by managing to get him up the lifts without any pile-ups, and picking him up from falls if he couldn't get up himself - all the while enjoying his constant chit-chat
I have tipped mountain guides, but only if they deserve it!
FAQ
Poster: A snowHead
