Recognizing Good Service

Let's face it, B&B Owners work hard!  In a small guest house, we do it all!  We cook and clean, grocery shop, perform maintenance and repairs, do the marketing, balance the books, make reservations, cancel bookings, answer phone calls from people requesting everything from discounted stays to impossible requests and keep on smiling no matter what comes our way.  All for the cost of a one night stay in a very competitively priced market.  

When lunching with a group of friends recently, the conversation turned towards tipping.  One friend was adamant that you should never tip the owner of a business whether it's your hairdresser, dog groomer, wait staff, B&B owner or whomever.  Never ever should owners get tipped.  This same person will will tip the support staff (table busser, hair washer, etc.) but not the owner.  She justifies this thinking by believing that the owner is taking a cut of everyone else's earnings so they do not need tips.  I countered that the small business owner is responsible for the overhead costs, paying the staff, managing all things related and is most likely not getting rich doing it.  My friend responded that maybe the owner was in the wrong business then.

Later, when I googled "Do you tip the owner of a business", the internet told me:  Technically, it is not considered proper etiquette to tip the owner of a business. Instead, the tip should go to the employees. If you frequent a business often, it's a nice gesture to tip generously in order to show your appreciation for services rendered, and to ensure great service in the future.

Today I googled "Do you tip the owner of a B&B" and found this response:  For valet and room services, leave anywhere from $2-5 (or more, if you're feeling generous). In some cases, tips are not expected by the innkeeper. Sometimes at a smaller bed and breakfast, the owner does not expect you to leave a tip...

So it would seem that my friend is right!

I have heard that some places leave gratuity envelopes in the room and some places include a gratuity in the bill.  We do not do either of these things but instead trust our guests to do what they are comfortable with.  We have, on occasion, found a tip in a room after the guest has checked out.  Discovering a tip is always an unexpected surprise that we are thankful for.

On a side note, a positive rating is something that money cannot buy and, if we had to choose between a five dollar tip or a five star rating, I think we would have to go with the five stars! 

As for us, we will continue tipping for good service whether the service provider is the business owner or not.  Exceptional work deserves exceptional recognition.