Tip Jar 2

One travel expense that can empty your pockets quickly is tipping.  $5 at the valet.  $5 for room service.  $5 for bags brought to your room.  Well, the age-old gesture may become a thing of the past at many hotels.  For example, the USA Today reports that The Elysian hotel  in Chicago has recently adopted a no-tipping-necessary policy.  Customers can tip if they want to but are told when they book the room and check in that tipping is not necessary.

Instead of hiring staffers who’ve worked in other hotels, the Elysian sought out people with retail or other non-hotel experience because they know customer service but aren’t used to being tipped.

The Elysian isn’t the first hotel to have this policy.  Other city hotels like the Seaport Hotel in Boston have also done away with tipping.  Could this become a broader trend?  Has tipping reached its tipping point?  We shall see.

Here’s some more travel news you can use:

  • Low-cost carrier Virgin America announced today that it will introduce daily non-stop flights to Orlando from Los Angeles and San Francisco beginning in August.  One-way fares will start at $149 and $199 respectively.  The airline has also requested permission from the DOT to start flying north of the border to Toronto.
  • Federal regulators are looking to hit American Airlines with $300,000 in fines over maintenance issues.  The FAA said today that American’s mechanics put off maintenance on aircraft instruments that measure air speed and heaters that prevent instruments from freezing up during flight.  The airline has 30 days to appeal.