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[Blood_Orange]

Heading to a remote BC fishing lodge this summer with my dad. What's the normal range on tipping the resort staff and guides? We're two people going for 5 days/4 nights, with three days of guided fishing. Thanks!

[Rodney]

Sometimes it's good to ask the lodge too IMO and the owners/managers will tell you how most guests tip. A couple of lodges we've been to recently provide envelopes with explanations on how the tip is distributed and recommendations on  how much etc. That I think is really helpful.

[RalphH]

general rules for all gratuities apply. Most often 15% of the value of the service is about right, some folks will tips more if service is well above a standard of excellence. Less if it is not. If so and you don't plan to go back give them 0. People who can barely afford to make the trip shouldn't be expected to tip either. Sometimes a heart felt "thank you, I've had the time of my life" is worth more than $.

[arimaBOATER]

general rules for all gratuities apply. Most often 15% of the value of the service is about right, some folks will tips more if service is well above a standard of excellence. Less if it is not. If so and you don't plan to go back give them 0. People who can barely afford to make the trip shouldn't be expected to tip either. Sometimes a heart felt "thank you, I've had the time of my life" is worth more than $.

Well said!!! Say a person is retired & makes 30-40 grand max & on a budget. Even if he paid off his house the taxes maint. utilities food transportation...so the guy's on a budget & saved up for the fishing trip. Should he be tipping 15% on meals guides lodging ?
Then a guy & his son goes to the lodge & his yearly income is  $500,000 /1 million or even more what's 15% tipping for that guy? Peanuts.
Personally if I like the food & go back to some restaurant even if it's 2x a yr I will tip because staff have looooong memories sometimes. Honestly some cooks will spit in your food if there's no tip. Hopefully those places are rare but it happens. And watch out if ya send the food back to the kitchen to be reheated or cooked more etc...then watch out. % increases of the cook doing something extra to your food. Again it's rare but still happens.
But still a Lodge if a guy & son are on a budget & they really saved up to go then a heart felt "thank you" should suffice. Think so anyways.

[firstlight]

I think the lodges and employees rely far too much on tips.
Maybe the lodges should pay there employees a decent wage to begin with and not so reliant on tips.
If im paying $000 for a few day trip im expecting everything to be excellent quality and service.

[wildmanyeah]

If I caught a tyee I’d probably tip 300+

Just for a normal day outing with nothing special happening maybe 50 bucks. Depends on how the trip goes.

[Old Blue]

Seriously if you've saved enough $$$ to go to a remote lodge you can save enough for tipping even if it's a small amount which is always appreciated.
 
Guides, dock hands, servers, cooks, and house keeping staff do rely on these tips and work very hard and also long hours being in a remote area most often the entire summer without leaving.  Don't blame the lodges for not paying a "reasonable wage" unless you're willing to see the sticker price being raised that much more and the service quality go down.

Start at $100/day for the guide unless they're an a$shole then start going down.  I look at what a 10hr charter costs on average anywhere in BC so around $1000/day and tip 10-20%. 

[GordJ]

I think the lodges and employees rely far too much on tips.
Maybe the lodges should pay there employees a decent wage to begin with and not so reliant on tips.
If im paying $000 for a few day trip im expecting everything to be excellent quality and service.

So you think that the best guide on a successful trip would be paid the same as a crappy guide on a lousy trip? That’s not realistic.

Seriously if you've saved enough $$$ to go to a remote lodge you can save enough for tipping even if it's a small amount which is always appreciated

Absolutely right.

[Hike_and_fish]

I tip my Stamp guide $100 and up everytime. Depends on how many Steelgead we catch. Even the salt. $I've even tipped $300 in one day. I'll even lay it out for the guide. I always say "$100 cash for the first fish".

[RalphH]

The suggestion to not pay a tip if cost of the guided trip is a challenge for the client to make was actually offered by guides themselves.

Gratuities are by the their nature voluntary - not a legal requirement. I've known more than one person who simply wouldn't play the 'tip' game as a matter of principle. It takes all kinds

Few guides make a living by being full time guides year round. They have other sources of income. On a daily basis, they are more than well paid though in most cases the season to make money is short. No amount of money paid to a guide will buy a fish on the end of the line. I've been skunked a couple of times on a trip with a guide despite promises the fishing would be "crazy good". Promises like that are nothing but salesmanship. Both times I tipped the guide. On another occasion when the guide cause me to lose at least 2 good fish I still tipped - because overall the days were worth it or more than a bargain at the price even if the fishing sucked or mistakes were made.

Sport fishing like many things has become a haven for crass conspicuous consumerism  and people with the money to do so often throw it around as if it will make them respected and well liked. Usually the result is opposite.

[Snagly]

I don't put as much emphasis on results (fish caught, size of fish), but instead ask myself three other questions when reaching for the wallet at the end of the day:

1. Did the guide teach me a new fishing technique that I enjoyed (e.g. not pulling plugs for steelhead) and will use again? If not, was he at least willing to have me fish my preferred method (vs. the easiest way to put fish in the boat, side drifting with gobs of roe in the US in the old days)?

2. Did I learn new spots to fish? I will often book a multi-day trip with the intention to self-guide after the first day or two. Most of the time, I'm on foot. A guide that ditches the boat and takes me to hike-in spots I can revisit on my own has earned a substantial tip even if I'm skunked. (Note that this can backfire, as guides are a lot less likely to show you their best, foot-accessible spots if you're going to compete against them later in the week. That's fair enough. It also helps if you're not a local.)

3. How hard did the guide work? Did we start early and end late, and was he on time?

* * * * *

If you're fishing with the same guide over a week, the fish catching will be a function of the quality of the fishery and the skill of the guide (plus maybe a little angler skill thrown in). If it's one day, it's a crap shoot how many fish you catch.

[Blood_Orange]

Seriously if you've saved enough $$$ to go to a remote lodge you can save enough for tipping even if it's a small amount which is always appreciated.

Maybe I should have stated at the top that the trip is a gift to my dad and I... there's no way I could afford it otherwise. As an ex-service industry employee, I know how important tips are to the people that rely on them. I want to be in the normal range of tipping, even if it's the low end. I can't afford to tip 10-15% of the cost of the entire trip though, these places are crazy expensive! I expect we'll be surrounded by rich Americans

I was planning on tipping $100 per day for the guiding. We'll be with the guide for three days. I have no idea for the rest of the wait staff/housekeeping/dock staff though. I don't want to be cheap but also can't spend $1000+ on tips.

[firstlight]

So you think that the best guide on a successful trip would be paid the same as a crappy guide on a lousy trip? That’s not realistic.
Absolutely right.

Nope,never said that at all.

[stsfisher]

Maybe I should have stated at the top that the trip is a gift to my dad and I... there's no way I could afford it otherwise. As an ex-service industry employee, I know how important tips are to the people that rely on them. I want to be in the normal range of tipping, even if it's the low end. I can't afford to tip 10-15% of the cost of the entire trip though, these places are crazy expensive! I expect we'll be surrounded by rich Americans

I was planning on tipping $100 per day for the guiding. We'll be with the guide for three days. I have no idea for the rest of the wait staff/housekeeping/dock staff though. I don't want to be cheap but also can't spend $1000+ on tips.

I have only been to these lodges as a guide and never a guest. If I was concerned about my tipping expenses ( like many guests are) just tip at the end of the trip by giving the manger or guide master an envelope addressed to all staff. Good managers and staff will appreciate that just as much as receiving something everyday. You can be upfront with your guide about your tipping at the end of the trip and they will be just fine with that, and if they are not you don't want to be on their boat anyways.

I can remember 2 older gentlemen I guided who told me the saved their whole lives as buddies to one day make the trip from Toronto. You could tell this was a once in a life time trip, that they intended to make the most of. After having a great day, including 2 tyee's on the water we parted with a hand shake and well wishes the rest of their trip, no tip. However the next day they arrived at my boat which was a surprise as you typically didn't receive the same guests twice at this particular lodge. The told me they had such a great time that they had requested to fish again on my boat. That was the tip i needed that trip. We again had a great day with many memories, this time back at the dock they slip me a $20.00 each. To them the $20.00 probably felt like a $100.00 and I was more than happy to accept their generous offering.

Anyways don't worry about braking the bank to tip your guides and staff, they have seen all walks of life at their lodges and understand the gratitude behind a firm handshake, thanks or whatever money you give them.

[bigsnag]

I have only been to these lodges as a guide and never a guest. If I was concerned about my tipping expenses ( like many guests are) just tip at the end of the trip by giving the manger or guide master an envelope addressed to all staff. Good managers and staff will appreciate that just as much as receiving something everyday. You can be upfront with your guide about your tipping at the end of the trip and they will be just fine with that, and if they are not you don't want to be on their boat anyways.

I can remember 2 older gentlemen I guided who told me the saved their whole lives as buddies to one day make the trip from Toronto. You could tell this was a once in a life time trip, that they intended to make the most of. After having a great day, including 2 tyee's on the water we parted with a hand shake and well wishes the rest of their trip, no tip. However the next day they arrived at my boat which was a surprise as you typically didn't receive the same guests twice at this particular lodge. The told me they had such a great time that they had requested to fish again on my boat. That was the tip i needed that trip. We again had a great day with many memories, this time back at the dock they slip me a $20.00 each. To them the $20.00 probably felt like a $100.00 and I was more than happy to accept their generous offering.


Anyways don't worry about braking the bank to tip your guides and staff, they have seen all walks of life at their lodges and understand the gratitude behind a firm handshake, thanks or whatever money you give them.

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