Help Your Tour Guides Earn More Tips with These 5 Strategies

You know better than anyone how hard your tour guides work to create amazing experiences for guests. And it’s not all fun and games! From dealing with difficult customers to the little ways they go above and beyond, tour guides deserve a great tip.

Whether you’re a tour guide yourself or you want to help your amazing guides and employees earn more tips, here are five ways to make your goals a reality.

1. Put It in Writing

Does your website have a frequently asked questions page? That’s the perfect place to include a tip policy like the below example.

Do tour guides accept tips?

Our guides do accept tips, and they are greatly appreciated. Tipping is left up to the individual, but as a general practice, 15% – 20% of the trip cost is the common gratuity in Denver. 

A simple message like this gets right to the point without pressuring the individual to tip their guide. 

2. Share Tour Guides’ Venmo or Cash App Details

If tour guests don’t get a chance to talk to their guide immediately after the tour, they might be hesitant to tip or be unsure of how to do so.

Create a sign or poster at your check-in location with tour guide names, photos, and Venmo or Cash App usernames so that tour guests can easily recognize their guide and send a tip right from their phone.

You can also include their personalized Venmo or CashApp QR code for a more streamlined tipping process. In a society where so few people carry cash, this method is sure to boost your tips!

3. Remind Guests to Tip at the End of the Tour

As your guides are thanking customers for attending, have them slip in a quick line about tipping. For instance:

“I hope you all had an amazing time! Thank you so much for joining us. Please consider leaving a tip and reviewing us on Tripadvisor. Let me know if you have any questions or if I can help you with anything while you’re in town.”

It might feel awkward at first, but soon it will become second nature. Tour guests who travel frequently are likely already planning to leave a tip.

4. Follow Up With Guests in an Email

FareHarbor clients get to take advantage of automatic follow-up emails to send thank-you messages to guests after their activity (another great reason to join FareHarbor!). 

You can also use these to remind guests to tip their tour guide after the fact if they missed the opportunity on the day of their tour. Include the guide’s Venmo or Cash App information in addition to a friendly thank you and any other pertinent info like review sites and your business social media profiles.

5. Go Above and Beyond During the Tour

Great guides get better tips! Encourage your tour guides to strive to make a personal connection with guests by sharing these strategies:

• Introduce yourself by name at the beginning of the tour.
• Learn guests’ names and address them by name whenever possible.
• Share personal information to make a connection.
• Offer insider tips and local insights to out-of-town tour guests.
• Make recommendations on things to do after the experience.
• Be patient, share your sense of humor, and be a great listener! 

Asking for tips can certainly feel awkward, but it will soon become second nature when you implement these strategies. Remember, travelers are well accustomed to leaving tips, and tour guests typically tip between 10% and 20% of the total tour cost.

Looking for more tour guide info and hiring tips? Check out What Makes a Great Tour Guide on FareHarbor Compass.