ORIGINAL: eagle chickie
I've been on guided hunts thruout North America and Africa tipping is always a questionable item. In Africa a tip is expected and many companies print on the contract what is an acceptable % for everyone from the black whom washes your clothes to the PH. In parts of NA such as along the Rocky Mountain range from north to south a tip is expected by cooks, guides,wranglers and I normally give 10% IF I felt their srevice was above normal for the industry. If I don't think they wenrt above and beyond their "jobs" I give them nothing,zip,nada...I do not feel it is my job to pay the outfitter's hired help, if indeed he is under paying them expecting them to earn tips. I'd rather see him include their entire wages in the price of the hunt.
I've been on both sides of the debate..working as a wrangler and a guide. Busting my tail for some dude to get a shot at a nice bull elk only to have him miss it at 50 yds,then getting stiffed for a tip.
There is no way I'd tip a "guide" whom is putting out bait and dropping me off near it then driving an ATV in to pickup my bear as much as I would give a elk guide whom bugled in my bull and packed it out without letting the meat get dirty. The bear "guide" would get a $20 bill the elk guide 10% of the hunt base price.EC
I very much agree with this one except to state that I almost always tip something to the cooks and wranglers. I give the cook 5%, I give the wranglers $100.00 and $150.00 if they packed out my elk and I give the guides 10%. I have been a guide in the past and because I owned a portion of the business I never accepted tips. I never tip the outfitter if he is guiding me! He owns the business and got paid for my hunt.
Now all of that being said, when I am booking a trip, I ask to speak to the guide who will be guiding me, and I tell him upfront what my expectations are for the hunt and if the guide listens, I tell him how to please me and how to earn another 5% tip on top of the 10% but he has to earn it by fully scouting the areas that we are to hunt prior to my getting there. I want to see bulls, bears and/or deer on film and I send him a cheap video camera to get me the footage and we work together as a team to have fun!