Chicago Hotel Offers No-Tip Luxury

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed)
Mar 18th 2010 at 8:01PM

Part of the hidden expense of staying at a luxury hotels is tipping but one hotel, the Elysian in Chicago has done away with it. USA Today's Hotel Check-In column reports that the hotel has adopted a no-tipping-necessary policy. David Pisor, the developer behind the 188 room hotel says that he finds thinking about tipping detracts from the luxury experience. The article points out that Pisor is also the nephew of Alice Waters whose Chez Panisse has had a service charge in lieu of tipping for years.

Customers can tip if they want to but are told when they book the room and check in that tipping is not necessary. The Elysian isn't the first hotel to have this property. Some resorts have adopted the policy to help contribute to the total relaxation of the customer. Other city hotels like the Seaport Hotel in Boston also have done away with tipping.

The Elysian is an ultra-luxury hotel where rooms cost around $350 per night. The hotel includes large residence-styled guest rooms and suites. The hotel has two restaurants, a bar and a health club and spa. It offers 24-hour room service and a 24-hour doorman and security. A private fleet of luxury automobiles are available for local transportation and airport transfers. The hotel is currently offering a special that provides three nights for the price of two.

Tags: chicago, elysian hotel, hotel chicago, no tipping hotel, no tipping policy

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

chad.dawkins Mar 19th 2010 4:00AM

I hope in doing this they are raising the amount they are paying their employees.

BD Mar 20th 2010 2:52PM

No tipping policies at hotels are not new. 20 years ago, Doubletree Hotels had a no gratuity policy for its employees. Employees were not allowed to accept tips/ gratuities from guests. Employees had to refuse tips, and tell the guests that "tips were unnecessary and that they could not accept gratuities". Only if the guest insisted and offered a gratuity a second time, could the employee accept a tip. Furthermore, employees could not solicit a gratuity from a guest. Employees that accepted gratuities on the first offer from a guest, or solicited a gratuity from a guest, were subject to disciplinary action from Doubletree. Doubletree also had "mystery guests" who were the hotel's corporate employees or contracted employees who checked on Guest Services employees to insure these and other hotel policies were being followed. I don't know if these policies are still in effect at Doubletree, since they have gone through several changes in ownership since the nineties. But no tipping policies are nothing new in the hospitality business.

KatieCouric'sNemesis Mar 20th 2010 3:41PM

Tipping is degrading. Hotels pay minimum wage for jobs that require very few real skills. How hard is it to scrub a toilet, carry a bag, or walk you to a table and hand you a wine list?

So, ban tipping altogether. We should not have To Insure Prompt Service (TIPS) for any reason. Staying at a hotel costs $100 or more a night. Tipping is simply bribery by the hotel employees so you THINK you're getting better service. You're not.

Terry Mar 20th 2010 3:51PM

Can you say B U L L S H I T ? Anyone knows that part of feeling like a "Big Shot" is leaving a nice tip if the service was good.

pkdcnobx Mar 21st 2010 7:09PM

Alot of hotel employees work for minimum wage it's hard to make ends meet. If this hotel has a no tipping policy then they should give their employees a raise for compensation. Tipping is always an option or a suggestion by the hotel. I believe it shows what class of person you are, if you have no class and look down upon hotel employees like KatieCouric'snemesis and have no appreciation for them and don't tip that's just rude, if youre a decent person and believe that hard service work for little pay to make your stay more comfortable then tip it shows class.

Gerard Mar 20th 2010 4:24PM

Ok, who suffers and who benefits? Well its obvious who suffers, and its the lowest paid workers on the payroll, the bellmen and valet workers. Who benefits? NOBODY. The people who do the tipping are not going to go somewhere based on the fact that tipping is not required. Its a small part of the overall expense. And people tip for different reasons. Some do it as payment for services rendered, some do it out of a sense of guilt, ie "I really don't want you to feel that I think I'm better than you." and some are the of the reverse school of thought, " I am better than you, and here is a few bucks for doing my bidding. The REAL reason for the "no tip" policy is probably because the guy is reaching the end of his rope(with the economy this bad) and hes getting desperate. Next he'll be giving 4 nights for the price of 3;-)

Joe Papierz Jr Mar 20th 2010 10:36PM

Gerard, you don't know what the base salaries are for the Doorman, Bell
hop and etc. There may not be any "losers" in their senerio.

SailorKnightWing Mar 20th 2010 5:15PM

If you read, you would see that it clearly stated that tipping is being replaced by service charges. So yes, the people who were tipped are still getting money.

Richard Hamilton Mar 20th 2010 6:03PM

First, NO, it doesn't say that. It says that his aunt's place has a service charge policy. Second, most hotel service charges DO NOT go directly to the employees involved. At best, they are shared by all - good and bad alike - as well, usually, with the property itself (I guess as a reward for administering this). The tipped employee still loses out.

Linda Mar 20th 2010 6:28PM

Tipping is out of control in this country, anyhow. It's third world when you have to tip everyone you deal with every step of the way.

RENEE LORENZEN Mar 20th 2010 6:32PM

How hard can it be to what? Have you ever cleaned rooms, especially some of the ones we have seen? Trying cleaning toilets and showers and changing beds day after day, then ask how hard can it be? These people who do perform these services deserve all the tips they can get. besides waitressing, housekeeping is one of the hardest and most thankless positons out there. I wil always tip these people. Been there, done that.

billgolfnut Mar 20th 2010 6:48PM

Just returned from China (mainland).....
Tipping is not acceptable in their culture, even in a cab.!!
Go across the river from Shenzhen to Hong Kong and they not only ask, but almost demand a tip.

Chuck S Mar 20th 2010 9:06PM

Tipping in Hong Kong or the rest of Asia is not the usual,,If I wake a cabbie up at 3 AM for a ride to my apartment he's getting a tip! Tips are usually reserved for the exceptional and even then discoraged by management.

Melody Mar 20th 2010 7:16PM

Just tip already you cheap&^%^&#%"s .Minimum wage plus a tip means just barely squeeking by.

Or Are you the cheapskates that forgot to tip me when I was bartending & paying for child care & school & rent ,etc......

I probably overtip ,but, remind myself Thank Goodeness it's not me taking your order, or fixing your hair, or driving your cab or fetching your drink or fluffing the pillow you lay on each night, or just doing a good job because it gives me a sense of satisfaction.

Shame on all of you Non- tipping a**holes.Good is 15% great is 20%....

Find an AP for that on your Smart- phones~!

Can't afford to tip ...Then do us all a favor & STAY HOME ~!

Thoroughmans Mar 20th 2010 7:29PM

I don't tip. In WA the law is set up that people who are in the service industry do not make less than the state minimum wage. The state minimum wage is the highest in this country. Right now it is at 8.55 per hour. First responder emts and many cna's make this same amount, yet they don't get tipped by the people they help. So, I say get over it. I could tipping in a state where the minimum wage is not held for the service workers and they get paid less, but where it is the same as any job...no tipping.

On the other hand, I rarely go anywhere or do anything that tipping is required so in this regard I am not ticking anybody off. I just happen to think that sometimes people get this idea that they are owed something and really...they aren't.

People who work in the grocery stores and fast food stores earn the same as the hotel servers and the restaurant workers yet they don't get tipped either. At least this is true for the state of Washington.