My family is going to an all-inclusive to Jamaica in February, and I’m trying to understand the tipping etiquette. I have a ton of gifts for staff and their kids, but when we were in DR last year, we had to write notes saying we gave the gifts to the staff, where as in Cuba we just left them in the room with monetary tips.
Any insight? We’re going to Ochos Rios.

Cash is king. Don’t worry about gifts.

No one wants gifts. They want cash money

Tipping was appreciated but not expected. Felt very different from Cuba and DR where it’s expected. Was at the RIU Dec 2022

In Jamaica, cash is preferred because everything on the island is expensive.

Tipping is not common practice there and if you do tip you’ll be greatly appreciated. Doesn’t matter how much you tip

We stayed at couples. No tipping policy. Staff were so happy to receive school supplies and over the counter meds - which are really expensive in Jamaica.

Cash tips in USD are definitely preferred. We went to Jamaica last year and took a ton of $1's and $5's, they're always super grateful. Headed back to Jamaica this Friday and doing the same again.

Natalie beaune. Where are you staying in Jamaica this time?

Nancy We are staying at Ocean Coral Spring this time. Never been to this resort before so we'll see how it goes!

Natalie I’d like to know your experience with this resort we are going in April and any tips would be appreciated

Natalie. I would like to hear your reviews of that resort also.

I'll be sure to report back!

That’s not typically done in JA. Just tip the maids each day with cash and the bar tender if you want better service.

Money. Always money. American money

We went to a Riu Ocho Rio and tipped cash on the last dinner for the entire week. There were 18 of us and we had the same server the whole time. We tipped $300 for the week.

Leah I’m just curious - did you wait until the end to leave the $300 ir did you tip in smaller amounts throughout the week?

Angela we waited until the end of the week. On our very last dinner we slipped him an envelope with the $300 in it.

Leah what if you didn't have that same server the last day? Did you tell him you would tip him at the end of the week to get good service?

Angela we definitely did. We made sure to seek him out the last day so we could give him his tip

It was all about the money when we were there in 2018. Tipping was expected.

Yeah gifts aren’t necessary but money is always helpful.

Leave the gifts at home. Treat them as you would at home.

We went to Montego bay in October and no one was appreciative of gifts except money. It was odd, as gifts were new items (back packs, shoes, shirts)

Shannon it's not odd. If you were a service worker at a hotel in Toronto, would you be appreciative of random stuff? Or would you prefer a couple dollars? Why would it be different in Jamaica?

Tipping goes a long way at all inclusives. We always tip all staff. We find being a little more generous up front with a tip will help people remember you, and then continue with smaller tips throughout the stay. Ex- housekeeping staff, bartenders, servers at the buffet and also give a tip at the a la carte restaurants. Asking the staff for their name and how they’re doing and generally being interested in them and chatting goes a long way too and it’s always nice getting to know the people. We never bring specific items and always just tip cash.

Give them cash, even if it's small amount, it will make a big difference and really helps

Jamaicans are generally friendly and easy going.
Notwithstanding that it’s their job a pleasant disposition and cash tips are always appreciated - it’s a developing country and the staff interacting with most guests are not well paid, so treat them as you would the staff at restaurants in your home country.
Since you have the gifts you could enquire of the hotel about donating to a charity - school, church, orphanage etc while you are there, since most hotels are also sponsors. If you want to be diverse, ask your “favourite” hotel staff member a few days before you leave and they may be able to help you.

If you are taking cash, the preferred currency is Jamaican Dollars. (JAM) I know, you have to go to your bank to get them. The reason they like JAM dollars is when you give them US dollars, they have to go exchange them into their local currency.

I'm surprised and glad to know that you had to write a note in DR that what you gave the staff was gift so that the management acknolwedges it, rather than leaving it in the room for them to just take. That's how a proper hotel management should be. The staff in Cuba where my ring was stolen from my backpack must have thought that I tipped them with my thickass ring!!!

Eli all good resorts require this! All Iberostar resorts worldwide, for example, require a detailed note with your name and room number, the employees name, detail description of the item and that you are gifting it. All employees are physically searched entering and leaving. This prevents theft. If caught with anything it's automatic dismissal

Janet we only stay at Iberostars in the Dominican, and have for years. We have never had to write a note...not once. We were just there in Oct (we travel there ever Oct and May) and never wrote a note or were asked to do so. We always leave gifts and of course we always tip.

Pamela then I hate to tell you your 'gifts' got trashed. We are Club members so do IBs all over the world
The same policy is in force at every single IB property

Janet interesting as we have developed many friendships at the two resorts we always go to in the DR. We always look forward to reuniting with them as they do with us. I would think that when we give them gifts that they would have mentioned they would need a note. In fact we brought T-shirts and baseball hats to one of our favourite servers. The next day he showed us pictures with him and his son wearing them.

Pamela well he didn't get them off the resort without a note. Blue Jays stuff can be bought all over the DR btw. Literally staff are physically searched at the employee entrance. Ask the GM's, they'll ell tell you. That goes for Dominican, Punta Cana, Bavaro Suites, Coral, Grand, Hacienda Dominicus or Costa Dorada. Same in Cancun, Riviera Maya, Playacar, Playa Mita, Jamaica, Brazil, Spain, North Africa, etc ....

Janet very interesting. We shall ask when we are there in May. Certainly don't want anyone to get into trouble. And we didn't gift them with Blue Jays merchandise. Not sure why you mentioned that.

Pamela cause most Canadians do in their naivety that the DR is a 3rd world country

Would you tip a 'gift' to a housekeeper or server in your hometown? Don't do it when travelling. It assumes a lot and is demeaning imo

Lots of Canadians want to bring gifts to the carribean because they are accustomed to going to Cuba. Cubans love the gifts because its stuff that they cannot get - ever- in Cuba. In the rest of the carribean, save the trinkets (or socks or crayons) and just tip cash.

Sarah exactly. Cuba is the exception where gifts AND cash are appreciated . Everywhere else, tip in cash for good service (local currency usually preferred)

13 times in Ja... my cleaning staff, 10$ a day... the ladies will be more then happy to give extra towels.. chocolate... it's sooo expensive.... anyone who says (tips included) yes true... but the staff make max 100 usd a week.. tip tip tip.... put it under a napkin.. or just slip it into their hand... not only will your service be faster then anyone else... you are literally feeding their family... Ja dollars or Usd... don't matter... do not exchange money in the airport.. soooooooo expensive.. go to calforex to exchange before you leave... they give you the exchange at that moment...

We went to riu Ocho Rios and tipping was not expected but appreciated. We went may 2022

I should clarify that the gifts are in addition to the cash tip (so like a dove care gift set + $2 for the waiter, nail polish set + $2 for room service, etc.) every time. I just don’t want to bring the gifts if it’s completely outside of the norm.

Liis those gifts are not things they cannot get there. Remember a lot of people in JA have families in North America that constantly bring things to them. We ship barrels of things to our family in the Caribbean (clothes, shoes, etc) so nail polish and soap will not be necessary. These are staples to them as they are to us. Whatever you would do to show appreciation in your home town is what you should do there. Sharing day to day items as ‘gifts’ can be seen as disrespectful and insinuating that they cannot afford those or that it’s a privilege to get them from a tourist.

Vanessa thank you - I really appreciate the insight. We’ve only ever been to Cuba and DR, and everything I was seeing made me already think that things were a bit different in JA.

Liis it’s good that you asked. Every Caribbean island is different depending on their ties to the global community. Jamaica is part of the commonwealth like many other Caribbean countries and as a result, they have many ties to family in Canada, the US and the UK among many other countries as family members moved around. Also their economies can be very different too. For example, Barbados’ dollar is ~ 2:1 with the US dollar and so quite strong in comparison to Cuba or the DR. Doing the research that you did is important to ensure you respect local customs.

Liis Cuba is different. Very difficult to access items. My husband gave clothing to the landscapers. Everyone is need. School supplies sanitary items etc

Cash is the best- that said I also have left things behind for ppl who may have said “ I like that insulated mug” or “cool ( insert brand name tshirt).
But things left behind ate because we became friendly with specific people- as commented above cash is king- US or JA.

Write notes to whom?

Alana in DR we were told by front desk staff that if we wanted to give gifts to the staff, we had to write a note with our name, room number, and what we were giving them because all staff was checked at the end of their shift, and if they had something that was new or looked like it didn’t belong to them, the person would get fired unless they had a note. We then gave the gift and note, in addition to normal tips.

Liis we travel to the DR twice a year and have for years and not once have we been told that we had to write a note. Not once! Where in the DR? We travel to Puerto Plata and Punta Cana.

Pamela the Grand Bavaro Princess in Punta Cana. Cash tips were fine, and we did notes for the room service staff, but when we got something for our waiters for the week, they said they needed notes as well because they get checked on the way out as well.

Tip in cash not items. And better to tip per day in case you dont have the same housekeeper or server all week. You can get $100 worth of single bills or fives and just leave a bit every day. I only leave items that people specifically spoke about (i left a housekeeper a flat iron she loved and a server got a blue jays hat he loved)

Kerry I totally agree!

Any gifts given to staff must be approved by managers to be taken off property otherwise it'll be confiscated when they leave work as it looks like they're stolen. Their bags are checked coming and going from work

I will tip at the end of the week those that showed outstanding service. Tipping ahead expecting something extra seems like bribing to me (I grew up outside of North America). The tipping culture is an American thing and of course nobody will say no to cash anywhere in the world, but it's not a necessary.

Ana i so agree with this.

Cuba and Jamaica are night and day apart. Cuban workers actually need things like school supplies and soap. This is not the case in Jamaica.

We were just there and would tip USD cash which seemed to be preferred. The first couple days we would leave a $10 bill for house keeping with a note asking for extra water, and beer in the fridge and some extra towels. The first day they did it but the second day they just took the money and we had less towels and no extra beer or water in our fridge…. So we stopped tipping room service. I realized after that room service comes in stages and the person going in first wasn’t necessarily the person who was filling the fridge or replacing linens, and I suppose if they just took the money and didn’t pass along the message then that’s why we didn’t get our extra water, beer or towels. We had to call down once or twice and ask for towels and more shampoo to be brought, they would bring them eventually but not quickly so plan ahead. The bar tenders were pretty attentive if they saw cash in your hand or you tipped regularly. They drive like crazy there if you’re travelling much from the airport lol. Hope you have a great trip!

Based on my experience in Jamaica it's a culture to ask for a tip. Tip is expected. In my case it started already at the airport .

I have been travelling to the DR for over 15 years and I bring summer clothes that I give away before leaving, but they need cash not gifts. I bring cash specifically for gifts. Go to a local grocery store and you will see that a 2$ tip does not go very far. Would you tip 2$ at a hotel in North America?

Didi the $2 was just an example and not what we blanket tip for all workers. But $2 every time for the 5 times in 1 afternoon my husband gets juice for the kids or water for us from the same bartender does add up.

Liis you might as well buy the juice lol. I tip at the beginning of trip and then I enjoy myself, it's an all inclusive.

Cash is king here

Cash only

I dragged bunch of gifts years ago for Cuba trip and it was so appreciated, but I understand that cash would be better.

Ann in Cuba gifts are appreciated more because they can't get the items - the USA embargo on Cuba makes it really difficult to get items we take for granted

Ann most appreciated thing I ever gifted someone in Cuba was a small container of tylenol.

Sharon YES! We just got back from Cuba last week, and we gifted a small first aid kit and a small bottle of advil, and they were so appreciative. We had actually packed a large bag of stuff like this, but had to switch to carry-on only due to the baggage issue at Pearson so had to leave the bag behind

As far as tips are an expectation, now that really bothers me.

Looking for advise and flight deals from Toronto to Cape Town in late December 2023 for 2-3 weeks for a family of 5

10 tip in room everyday. Budget 20 percent of the cost of your trip to thank and support local people. Finally everywhere you go find a group doing great work and donate minimum 500. More if you can afford it.

Cash tips. Give your waiters, bartenders directly. Leave in the room for housekeeping. I also leave toiletries.

Cash is king. Forget the gifts and bring lots of singles.