How much to tip

[gibby97]

Understand most folks here are self guided but I’m headed on a CO guided elk hunt and have no idea what I should tip the guide? Do you tip by % of the hunt cost?

Seems to me that 20% which seems to be the standard for a dinner would be a little outrageous no matter how good of a job they did. Need help here.

thanks,

 

[ManyBullets]

Depends on how the experience goes IMO. Shitty guides don't earn great tips. A hard working guide that treats you right should get a good gratuity. I'd think somewhere between 500-1,000 in cash would be good. The cost of the hunt is another factor, which we don't know.
Whatever you tip make sure it's cash.

 

[FLAK]

I've given anywhere from 300 - 1200.
All depends on cost of the hunt, length, effort, trophy size.

 

[Sevens]

Usually done something like 10% of the hunt cost or $100/day. Adjust up and down depending upon experience. Don’t forget other staff like the cook.

 

[2five7]

10% is industry standard, similar to the old 15% standard for waiters/waitress. Good guides will average more than that, lazy ones will get less.

 

[jolemons]

Guide here. Total tip of 15-20% of the total cost of the hunt. About 3/4 of that given to the guide, with the balance going to cooks, housekeeping, etc.

Nothing is more frustrating than guys that save up for a guided hunt without budgeting for a tip.

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[Theringworm]

Industry standard IS 10% of the price of the hunt as a place to start. Depending on the experience YOU have the liberty of going up or down. While guides no doubt greatly appreciate it, and some rely on the tips to make it worth it, they should all know “you get back what you put into it”.

Cabo fishing trip..... my guide was absolutely horrible. I fired him after day 3 of a 5 day charter. He didn’t get a dime from me. The replacement guide earned his due and got a great tip and then some.

Ex of estimated tips. This is hypothetical.....kind of
10 day Alaskan moose/bear hunt price is $25000. Tip starting point would be $2,500. Based on your experience, met realistic expectations and efforts by the guide you adjust accordingly if need be. More for a remarkable effort. Less for a lazy guide.

Camp Cook - I estimated $50/day that they cooked for me. Not always do you return back to the lodge to eat or do you have a home cooked camp meal. Many a time it’s the guide warming up Mountain House.

Bush Pilot (in my case he was hired by the outfitter and solely worked for him)- I averaged $100 tip per flight (3 flights total)

Meat packers - I paid around $400-500 for packing my moose out. Not that I couldn’t do it nor did I ask for a packer. Its how their setup was and I didn’t argue. He simply showed up and went to work. Hardest working kid in camp.

Anyone else in camp that helped along the way would get something as well if I felt they deserved it. Horse wrangler, assistant cook etc.

You’ll recognize a job well done and an exhaustive effort no matter if you are successful or not. Tip on the effort. The success makes you want to “add icing on the cake”.

 

[Trial153]

10% is good base to move up or down from, don't forget the cook or the wrangler

 

[bozeman]

Went on a 6 hr fishing trip and the Capt demanded 20% for his deckhand or equivalent to $50/hr. Yeah right. We baited our own lines most of the time.

It absolutely amazes me how, that Outfitter and Guides make little money and do it for the love of it.........ok. Don’t leave a tip and see how that goes! Be honest about it, I work for the $$ and not ashamed to admit it.

A person is worth their hire for sure, but both parties should be reasonable about it. Last guided hunt I went on, I saved up and asked the Outfitter if it was enough as I killed an animal on the first day. He told me the guide wouldn’t get a tip like that the whole season.......so I must have done it right. I’d look at $100/day or 10-12%. Don’t forget the cook if there is one in camp! Best of luck.

 

[Spiral Horn]

Tipping is a very personal thing. There is no obligation or required amount despite anything suggested or % written in a brochure, However, I always give a decent tip in appreciation of service provided and never forget the camp staff. 10% is a good baseline if it is a good experience, sometimes more when provided very good personal service and it was clear to me that the guide was focused on my needs and hunting goals, or when the camp staff clearly took pride in the service provided. Certainly tip the guide more for a pre-scouted 1x1 than the “one of many” or “semi-guided” hunt.

As folks have already pointed out, a lot depends on the hunt cost, is it 1x1, length and difficulty/complexity of the hunt, etc. Gave my biggest tip ever to my brown bear guide as he was resilient in the face of horrible hunting conditions, had a plan B and C when plan A didn’t work, knew every facet of how to do that hunt, was fun & easy to be with and a great guy in camp, and led me to taking a 9 footer on our last hunting day. Couldn’t have been happier with the experience and would gladly hunt with him again anytime. The best guides are those who truly enjoy what they do. Been lucky enough to know a few who quickly became friends.

 

[dtrkyman]

I have 15 plus seasons guiding, turkeys, deer, fly fishing. Tips are all over the board, the 10% base is a good start.

Tip according to the service you receive not the result. I have gotten better tips for a one day fly fishing trip than a 5 day whitetail hunt, go figure.

I was stiffed once ever, the outfitter called the client and asked if there was an issue with the trip, the client said I was a gentleman and "tried hard" then claimed he didn't catch anything (he did) it was definitely a tough day but when you can only cast 20 feet it makes it tougher!

 

[AKBorn]

Guide here. Total tip of 15-20% of the total cost of the hunt.

Nothing is more frustrating than guys that save up for a guided hunt without budgeting for a tip.

Hunter and business person here. Nothing is more frustrating than hearing a service person set the expected range of a "gratuity."

 

[Reburn]

Guide here. Total tip of 15-20% of the total cost of the hunt. About 3/4 of that given to the guide, with the balance going to cooks, housekeeping, etc.

Nothing is more frustrating than guys that save up for a guided hunt without budgeting for a tip.

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For information purposes who do you guide for?

 

[Ucsdryder]

Serious question. If you’re going off of a % then obviously the more expensive the hunt the more the guide gets tipped. A 6k elk hunt guide that worked his ass off gets $600, vs a 50k sheep hunt where the guide gets 5k. Assuming similar effort, days, etc how do you justify that?

 

[gibby97]

Lots of good info here and gives me a starting point. This hunt is 10K which makes a starting point of $1000 tip for the guide on a 5 day hunt. Most guys are saying $100 a day is a good starting point which would be $500 tip for the week and then adjust from there.

nothing easy about tipping or justifying after you already paid for the service.

 

[jolemons]

For information purposes who do you guide for?

Turner Ranch Outfitters dba Vermejo Park Ranch

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[archp625]

This is probably a weird way of looking at it but as soon as I step on someones boat or under their care It starts at 20% of the trip cost. Depending on how everything goes it goes down percentages. Very rarely does it go up. But I have been on some fishing trips that have been outstanding and 30-35% was good with me.

I did do to Ecuador once to tuna fish and they refused to take a tip and pretty much thought I was throwing it in there face I had extra money or though they didn't charge enough. I tried to explain and we worked out a deal that they could keep all the fish the wanted for their families. They thought that was gold.

 

[5MilesBack]

I did do to Ecuador once to tuna fish and they refused to take a tip and pretty much thought I was throwing it in there face I had extra money or though they didn't charge enough.

In Iceland it is considered an insult to tip the wait staff.

 

[Smid]

I think $100 a day is pretty reasonable. If I got paid my normal hourly wage + $100 a day I’d be doing pretty good for the week.

 

[Afhunter1]

What if the owner is your guide? Say one on one stone sheep hunt that is 30k. Does owner get 6k kicker at end of hunt?