Gratuity on a Bareboat Charter

[DavidJH]

Hey Everyone,
I was attempting to book our second bareboat charter ever, and this time I was trying to get a boat in the USVI. I was talking to a company "Virgin Islands Yacht Charters", and I was surprised when I was booking they said "We do follow the industry standard of 20% gratuity on the charter fee". They then clarified that they meant on the whole charter fee, not a checkout captain or any other single fee. This seemed very strange to me. Are they trying to rip me off? The info I saw was you might pay 10-20% to a captain, but why on a charter fee?

Thanks!
David

[Sailingwithgil]

[QUOTE=DavidJH;3768656]Hey Everyone,
I was attempting to book our second bareboat charter ever, and this time I was trying to get a boat in the USVI. I was talking to a company "Virgin Islands Yacht Charters", and I was surprised when I was booking they said "We do follow the industry standard of 20% gratuity on the charter fee". They then clarified that they meant on the whole charter fee, not a checkout captain or any other single fee. This seemed very strange to me. Are they trying to rip me off? The info I saw was you might pay 10-20% to a captain, but why on a charter fee?

Thanks!
David[/QUOT
Rule of thumb If your Check-out Captain cost $200 for a couple of hours of his our her time it should be around 20% of the cost of there time. Not the bareboat cost. And you should give it to the captain we he is leaving the boat. Sailingwithgil

[SailingHarmonie]

I am confused. Where is the ripoff? They tell you up front that they will add 20% to the charter fee. There is no "ripoff" here, everything is clear and above board.

If the fee plus 20% is too expensive: go to another outfit. If the fee plus 20% is reasonable, then what's your problem?

They might (or very well might not) be ripping of their employees if they pocket that 20% and still pay wages at a lower rate.

[DavidJH]

Originally Posted by SailingHarmonie

I am confused. Where is the ripoff? They tell you up front that they will add 20% to the charter fee. There is no "ripoff" here, everything is clear and above board.

If the fee plus 20% is too expensive: go to another outfit. If the fee plus 20% is reasonable, then what's your problem?

They might (or very well might not) be ripping of their employees if they pocket that 20% and still pay wages at a lower rate.

Yes, I do appreciate they put it in the end of the quote and not in the final bill, but the fact that they claim its "Industry Standard" when I have found no one else that does this, seems to be deceptive. Additionally, they are charging gratuity and likely not passing it on to the boat owner or the staff. Gratuity is for people who directly help you and is usually voluntary. It just doesn't feel correct which is why I came here to ask of everyones collective wisdom on the matter.

[Sailingwithgil]

David I take a look at my invoice from last year from BVIYC They added the cost of the Check-out Captain to my bill $200. but the tip was on us to give it to the captain.
he step on the boat and we motor in the the bay put up the sails and sailed to Normans Island and we had lunch & talk a about the boat than we take him to the ferry where he can catch a ride back to Road Town.
The only Tip/ Gratuity we had to pays was the the Check - out Captain and it was my first bareboat charter with BVIYC

[Shrew]

I'm a little unclear. Are they saying that a %20 gratuity is paid to the Charter company? Or that a 20% gratuity is paid to the Check-Out Captain??

20% of the Charter price to the Captain is what I would pay if I paid for a Captained charter for the entire charter period. I'd tip a Check-Out Captain %20 of the fees for Checkout, or maybe $100 whichever is greater.

[DavidJH]

Originally Posted by Shrew

I'm a little unclear. Are they saying that a %20 gratuity is paid to the Charter company? Or that a 20% gratuity is paid to the Check-Out Captain??

20% of the Charter price to the Captain is what I would pay if I paid for a Captained charter for the entire charter period. I'd tip a Check-Out Captain %20 of the fees for Checkout, or maybe $100 whichever is greater.

It sounds like they are simply charging 20% of the entire fee for the charter and keeping it. It would be crazy if they were keeping 20% of a 5-day bareboat just for the checkout captain. That would be 3-4x the amount he is getting paid.

[NaClyDog]

This tipping mentality is just wrong.


Charge people what it costs you to provide the service and pay your employees a living wage based on what you charge.

[GreenWave]

Originally Posted by NaClyDog

This tipping mentality is just wrong.


Charge people what it costs you to provide the service and pay your employees a living wage based on what you charge.

I agree. This has gone too far and has to stop. What's next - leaving a tip at the pump out when you do all the work?

[FabioC]

Determining how much to tip the skipper (if you hire one) is always one of the most difficult things in chartering...
I think an accepted rule of thumb (or at least one that many follow) is tipping 10% of the total cost of the charter (minus taxes and extras). If you hire the skipper for only a portion of the charter, then 10% of the cost of that portion...
For a check-out skipper, it would be different, I think. It depends on what he does and how much time he spends with you. If he just goes over the boat and takes you out to check that you can handle it, a small tip is appropriate, if he spends considerable time getting you familiar with anything, letting you practice, giving you tips, then around $100-$150 tip is appropriate, those lessons are very valuable...

[Shrew]

Originally Posted by DavidJH

It sounds like they are simply charging 20% of the entire fee for the charter and keeping it. It would be crazy if they were keeping 20% of a 5-day bareboat just for the checkout captain. That would be 3-4x the amount he is getting paid.

Both don't make any sense to me. It's an outrageous amount to the check-out captain. If it's a barebones charter, it's an outrageous amount to the company.

What is the tip for? It's like they're taking their recommended tip for a crewed charter and attempting to apply it to all charters.

[Mickeyrouse]

I have a fundamental animus about the whole “ tip” thing. Tell me how much something costs. That’s what I’ve planned on paying. It’s like “ service” fees for an entertainment event, or “ resort” fee at a hotel. Hidden fees are just part of the bait and switch mentality. If your employees are worth more, pay them. If it raises the cost of doing business, charge more. The idea of paying a tip at a drive-thru is beyond ridiculous. Same thing for charter boat after-the-fact add-ons.

[DavidJH]

Originally Posted by Shrew

Both don't make any sense to me. It's an outrageous amount to the check-out captain. If it's a barebones charter, it's an outrageous amount to the company.

What is the tip for? It's like they're taking their recommended tip for a crewed charter and attempting to apply it to all charters.

Totally agree. I have asked for clarifications with exact numbers to see if they really do come back with a $1000+ gratuity, and I have also asked if this is supposed to be going to the captain who is doing the $300 checkout sail. Hopefully they just worded it poorly before.

[YachtBoyRMK]

I’ve been doing bareboat charter in the Caribbean since around 1995; I’ve never heard of this practice – sounds dodgy. That said, I’ve never encountered a “checkout captain”. I’ve used several different charter companies over the years; if they are satisfied with your experience/qualifications that usually suffices (I’ve had RYA Day Skipper in 1995 and RYA Yachtmaster since 2001).

I’d look at different charter companies. If you’re a repeat bareboat charterer with them and they checked you out one year, that should be OK for successive years.

20% to a captain onboard for the week is OK. 20% to an unneeded and just “required” by CharterCo “checkout" captain is egregious.

[DavidJH]

Ok, so after about 4 emails back and forth, they seem to have realized this was wrong and admitted the gratuity will only be $60 for the checkout captain. They were very pleasant people on the phone, and a well rated company which was the confusing thing. I think the person who was replying was simply not bothering to read the context of what they and their co-worker had quoted. In this case, it paid to be stubborn and overly persistent.