For meeting planners, tipping can become surprisingly complicated. Sometimes a service charge is built into the hotel or venue bill. Some organizations restrict cash tips or gifts. Properties might have their own rules for how gratuities are distributed.
So when a planner wants to recognize exceptional service, figuring out how to do it isn't always straightforward. The confusion often comes down to assumptions about where service charges go, who receives them, and what can be done when organizational and venue policies don't align.
Understanding how service charges are distributed, what forms of recognition are permitted and how gratuities must be processed can prevent surprises at the end of an event. But planners definitely need to have the gratuity conversation long before the event date.
Ask where the service charge goes
Seeing a significant service charge added to food-and-beverage or banquet expenses, a planner might reasonably assume the people working the event receive that money. But service charges and gratuities aren't necessarily the same thing, and some employees working closely with a planner might not receive any part of a service charge.
Even when a banquet service charge is 24 percent or more, for instance, a convention services manager typically doesn't receive a portion of it. Yet the work CSMs do can include answering late-night emails, managing room changes, resolving VIP issues, locating last-minute equipment and coordinating multiple departments when plans change — tasks many planners like to reward.
Knowing how a venue distributes the charge, and whether CSMs or other members of the event team are included, can help planners decide how they want to recognize exceptional service.
Budget for recognition before the event
Recognition can be difficult to address if it isn't considered until the event is over. Planners routinely budget for everything from food and beverage to audiovisual and transportation, while rewarding the people who are helping execute the event might never enter the budget conversation.
We've seen gratuities for CSMs and lead event teams decline significantly over the past decade, and only a small percentage of groups now provide them or another form of recognition. The issue isn't necessarily a lack of appreciation. Recognition simply might not have been considered when the event budget was developed.
By the time the meeting ends, there could be no money available for a gratuity, or organizational policies might limit what a planner can provide. Addressing the issue earlier gives planners more options. They can determine what their organization permits, ask about the venue's policies and decide whether funds should be set aside for exceptional service.
And cash isn't the only way to recognize excellent work. When monetary gratuities aren't permitted, there are alternatives, such as a hand-written, personal thank-you note, an approved gift or team lunch, or recognition shared with an employee's supervisor or senior leadership.
The important part is knowing the options before they are needed.
Understand how gratuities will be processed
Another reason to have the conversation early: Even when a planner has budgeted for gratuities, getting that money to the intended employees might require advanced coordination.
Some venues require that employees be paid through payroll, rather than receiving direct cash tips when the planner chooses to include gratuities on the master bill.
What seems like a simple addition to the final bill can involve accounting procedures, paperwork and signatures. It helps to understand this information in advance so all involved can share it with internal departments ahead of time, rather than scrambling on the last day when the planner is on the way out the door.
Also, knowing the planner's intentions ahead of time gives the venue an opportunity to coordinate with accounting and prepare any necessary documents. For planners, the question isn't just whether they intend to provide a gratuity. They also need to know how the venue can accept, process and distribute it. That's easier to establish before an event than during checkout.
What to ask
A few questions can go a long way. Examples include:
- Who receives the service charge?
- What does the planner's organization allow when it comes to gratuities and gifts?
- How does the venue handle gratuities added to the master account?
- If cash isn't permitted, what other forms of recognition are appropriate?
For planners and venues alike, a little preparation can help make sure a well-earned thank-you doesn't become a last-minute complication.
Paul Ruby, CMP, director of conference services and events at the Lodge at Gulf State Park, a Hilton Hotel in Alabama, and Joyel Oliphant, ESPC, sales and event services manager at the Foundry Hotel in Asheville, N.C., are members of the Event Service Professionals Association.
