Oof, the t-word. It’s a funny one, this; smacks of Edwardian shooting weekends. Leaving a note tucked coyly under the lamp on the bedside table? What is this, 1911? Still, tipping is greatly appreciated and good manners if you’re going to stay with friends this summer, especially friends who may have cleaners, gardeners, a pool man, a cook, a long-suffering nanny who’s been dumped with your own children as well as your friend’s all week, and so on and so on.
The best way to go about this is simply to ask your friend. Be upfront. Obviously some of us would obviously rather fart in public than discuss money, but every now and then it’s unavoidable. Sorry.
‘What should I leave in the way of tips?’ is an easy enough sentence to get out a few days before leaving, and your host will likely be grateful that you’ve raised the subject before they did. Either discretely slide them a few notes on the day of departure or leave some in your bedroom. One friend simply has an antique jar marked ‘opium' on the dresser in the kitchen of her French farmhouse and everyone throws their Euros into that. Unless otherwise instructed, I reckon €10 a night is a good rule of thumb.
If you’re staying somewhere remote, remember to have cash on you when you leave. It’s very easy, these days, to travel without it at all. But what happens then is you find yourself, as I did recently, running around a rural Provençal village, looking for the only working ATM. This involved a trip to the post office, some appallingly mangled French, and a hurried trip to the bank when it finally opened.
Rotten luck if you’re staying on a friend’s yacht as the tips tend to be much bigger. Go to the bank before you leave the marina.
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