One of the reasons we love Sandals is that it is all-inclusive, including tips. However, there are a few people that should be tipped when visiting a Sandals Resort. If you book a Butler suite at Sandals, make sure to tip your butler during your stay.
How Much Should You Tip?
This is the question everyone asks and there is a wide range of responses. In short, most people tip between $20 – $50 per butler per shift. You will have 1-3 butlers in a day which affects how much you will tip them overall.
There is a huge range of tips because you have a range of how much people have spent on their room and how much they use their butler.
Examples of Butler Tip Experiences
I am going to share two extremes to show how there are no set guidelines on Butler service.
- The guest is staying in an overwater bungalow in Grande St Lucian and paid $23,000 for a week’s stay. Upon arrival, they request the butler unpack their luggage for them.
Most days they have breakfast delivered to the room and order multiple drinks throughout the day, some are specific orders but some are just pleasant surprises.
Every day, the butler reserved them seats by the pool that they use each morning for a few hours, including a cooler full of drinks, and brought them lunch.
They regularly return to their room to a drawn bath, chilled champagne, and the room decorated with flower petals.
A few nights they have the butler set up dinner on their patio from the restaurant of their choice.
They have two to three butlers each day for a total of 15 shifts. They tip each butler $500 for the excellent service, way over the average of $20-$50 a shift. - Another couple goes to Sandals Ochi and pays $5000 for a butler suite. Upon arrival, they do not accept the offer for the butler to unpack their luggage but do request a reservation for the week each night.
Each day they go to eat breakfast at one of the nearby restaurants. At Sandals Ochi, butlers do not reserve chairs so after breakfast they find chairs by the pool for themselves. For lunch, they go to one of the nearby restaurants to grab some jerk chicken or pizza each day.
Some days they never saw their butler, but one day they requested lunch and cold drinks be brought to their room for them to enjoy some time at their private pool. The butler brought drinks once and it took over an hour for the pizza they ordered to arrive for lunch.
At Sandals Ochi, some days you only have one butler, and other days you have two. This week there were a total of 10 shifts. There were 2 days where they did not even see their butlers.
They tipped the butler that was there for their pool day and they saw every time they had a shift $100 and the other butler who they never really had help from $80.
Those are two extremes, but both are reasonable and realistic. So when it comes to deciding how much to tip your butler, it is up to you. Consider how much work they end up doing for you and tip accordingly.
Keeping Track of Butler Shifts
You might wonder how you are going to know who is working which shift. Some butlers will provide you with a schedule of dinners and activities. They may already have your assigned butlers on this sheet, but otherwise, you can mark it on there yourself throughout your visit.
When Should You Tip Your Butler
Most people wait till the end of their trip to tip their butlers. Some tip one time early in your trip, letting the butler know you will be tipping again at the end of your stay. This may improve your experience moving forward. Some guests also make sure to get the same butlers year after year so this isn’t necessary.
Tips are preferred in cash so a discrete envelope, possibly with a nice note is a great way to tip at the end of the trip. If you did not bring enough cash they can be added to your overall bill and paid for with a credit card. In this case, consider adding a little extra since some fees will be taken out before the butler receives them.
He is an expert travel advisor and enthusiast. He has traveled extensively in the USA, Central America, South America, and Europe. He has visited every Sandals Resort and is one of a select few Diamond Elite members of the Sandals Chairman’s Royal Club.
Dan graduated from Johnson & Wales University with an associate degree in Culinary Arts. Later he graduated from the University of Utah with a bachelor’s degree in International Studies with a focus on people and culture.