Tips

You know what. Most things in the mountains change over time. Lifts gets faster, skis get wider, friends get fatter and greyer but one thing stays the same, a large percentage of holiday makers are complete dicks when it comes to tipping their chalet hosts. They are more than happy to fill out the “how was your holiday” questionnaire with glowing reports of their host but when it actually comes to crowbarring opening their wallets to give even the smallest of gratuities there is about as much action as an assertiveness anonymous meeting.
If you spend an hour or so eating in a restaurant, you have a “relationship” with your waitress, and through her the rest of the kitchen staff. If all your food arrives in a timely manner and in a suitable warm state and there is no visible spit on the frites and its accompanied with a courteous service the vast majority of people will leave a tip knowing it will go directly to the waitress and kitchen staff.
Now if you spend the best part of 7 days in a ski chalet, you have a much deeper relationship with your host (not the type when she was very drunk in a nightclub and you woke up in the same bed), and depending on the size of the chalet maybe a chef. In that week they will wait on you hand and foot, clean up your shit (and vomit) cook you tasty food, give you great advice, put up with the same questions every week “So what did you do in the summer?” without showing it. The only main difference being is that at the end of the week nobody brings the guests a bill with an empty space for a tip to be entered.
I’m sure these tight arses clients will use the excuse that the hosts are paid (handsomely) and that they have already paid for their holiday. Listen scrooge Mc duck if you think ponying up for the equivalent of what two pints of beer cost is too much imagine how your host is surviving on 50+ euros a week (in Courchevel) is possible you are so fucking tight if they stuck a lump of coal up your arse you would end up with a shinny diamond in a couple of days. And don’t even think about leaving your remaining duty free in lieu of cash. its a nice bonus but no replacement for cash and to be fair are you really going to let a 1/2 bottle of gin take up lugagge space on your way home? I would also warn you that if you’ve pissed off your host/chef eating breakfast on your last morning before you leave might not be the best idea (why I can’t say).
So to the client please tip your host a minimum of 10 euros per person per week (which doesn’t sound much but for a chalet of 8 that equates to at least 80 euros) that way she can go out and get drunk, maybe buy some new gloves to replace those ones which are covered in duct tape or some goggles and most importantly she will be happy and have a good sense of being knowing that someone appreciated their hard work.