How to say “Thank you” to a GM

Interesting, as I have found myself in the same situation more than once. Last year I spent about 50 nights in total in a hotel where I always received outstanding service. My last stay was a week or before Christmas so when I checked out I asked if they had a Christmas fund towards a staff party and was told they did. I wrote a note to the GM and popped it into an envelope with £100 and gave it to the receptionist.

This leads me on to something I often wonder about, which is tipping in hotels. Should one leave a global tip at reception on check out, does one leave something for the room staff, or as it seems most people do, nothing.?

Good question Martyn

I have had outstanding service at the Hilton T4 and the Taj Bengal and I think that by simply naming the hotel on a forum such as this is sufficient.

I only ever tip the individual member of staff concerned…but it’s a tricky one. Often I feel I have given too much and equally too little.

Glad you are having a good stay.

Morning Martyn

2 ways to look at thisfine little dilemma you find yourself in…..

Pre departure or post check out acknowledgement…..Which is best ?

Having put a bit of thought to this, my suggestion is as follows…

Firstly I agree with SwissDriver, avoid a financial reward, tip your room cleaner as normal…..

Totally agree with BigDog’s point of acknowledgement………SO

1) Make sure you you thank them personally, and if possible ask to meet the GM in the lobby in full view of the reception area and shake his hand….

2) Order a big bunch or bunches of flowers for all the hotel staff –and explaining why you have sent them…….Order them to be delivered to the front desk….a couple of days after you have left…….make sure you leave your room number only on the card !!

the benefit of flowers are they last a while, and a very visual…..giving everyone you want to thank an opportunity to be recognised…..

3) Send a registered post letter to the CEO……explaining why you felt the need to send the big bunch of flowers, this time including your full name.

4) You could also find out what their nominated charity is and quietly contribute to that through your letter!

Sometimes less is best…..

Above all a big smile, humour and personal engagement is about the biggest thank you service industry workers appreciate….

Hi MS

Just wanted to pitch in here as an exGM!

I was always very happy if a guest sought me out to tell me how pleased they had been with their stay. These days there seems to be so many layers between the staff you do see during your stay and the GM, depending of course on the size of the hotel, that you may not see the GM around the place, so it’s a great idea to seek them out.

As has been suggested a personal thank you and or a note would be appropriate. If you wished to also write a letter to “head office”, that would always be appreciated!

For the staff you encounter, depending on the tipping culture of where you are, then tip those you feel you wish to give a little something to. Of course, a donation to a “staff fund” for the annual staff Christmas party or suchlike, would also go down very well and could be given to the GM, but it is not necessary.

Whatever you do I am sure the GM would pass on your thanks to his team in their daily team brief, and a note would certainly be pinned on the staff notice board. My team were always delighted when a guest took the time to write a note.

I’m just catching up on my computer fun … what did you ultimately decide to do? Martyn, this is such a good topic and I’m glad you brought it up. I will use one or two of the following three suggestions next time I’m in your situation: flowers for the front desk. letter to the GM’s superior, contribution to the staff social/charity interest. I’ve always wanted to acknowledge a superior hotel stay at the top level, so I’m glad to have these great suggestions. I would love to see a tradition start where we could make a contribution to the charity which the staff supports … a really lasting “tip”.

I am in a hotel for now almost two weeks and am really impressed by the genuinely helpful staff, always smiling, always looking at helping you, making sure you are all right, and this, in a country where this is far from being obvious. It is impressive. So made an appointment and met this morning the GM (who, may-be unsurprisingly is young and energetic) for a coffee and shared this with him. It was great to see him truly happy about it, and almost surprised I didn’t ask for anything. So yes, meeting the GM to thank him and praise his work is really worth it!

@Steve: ???