I'm very aware of the tip rate when it comes to the waitress at a restaurant, even the bartender at the club but when it comes to valet service I'm really clueless about it.
I'm not much of a leaving my car with a stranger type of guy, but sometimes you're on the way to that event / party / festival / concert or whatever and you find no parking, and the only thing available is valet service, you drop off your car acknowledging that this come with a price, and no problem with that, but you're not really sure how much should you tip these guys.
Here's my advice from someone who's been in the business for more than a decade, you need to take into consideration a few aspects.
- Service: how attentive and polite is the valet attendant, he's suppose to open the door for you, greet you and maybe even help you with your coat and then guide you to the main lobby.
- Time: how long they take to bring your car, have in mind that sometimes the parking lot might be 10 minutes away, but usually they tell you about the waiting time in advance.
- Luxury of the Place: for example if you're going to a 5 star hotel as opposed to a rock concert.
- The Valet Price: Sometimes you find places where valet is a complementary service, meaning is free, places like VIP Spa, 5 stars restaurants or a very rich guy's birthday, since you don't have to pay for valet in this case, please make sure you tip even higher.
So fellas, don't be cheap, if you have enough money to pay for that 5 stars restaurant bill, I'm sure you have a few extra bucks for the valet attendant, I hope this advice was helpful.
