Ayurooms

Tipping at an Ayurveda resort or yoga retreat in India is not like tipping at a hotel, restaurant, or massage parlour in the West. Here is a rough-and-ready guide on who, what, when and how to tip at health resorts in India.

Foreword on Tipping

When you go to a health resort, keep in mind that you are not obligated to pay tips or gratuities. In all likelihood, you have paid good money to be at a health resort and should not feel that you must dispense with your hard-earned cash just to receive a certain level of service or special treatment. Quite the contrary, you will notice that most of the staff at health resorts in India are exceptionally kind, helpful, courteous and eager to serve you. This is not because there is an expectation of a tip or gratuity. It is because they and their leadership recognize that your happiness and satisfaction are part and parcel of the healing process in any Ayurveda program or pancharkarma (detoxification). Additionally, they want come you to come back, year after year. That is more important to them than tips and gratuities.

Having said the above, tips and gifts are always appreciated. They often light up people's faces with a special smile. Even the smallest of tips in India, like 10 or 20 rupees, can have a remarkable impact on a person's disposition or attitude. So if you see someone (a worker) without a smile on their face or looking depressed or going unnoticed, take the opportunity to slip them 10 or 20 rupees, as a gesture of your appreciation. You will not only earn some good karma, but it may motivate others to do better and serve with a smile.

And by the way, while 10 rupees (20 cents) or 20 rupees (40 cents) may seem quite stingy (and even offensive) as a tip in the West, it is not the case in India. Very often, 20 rupees is enough to buy two cups of chai (tea) or a tender coconut water or a glass of sugarcane juice. So do not feel embarrassed to dish out a tenner in India.

Here below is a list of FAQs that explain the tipping norms in India as we see it. There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to tipping. These are just some general guidelines. Ultimately, what you give in the name of gratitude is up to you.

Frequently Asked Questions

1 > Who to tip

In general, the most important people to tip are as follows:

Your massage therapist
The chefs
The servers in the restaurants
The housekeeping staff
The drivers
The baggage handlers

It is "optional" to tip the following:

The gardeners and landscapers
Security personnel
Receptionists

2 > Who not to tip

It is usually not expected (and sometimes inappropriate) to tip the following:

Head doctor
Junior doctors
Department heads
Resort owner

All of the above people are usually salaried at levels that well exceed the average for lower level staff. In addition, these people do not need to be paid, rewarded, or incentivized to perform. It is their job and duty to do so.

If you feel that you must extend a gratuity or special thanks to high level staff, then do so in the form of physical gifts, such as a clothing item or a souvenir from your home country.

3 > When to tip

When staying at a health resort, it is recommended to tip towards the end of your stay or treatment, after you have had the opportunity to make an informed assessment of the quality of service that has been extended to you. Again, it should not be the case that you tip in order to receive service. It is the other way around. You tip after having received good service and that judgment should be made towards the end of your stay.

If your personal style is to tip randomly or frequently, then feel free to do so, whenever the desire so arises. But then calibrate your tips accordingly. There is no need to be exceedingly generous. Small tips of 10, 20, 50 or maximum 100 rupees is fair enough for random, frequent tipping.

4 > In what currency to tip

Unless the amount is substantial, say more than $20 USD, it is generally not helpful to tip someone in India in a foreign currency. This is because it is difficult, and often very costly, to exchange foreign currency for local currency. Local currency is much more important and valued by workers in India. It's not like Mexico or the Caribbean or even the Middle East where if you give someone $1, $2 or $5, you are doing them a favour. Quite the contrary, in India, it's a disservice to tip a small amount in a foreign currency because most forex outlets do not accept denominations less than $20 or £10 (sometimes the minimums are higher).

5 > How much to tip

eAgain, the most important people to tip are your massage therapists. If you have had two main therapists during your stay, each should be given around 750 rupees for every week of your stay. If you wish to be generous, then 1,000 rupees for every week of service to you. If they were exceptionally talented and worked miracles on you, then 2000 rupees would be a generous tip. For therapists that worked on you occasionally, they could be given 200 to 500 rupees.

Chefs could be given 250 to 500 rupees for every week of service.

Restaurant staff could be given 100 to 300 rupees for every week of service.

Housekeeping staff could be given between 20 rupees and 100 rupees for every week of service.

The above amounts are on a person basis. The lower end of the range are "fair". The higher end of the range is "generous".

Currency conversion

The tipping norms suggested below are a matter of personal taste and opinion. They are not based on any research or hard data. In addition, the suggested tipping amounts assume an average stay at a health resort, which is 7 to 14 days. If your stay is shorter or longer, you can calibrate your tip accordingly.

Tipping in India

Foreword on Tipping

Frequently Asked Questions

Currency conversion

Questions? Please ask us

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