Shiny, a provider of associate engagement and retention services, has released its inaugural report on tipping for the hospitality industry. Titled “Tipping and Beyond: Data-Driven Tactics to Address Hospitality Staffing Challenges,” the report draws on 2023 sources to both provide insights and solutions to vexing labor shortage issues.
“Even before the pandemic, the three top issues most affecting hotels were labor acquisition, labor productivity and labor retention,” said Rebecca Robinson, cofounder, Shiny. “That problem was only exacerbated by COVID, and now more than ever, employers are looking for ways to attract and retain the best talent out there. This report illuminates current tipping trends and provides insights to hire and keep staff more effectively, ultimately aiding in resolving the prevailing labor shortages.”
The study utilized tipping records gathered from 28 hotels across the U.S., including select- and full-service branded and independent hotels using Shiny’s tipping software, each providing at least six months’ worth of tipping data. The dataset, comprising 594 tipped employees, including housekeepers, valets, lounge staff, breakfast servers and others, provided intriguing patterns such as the most popular day to leave a tip, a finding that can help hoteliers create improved operational strategies and work schedules.
Highlights of the report include:
- Guests are most likely to leave gratuities for hotel associates on a Sunday. Tuesday is the least likely day (by a factor of two).
- $10.60 is the average tip amount received across departments (housekeeping, valet, dining, lounge, front desk, etc.)
- 80% of tips are left at checkout.
- Loyalty program members are twice as likely to leave a tip.
“It seems rather obvious on the surface that more money will make for happier employees, but we found that isn’t the one-size-fits-all silver bullet solution that some owners and operators think it is,” Robinson added. “By speaking directly with general managers and hotel-level associates, we were able to devise multiple strategies to help reduce turnover, ranging from implementing more streamlined tipping solutions to providing employees with transparent scheduling to give them more control over their time and simplify the process for managers to create schedules and communicate changes. Identifying and recognizing trends is important, but we wanted to go the extra step with this report to provide useful solutions to the issues uncovered.”