Tipping Ski Instructors?

[RollingLeaf]

Hey. I had a group lesson today at Big Sky. My first lesson in at least 35 years. Good time. Helpful. At the end, I saw a member of the group passing a tip to the instructor. Definitely a surprise. I don’t remember my Dad tipping my ski instructor when I was a kid. I have no problem with tipping waiters and Uber well. Not sure about ski employees though. What’s the standard for tipping instructors? The lesson was over $100.

 

[TexasStout]

I typically tip them 15-20%, just like i would waiters, Uber or a masseuse. The instructor's wage is not that much and they appreciate any tips they can get. The resort gets that fee you paid for the lesson, not the instructor.

 

[dbostedo]

^^^
Same here... ~20% typically. Sometimes more if I thought it was a particularly good lesson.

 

[Pat AKA mustski]

I tip $20/day for a 2 hr lesson - more if I feel that I connected particularly with some part of the instruction.

 

[raytseng]

This really isn't a standard yet, so its not expected. Contrast with a food server where if you don't tip in the US you've broken etiquette.

Really just tip based on your financial means and your experience or your improvement. if you feel you got a 20% better experience than you expected(e.g. a surprise private, or something clicked for you) than tip $20 or some amount that feels right to you. If you feel it's too much it's too much, if you feel it's too little it's too little.

Even if you just tip a $5 its still appreciated. if you're tipping with coins though, maybe that crosses the line.

 

[mdf]

I don't believe in percentage tips -- I prefer a net tip approach.
I think the total tip for all participants should add up to around $20 per hour.
More if you are building a relationship.

 

[VickieH]

I had a group lesson on Friday ... 2 students, 2.5 hours, top-notch instructor. I tipped him $30. I don't know if the other student gave him a tip.

I am planning to start private lessons with him, most likely 2 hour lessons. I plan to tip $50 per 2-hour lesson.

 

[Philpug]

I don’t remember my Dad tipping my ski instructor when I was a kid.

Your dad was probably a smooth class act, tipped and didn't bring attention to it.

 

[LiquidFeet]

Hey. I had a group lesson today at Big Sky. My first lesson in at least 35 years. Good time. Helpful. At the end, I saw a member of the group passing a tip to the instructor. Definitely a surprise. I don’t remember my Dad tipping my ski instructor when I was a kid. I have no problem with tipping waiters and Uber well. Not sure about ski employees though. What’s the standard for tipping instructors? The lesson was over $100.

Instructors get paid by the contact hour according to their certification level and years of experience at most mountains. What the client pays is irrelevant, and how many students is irrelevant. So that instructor was probably paid $12-$20/hour, while the client is paying mega bucks for the lesson to the ski school. The instructor is not paid for the time spent "being avaliable to teach" between lessons, even though waiting at line-up is a required part of the job.

Ski instructors teaching group lessons from line-up assignments get very little pay. Housing near ski resorts is expensive. The lack of parity between the service given by the instructor and the pay received is huge. Tips are appreciated. Many skiers don't know this.

 

[wooglin]

$10 an hour and up

 

[ADKmel]

ANY Tip is always appreciated But never expected I've had 5,10,20 and 50$ tips and I've taught a family for a week and got everyone to the top of the Mt and Zero tip. No worries, I love teaching and a tip is always a nice surprise.

 

[lisamamot]

I was not originally in the know about tipping ski instructors as it is not a thing in various other sports. Even the massage therapists we go to at home are non-gratuity based - tipping is not permitted. Once I learned it was a thing in skiing, we haven’t made the zero tip error again!

At Big Sky and Maine Adaptive the adaptive instructors are not permitted to take tips (we tried), but they are at Winter Park....so confusing. I always ask now if tips are permitted and the places that do not allow tips we donate to the organization.

 

[Dwight]

When my kids where teaching they would get a tip quite regularly. It varied from lesson to lesson. There where other instructors that never received a tip. My kids learned very early great customer service etiquette.

 

[Decreed_It]

Always. Always. Always. I'm surprised this is even a question, but - I'm a service industry vet (Restaurants, in the kitchen, apprentice level wages no tips, to the front of the house waiting and bartending - even less wage live and die on your ability to take care of folks and earn tips) - so I'm a religious tipper.

20% is my baseline std and we go up (or very rarely slightly down) from there.

 

[KevinF]

Tipping ski instructors is definitely a "thing" even if it's not as well known a practice as tipping other service professionals (i.e., restaurant staff, etc.).

I spent a season teaching in the mid-Atlantic, so I was aware of the discrepancies between lesson prices and instructor wages. One or two of my students (victims?) that season did tip me which I was shocked about.

It still didn't occur to me that tipping is "normal" until reading about the practice on the old EpicSki forums.

 

[Mike Thomas]

Tipping ski instructors seems mean. Most of them are non-athletic and ski poorly enough that a little tipping and they are going to go right over. It just seems unfair.

 

[udailey]

I almost always tip $20 per person per lesson. Last time I had the best lesson of my life and it felt great to thank my instructor with a double tip. I love to tip. Makes ME feel good too.
Our instructors have always seemed grateful for $20 and as you can see it's a pretty standard amount.

 

[dbostedo]

Tipping ski instructors seems mean. Most of them are non-athletic and ski poorly enough that a little tipping and they are going to go right over. It just seems unfair.

Sadly, that took me a second to get.

 

[ThomasH]

Hey. I had a group lesson today at Big Sky. My first lesson in at least 35 years. Good time. Helpful. At the end, I saw a member of the group passing a tip to the instructor. Definitely a surprise. I don’t remember my Dad tipping my ski instructor when I was a kid. I have no problem with tipping waiters and Uber well. Not sure about ski employees though. What’s the standard for tipping instructors? The lesson was over $100.

Funny you should ask because there's a thread here giving ski instructors' perspective- check out "Can they really do this to instructors?" in this Ski School section.
Problem is, the ski areas basically have a monopoly on instruction so they pay instructors garbage for a job that is physically demanding (especially when instructing kids) and requiring years of experience, training and education to become proficient at (cost which is born by the instructors). Yeah, the top instructors at top resorts can make a living but for the rest of us it's just steerage class on the Titanic. Resulting in big year to year turnover.
Tips are always appreciated, my friend.

 

[FlyingAce]

I don’t think I, as a client, need to know how much an instructor is getting paid, whether it is fair, or that they can’t survive on that pay and therefore have to feel obligated to tip to help them out. That is between the instructor and his/her employer to work out.
Tip if you feel they went above and beyond, and whatever you are comfortable with, or spread the word/give them referrals. No one can tell you how to share your hard earned money just because you feel bad for someone.
That said, I just had a week’s worth of private lessons and I tipped 30% of the total lesson cost because my instructor was awesome and I learned so much more than expected and will continue to see him.