Do you have this problem, too?  I love to travel, but have limited resources.  I’m not interested in staying at fleabag dumps just so I can travel, but if I pay $200+/night for hotel, then I can’t travel as much as I want to.  There’s got to be a happy medium, right?  My preferred lodging is clean, centrally located (or close to public transportation), and under $150/night.  It’s not as easy as you might think to find places like this.

So imagine how happy I was a few weeks ago to discover a website called Darn Good Digs, that provides recommendations of just such places all around the world.  These hotels are nominated by travelers and trusted travel bloggers and are researched by the site owners prior to inclusion.  Hotels cannot pay to be included in the listings. I really liked the concept of this site and connected with Michael Gonchar, who runs Darn Good Digs with his wife Allison, to interview him about how this site came about and how it can help travelers.

SF: First, Michael, tell me a little bit about your backgrounds.

MG: Allison and I both work in education.  I was a history and literature teacher in the New York City public schools for several years, and now I mentor teachers and coach principals in new small public high schools.  Allison coordinates an early intervention program in Brooklyn for children aged zero to three.  We are both travelers at heart, though, and spend a good amount of our free time planning new trips and reading about the world.

SF: You’ve both done some solo traveling, correct?  Any observations about the benefits of solo travel?

MG: Allison spent six weeks traveling around Vietnam on her own, and I spent three weeks traveling around Portugal solo – this was all back before we met each other.  Both of us had amazing experiences on those trips – we met cool people and saw wonderful sights.  We both learned something about ourselves and the world along the way.

SF: What was the genesis of Darn Good Digs?

MG: We have stayed at some pretty amazing places over the years – places that took us considerable time to unearth in guidebooks, travel magazines, or online.  Each time we starting planning a new trip, we were frustrated at how much time it took us to find new places to stay on our limited budget that really excited us.  Sometimes I would do Google searches with two or three or our past finds – to see if anyone else put these spots together in a list.  Nobody was doing it, and one day we decided we would create our own list of amazing places to stay.  That was how we first launched Darn Good Digs – with 10 of our favorite places to stay for under $150.

SF: Your site focuses on establishments that have rooms for under $150 a night even in high season that are also locally-owned. Why the emphasis on locally-owned hotels?

MG: We believe in locally owned businesses for two reasons.  First, we think we have a more authentic travel experience when we stay somewhere original.  We often get to know the owners or the other guests.  Each hotel stands out from the next – they don’t blend together in our minds like a franchise hotel might.  The second reason is because we want to support high quality independently owned businesses.  We think they make the world a more interesting place.  Too often in the United States, you can travel from one town to the next and find the same exact bookstores, restaurants, and pharmacies.  We don’t want the whole world to look the same.

SF: Who writes the reviews for these “darn good digs”?

MG: We started darngoodigs.com with ten reviews of our favorite places, but then we realized the only way we could make our world-wide list of extraordinary hotels was to tap into all the travelers on the web.  We asked travelers to nominate their favorite places using our nomination form, and then we research all the nominations.  We choose the best of the best to edit and post as “Darn Good Digs”, and then we select many of the other nominations, to post verbatim, as “Traveler Favorites”.  At this point only about fifteen of our reviews are from our own travels – the other 80% are from savvy travelers and travel bloggers from around the world.

SF: Tell me about the Nominate-a-thon—how does that work?

MG: We started the Nominate-a-thons as a way to make the nomination process more fun.  For our first nominate-a-thon we gave away a travel bag, and for our current one we are giving away two prizes: the Rough Guides’ Earth Bound photography book and a Rough Guide of the winner’s choice.  We give three raffle tickets to each traveler who nominates their favorite digs, and one ticket for anyone who signs up for our newsletter.  Then on December 18^th our four year old son will pick the winners from a separate bowl for each prize.

SF: Do you have a vetting process by which you verify that the information you’ve received via nominations is accurate?

MG: When we started the nomination process we knew we would have to be very careful to post only genuine reviews, and not reviews by hotel owners and PR agents.  Just as importantly, we want the hotels on Darn Good Digs to stand out from run-of-the-mill budget hotels, so we needed to establish a high level of quality control.  The result is a very rigorous “vetting” process, where we literally can spend hours researching each review.  A few of the tools we use are online hotel review sites, Flickr photos, YouTube videos, and travel forums.  We also are heavy users of our amazing public library system in New York City, where we can search in all the guidebooks and travel magazines.  If a place definitely meets all our criteria, then we post the review as a “Darn Good Digs”.  If it meets some of our criteria, or if there is a lack of clarity or information, we will post it as a “Traveler Favorite”.  Less than 20% of the nominations we receive eventually become Darn Good Digs.

SF: What is your one favorite “darn good dig” that you’ve stayed at and why?

MG: That’s a tough one.  Certainly one of our favorites is Vento di Rose, a three bedroom bed and breakfast perched below the medieval town of Monterubbiano in Italy’s The Marche region.  For starters, the breakfasts were unbelievable and truly exciting each morning – not to mention substantial enough that we were encouraged to wrap our leftovers for lunch.  The other stand out was the incredible hospitality of the innkeepers, Emanuela and Emidio, who allowed our two year old son to help out in the garden and who invited us to join a toast to their friends who just got engaged.  We loved our three week trip in Italy, but Vento di Rose stood out as magical.

SF: How can Darn Good Digs help the solo traveler, and vice versa?

MG: Darn Good Digs can be a great resource for the solo traveler who is looking for original places to stay without wanting to spend a lot of money.  The $150 price is the maximum, but we have places that go down to about $10 a night, like the Mayoka Village in Malawi.  We recommend that travelers visit Darn Good Digs first, before they go to larger sites to do their travel planning.

As far as solo travelers helping us, we’re always looking for new nominations.  We’re trying to build a guide to the best small hotels, b&b’s, and hostels around the world for budget-minded travelers, and the only way we are going to do that is if travelers continue to nominate their favorite digs.

SF: What’s your long-term vision for Darn Good Digs?

MG: We want Darn Good Digs to become an invaluable resource for budget-minded travelers looking for cool places to stay.  We hope to build a guide of hundreds of the best digs, so that when someone wants a cool hotel in Boise or Bhutan, we have it.  We’re getting there, and we’ll pass our one hundredth review soon, but it takes time.  We are also in the works of giving visitors the option to make inquiries or bookings through out site.

SF: Is there anything else you’d like my readers to know about Darn Good Digs?

MG: Please join our Nominate-a-thon and nominate your favorite digs.  And if you haven’t done so already, please sign up for our quarterly newsletter or subscribe to our blog so you can be part of our endeavor to build a guide to the best original small hotels, b&b’s and guest houses for budget-minded travelers.

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Thanks again, Michael, for sharing information about Darn Good Digs with us.  Readers, if you’ve ever stayed at a great under $150/night locally owned hotel, B&B or hostel, please be sure to submit it to Darn Good Digs.  The best way to grow this useful resource is for all of us to contribute.  And I know I’ll be checking their site before I travel anywhere from now on!

Discounter websites like Priceline and Hotwire have been around for years, but I’ve never tried them before.  Why?  Because once you’ve booked, you cannot cancel or get a refund; you’re stuck with what you got. When you’re bidding on hotels, you don’t know which hotel you will get.  All you can do is select the general location and star level of hotel that you want and hope for the best.  The idea of booking a hotel room “blind” freaks me out a little, especially since a coworker of mine used a hotel discounter when booking a Jamaican vacation resort for herself and her pregnant daughter and wound up getting stuck with a nudist resort!

However, the opportunity arose recently when I was planning an overnight stay in Montreal and wasn’t able to find a hotel room at the star level I wanted for under $100 using my usual sources.  With a trip to Vegas coming up soon, I didn’t want to spend too much on this weekend trip.  So I decided to try my luck with Hotwire or Priceline.  Even if I wound up hating my hotel, I reasoned, it would only be one night, and it would be fodder for my blog, right?

My first and most important research was done at a site called BetterBidding.com.  If you ever consider booking through Priceline or Hotwire, I highly recommend thoroughly reading this site first. Here, I found lots of great information to get me started in the world of online hotel bidding.  I dug down into the Canada forum and found the list of hotels available on both Hotwire and Priceline for Montreal.  Then I went into the forums to see what specific hotels and prices other travelers were getting in the star range I wanted.  The first thing I noticed was that Hotwire’s star rating is higher than Priceline’s for Montreal, and thus so were the prices for those hotels.  (For instance, the Hyatt Regency, the hotel I wound up getting, is rated 4 stars at Hotwire and 3.5 stars at Priceline.  The successful bids I saw for that hotel were $20-30 higher at Hotwire.)  I quickly decided to bid with Priceline for this trip.

The next research I did was at TripAdvisor, to get reviews of the hotels that most often turned up in the star range I was looking at.  There were some hotels in the 3 star range that did not sound all that great to me, so I decided to stick with 3.5 star and up, where pretty much all of the hotels sounded good. Then I took the plunge and began bidding, using the links from the Betterbidding.com site (as a way to thank them for their wonderful information).

I saw that other bidders had been getting successful bids for the Hyatt Regency Montreal (3.5 stars) in the $55-66 dollar range.  My first bid was $55, which was rejected.  I tried to rebid for $60 for the same zone and 4 star hotel range, but it wouldn’t let me (even though it SAID I could rebid if I just changed one thing). But because it was the same trip/same date, it wouldn’t let me bid again until 24 hours later.  24 hours later, I bid $66 and failed again.  I was a little frustrated, since I’d seen several successful bidders receive this price recently.  Then I realized they were bidding for weeknights, and I was bidding for a Saturday night.  As Homer Simpson would say: Doh.

Before my third try, I looked at the Hyatt Regency’s website to see what they were charging for Saturday night, and it was $159.  I also did some more reading about the bidding process online and realized that for the most part, the hotels were offering rooms at 50% off the prices at their websites.  So I realized I’d be lucky to get the room for anything less than $80, but I decided to take a chance and bid $75 for 3.5 star and up hotels.  This time, I was successful, and I did get the Hyatt Regency.

My room at the Hyatt Regency Montreal

Once the taxes and fees were tacked on, the total price was $95 (which doesn’t include parking fees).  I wound up loving the Hyatt Regency, and will go into that in more detail in a separate review of the hotel.  But suffice it to say, my first experience using Priceline was a resounding success.  I got exactly the star level I wanted at the price I wanted, and the hotel was in a very convenient location in Montreal.  I could not be happier with this experiment and will be permanently adding Priceline, Hotwire and BetterBidding.com to my arsenal of travel tools for future trips.

I would advise any solo traveler who is considering using Priceline to be sure to do your research ahead of time:  Know which parts of a city you are willing to stay in and which you aren’t; go to Betterbidding.com and research the hotels that are available.  If you receive a winning bid for a hotel you weren’t expecting, check out that hotel thoroughly online before your trip.  With some preparation, you too could have the 50% off hotel room you’ve always wanted.

You can read Hostelbookers’ blog post about this survey here, which includes directions on how to be entered into their prize draw.  (You have to do more than just fill out the survey.)

While you’re at it, be sure to check out their blog and their post on the Top 10 Hostels for Women.  Good stuff to know!  I have not yet stayed at a hostel, but I’ve been reading a lot lately about how the quality is improving all the time, and many hostels are creating private rooms for those of us who might prefer a little privacy for a little increase in price.  And lest you think hostels are just for 20-somethings, that’s changing all the time, too.

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New York City is one of my favorite places to explore solo. After five years of pounding the pavement, here are a few of my favorite activities no matter what kind of weather you encounter in the Big Apple. By the way, none of these suggestions will break the bank, so feel free to work them all into your itinerary!

Sunny and Beautiful Outside?

Central Park

Stereotypes are there for a reason, people—head to Central Park! The place is HUGE, so bring your walking shoes; in fact, download one of the free walking tours here.

When you’ve worked up an appetite, grab a 6 train over to Spring Street for a meal at Lombardi’s Pizza. It may not look like much, but this will be the best pizza you’ve ever tasted. Lombardi’s considers itself the “first pizzeria” in America (est. 1905), and the ingredients are always fresh and delicious. Plus, the service is phenomenal. My suggestion: extra cheese and pepperoni. They open at around 11:30am, and lines can get long for seating (no reservations, of course); so either arrive at opening, or head over mid-afternoon.

Lombardi’s: 32 Spring Street, corner of Mott. 6 Train to Spring Street.

Doing Some Holiday Shopping?

Nutcrackers in NYC

My favorite time in New York is November/December, when everyone is rushing about putting up Christmas trees, lighting monstrously-sized Chanukah menorahs, and trying to finalize the numbers for their fiscal year budgets!

The best way to spend a day at this time of year is to visit one (or more) of the Holiday Fairs throughout the city. These are temporary tent shops set up all over the city where local artisans sell their wares. You’ll also find your typical Prada bag knock-offs, but what do you expect? This is New York!

If you choose to hit the Union Square holiday fair (4,5,6 trains at 14^th Street), you can combine your visit with some taste-testing at the Union Square farmers’ market. And, from there, head across the street to Max Brenner’s for some genuine urban S’mores. (If you set the marshmallows on fire when you’re roasting them, don’t blame me!)

Max Brenner’s: 841 Broadway (between 13th and 14th Streets)

Max’s accepts reservations Monday through Thursday, 9am-4pm. At all other times (including all holidays), guests are welcome on a first come, first serve basis.  For reservations, call 212-388-0030 and press #2.

In for a Rainy Afternoon?

Rain can last for days in New York; take cover at one of the New York Public Library’s reading rooms. I could wander around this beautiful relic of New York for days, but settling in for an afternoon of reading or writing in such an historic building is bound to be inspirational.

New York Public Library, Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street, 212-930-0800

In the evening, pop over to the Public Theater for stage shows, or its sister venue, Joe’s Pub, for live music. Tickets are usually pretty cheap (book them online prior to your visit).

Public Theater and Joe’s Pub, 425 Lafayette Street,  212-539-8500
Ticket Sales:  212-967-7555

Ahh..New York. Just writing about it makes me want to book a flight. If you’re on your way, enjoy!

About the Author

Betsy is a proud (though, sadly, former) New Yorker, who always ends up burning her marshmallows. Her second favorite vacation spot is Walt Disney World, and she’s an administrator of the new Disney-focused Social Media site, DisMarks.com.

Casino Drive, Laughlin

Laughlin, Nevada’s slogan is “It’s like you own the place.”  Yeah, and you bought it dirt cheap!  Laughlin is the poor man’s Vegas, a warm-weather gambling destination for people who really don’t like the crowds and the prices and the youth-pandering culture of Vegas.   It’s for people who don’t want to spend $300 on dinner or bribe bouncers to get into a nightclub where they can’t wear jeans anyway, and who don’t need dancing fountain shows to have a good time.  If you prefer staying at a Downtown or off-Strip casino in Vegas, chances are good you’d like Laughlin.

River view of Laughlin

During one of my many Vegas trips, I took a side trip to Laughlin, located an hour and a half south of Vegas on the Arizona state line, to visit my uncle, who lived there at the time.  The drive  was beautiful. They’d gotten so much rain that spring, the desert was alive with vast expanses of spring green vegetation that went all the way to the foot of the dramatic purple mountains on the horizon.

Colorado River

Laughlin is a casino town if ever there was one.  It is comprised of clustered housing developments and condominiums, a shopping outlet, a string of casinos along the river, and a few other essential businesses (at the time, they had one bank, one post office, one grocery store, two gas stations, and several restaurants near the casinos). Because of the casinos, it has an excellent bus system which operates 24 hours a day. Aside from its fantastic hotel and dining prices, Laughlin’s primary advantage over Las Vegas is its location on the Colorado River. Green grass grows along the river. Who knew you could take your shoes off and feel cool, green grass between your toes in the desert?

River view of Laughlin

All the casinos in Laughlin are located along the river on Casino Drive. I had booked a room at what was then the Flamingo Laughlin, centrally located across from the Horizon Outlet Mall. I think my room rate was the ridiculously cheap sum of $36/night (that’s a typical Laughlin hotel rate).  It was not the best choice I’ve ever made. The Flamingo was an older hotel showing its age. The elevator was scuffed up and people had carved their names into the wood inside. I got to my room and found huge red splotchy stains on the carpet, and immediately wondered if it were a crime scene.  There was no alarm clock in the room, no hairdryer, and no iron or ironing board. All I got for toiletries were soap and shampoo.  The only good thing about the room was the view of the river. (Fortunately, this hotel is under new management and is now the Aquarius.  It’s had a $46 million facelift and probably has better toiletries now.)

Colorado River

I did like the employees, who were very friendly and maternal (or paternal, as the case may be), and I have to give high points to the breakfast buffet.  I really hope the Aquarius hasn’t changed that too much.  The buffet area had floor to ceiling windows overlooking the Colorado river, making it a lovely, sunny breakfast spot.  The food was plentiful and very good. Best of all was the price: $5.99 plus tax–about 1/3 of what the same meal would have cost me in Vegas.

Harrahs Laughlin

But I wish I had stayed at Harrahs, despite its remote location from the other casinos and the fact that it was the site of a deadly biker shootout just a couple of years before.  Harrahs is a beautiful property, way nicer than its sister property in Vegas. It’s got a Spanish style architecture with lush grounds, a private beach on the river, and a nonsmoking casino in addition to the regular casino. It has all the usual restaurants, bars, etc. that you could possibly want.  I just really dug it.

Harrahs private beach

The cool way (literally and figuratively) of getting from casino to casino in Laughlin is by water taxi.  My uncle and I took a round trip down the river and back so I could see all the casinos.  Our river taxi driver was so busy chatting with us, he wasn’t always looking where he was going and we nearly ran over a couple on a jet ski at one point. Which by the way, brings me to the water sports you can enjoy in Laughlin.  And you’ll want to do something in or on the water, because Laughlin is about ten degrees hotter than Vegas all the time; it was 100 degrees when I was there.

River view from Harrahs

In hindsight, my time there was all too short. I keep thinking one of these trips to Vegas, I should rent a car and head down to Laughlin again for a few days to get the full experience.  There are cruises on the Colorado River from Laughlin to Lake Havasu (where the London Bridge is) that allow you to see some amazing  gorges you wouldn’t be able to see from the road. Also nearby is Oatman, Arizona (a mining town where burros walk around freely in the streets). It’s just two hours away from the Grand Canyon–which makes Laughlin a better base from which to make a day trip there than Vegas.  And whatever city amenities Laughlin doesn’t have, Bullhead City–which is right across the river–probably does.

Colorado Belle

No, there are no hotels here that rival the Bellagio or the Wynn.  No Todd English or Emeril restaurants.  No shows on par with Cirque du Soleil or Phantom of the Opera–and no prices like that, either.  It’s a different kind of vacation, for sure, and for many, it’s preferable.  I don’t think I could ever do Laughlin instead of Vegas, but in addition to?  For those prices?  Why not?

Laughlin travel tip:  If you drive to Laughlin, be sure to fill your tank for the return trip in nearby Bullhead City, AZ where the gas is always cheaper.

For solo travelers who are also foodies, there is no better excuse to visit a city than Restaurant Week.  Imagine being able to sample the city’s finest foods at a discount price all week long.  It’s not just the obvious cities (New York, Chicago, Las Vegas) that have Restaurant Weeks, either.  Lots of cities are jumping on this bandwagon, because it’s good for the restaurant industry, it’s good for tourism, and it’s good for people who love to dine out.  Win-win!

I was lucky enough to be in Las Vegas during Restaurant Week 2008, and the plethora of restaurants serving these special discounted menus of appetizer/entree/dessert was astounding.  You could have saved a fortune on dining at all those fancy-schmancy restaurants on the Strip that everyone raves about.  I only dined at one, Fiamma, and it was terrific.  I don’t think I actually took advantage of their special menu, but just the fact that it was there got me in the door.  That’s the bonus for restaurants of Restaurant Week:  Bodies in seats.  Right now, that’s what restaurants need desperately.  Any restaurant owner that doesn’t take advantage of Restaurant Week is crazy.

My only question is:  How come Burlington, VT doesn’t have a Restaurant Week?  We certainly have a critical mass of great restaurants in this area, especially if you include the suburbs, like South Burlington, Winooski, Colchester, and Shelburne.  Come on, Burlington restaurateurs.  Get with the program.  It’s time for us to have a Restaurant Week.

Church Street Marketplace

With everyone watching their pennies pretty closely these days, it’s nice to know there are still some things in life that are inexpensive or even free.  (‘Cause it’s no fun sitting home alone on your couch!)  Whether you are already lucky enough to live here in the Queen City, or are just visiting, here is my list of 20 fun things you can do in Burlington, Vermont for under $20.  Now you can put all the money you’ve saved back in your mattress.

1. For breakfast, head to Magnolia at One Lawson Lane (tucked between St. Paul and College Streets), downstairs.  Get the Vermont omelette (with maple sausage, cheddar cheese, and apples) for $8 or the Classic (two eggs, toast, homefries and choice of meat–or veggie sausage) for just $6.
2. Rent a bicycle at Local Motion for $18 for an hour.  Ride the Waterfront bike path in both directions, enjoying the scenic view of Lake Champlain.
3. Hang out on the Church Street Marketplace. Get an ice cream cone at the Ben & Jerrys scoop shop or a cup of coffee at Uncommon Grounds. Window shop. Enjoy the street entertainers  (under $10).
4. Watch a glass blowing demonstration at Church and Maple Glass Studio (free).
5. Head down Shelburne Road to take a Vermont Teddy Bear Factory tour ($2).
6. Visit Shelburne Farms ($6).
7. Rent a kayak or a rowboat at Waterfront Boat Rentals and head out on Lake Champlain for an hour.
8. See a matinee for $6 at Merrill’s Roxy.
9. Go see a Vermont Lake Monsters baseball game ($7).
10. Go to a free concert in Battery Park (select Thursday nights during the summer).
11. Take a Lake Champlain Chocolate Factory Tour (M-F), free.
12. Buy a sandwich at Red Onion Deli (140 1/2 Church St.) or a healthy sampling of food from City Market’s cafe and take it to City Hall Park or Waterfront Park for a picnic lunch.
13. Check out the current and permanent exhibits at the Robert Hull Fleming Museum ($5)
14. Take a Magic Hat Brewery Tour (free).
15. Visit the ECHO Lake Aquarium and Science Center ($9.50).
16. Enjoy some of Burlington’s art talent on the First Friday Art Walk (free).
17. Have dinner at the Vermont Pub & Brewery. For under $20, you can have your choice of a wide variety of menu items and still have money left over for a brew or two. Be sure to get a side of sweet potato fries.  They’re the best I’ve ever had.
18. Exercise your brain muscles at Café Scientifique at the ECHO Center (free lecture, cash bar).
19. Get spooked on a Queen City Ghost Walk ($13).
20. Laugh ’til it hurts at a live taping of Late Night Saturday with Tim Kavanagh at Champlain College (free, every other Thursday night).

For details on how to order tickets, see this article.  Tickets go on sale this Friday, March 13.

I might think it’s worth it to spend the extra money to turn a base park ticket at Disney World into a park hopper ticket, but someone else might think it’s a waste of money. They might think it’s worth it to spend $200 for an expensive dinner at L’Atelier in Vegas, whereas spending that kind of money on one meal would send me into cardiac arrest. “Worth” is based on so many different criteria, from your ingrained feelings about money to your personal tastes to how much you value your time.  The only person who can answer the question “Is it worth it?” is the individual posing the question.

To me, “Is it worth it?” feels like a lazy question people ask when they want someone else to just tell them what to do instead of taking the time to do the research they need to do to make up their own minds. That also gives them the “out” so if they don’t enjoy an experience that someone else told them was “worth it”, they can blame someone else for their unhappiness.

Instead of asking “Is it worth it?” ask more specific questions that will help you to determine if it’s worth it to YOU:  How long is this show?  What is the average price of dinner at this restaurant and how does it compare to this other restaurant that I already know I like?  How much of this park can I see in one day?  What is included in the price of this hotel package?  What kind of neighborhood is this in?  And most importantly:  Where can I read some reviews about this? If you take the time to read other people’s online reviews of something, chances are, you’ll never have to ask “Is it worth it?” because you’ll already have all the information you need right in front of you to make your own decision.

I don’t feel I can add much to the discussion, since I haven’t traveled extensively overseas myself, and when I have, I haven’t really done it in the kind of budget way that Ernesto describes. But I will say this:  I think the ethical fine line between frugal and cheap is crossed when the person who suffers from your lack of spending isn’t yourself but someone else.  I don’t have a problem with the frugal traveler (probably because I am one) who decides to stay at a $50/night motel rather than a $200/night hotel or to dine at McDonalds rather than the Palm to save money.  What I have a problem with is when people are willing to spend the money to dine at the Palm but try to save money by not tipping the waiter appropriately, or are willing to spend the $200 a night for a nice hotel but not leave a tip for housekeeping.

Yes, it’s a shame that the hospitality industry in the U.S. underpays its service staff, forcing guests and customers to make up their wages through tips, but that is the way it is until somebody in a position of power changes it.  Don’t let your cheapness prevent someone from making a livable wage so they can pay their rent. If you don’t have the money for the tip, you don’t have the money for the trip.  That’s my opinion, what’s yours?