Holiday Doorman Tip-O-Meter
Doorman and doorwomen buildings are a luxury in New York City and are sought after for good reason. From providing security to collecting packages, doormen, porters, supers, and other building staff do a lot to ensure their buildings are comfortable and pleasant. While it’s common practice to tip building staff during the holiday season, most building residents struggle to determine the appropriate amount. For this reason, Triplemint created the digital Holiday Doorman Tip-O-Meter to help.
Triplemint surveyed over 100 Manhattan doormen and used their tipping experiences and expectations to create our Holiday Dorrman Tip-O-Meter calculator. It is one of our most popular pages, with features on sites such as Time Out, Spoiled NYC , Travel + Leisure, Guest of a Guest, and Metro US. With the holidays in full swing, let our tipping calculator guide you in how much to tip your building staff this holiday season.
How Much Should I Tip My Doormen?
The Tip-O-Meter will ask you your regular tipping habits, use of doorman services, years lived in the building, and building specifics. It caters to all types of tippers from “Grinch” to “generous” to create personalized, yet realistic tipping advice. Simply head to our tip-o-meter, enter your info, and receive an accurate and personalized tipping range.
Building staff have continued to go above and beyond this year given all the changes that COVID and its variants have caused. If you can, consider adding an additional 10-15% extra to your tip this year.
Although doormen also appreciate food, gift cards, and other personal gifts, cash tips are always preferred. With our holiday tipping guide, residents can be confident that their tips are appropriate and will be well appreciated by building staff.
Who Else Should you Tip During the Holidays?
While building staff may be front and center on your tipping list, it pays to be generous to all the professionals in your life around the holidays. Such professionals may include housekeepers, nannies, babysitters, dog walkers, mail carriers, teachers, and any other professionals who are involved in your life on a regular basis. While your tip amount will depend on your relationship (how close are you and how often you see them), below we have outlined a general range:
- Housekeeper: one to two weeks of pay
- Full-time nanny: one week’s pay (given the closeness of this relationship you might also consider a personal gift in addition to the cash).
- Babysitter: $25 – $50
- Dog walker: one day’s pay
- Mail carrier: $15 – $20 (by law, USPS mail carriers cannot accept anything worth more than $20)
- UPS/Amazon/FedEx delivery: $20 – $50 depending on how many packages you have delivered
- Hairstylist: the cost of one visit
- Personal trainer: the cost of one session
- Child’s teacher: gift cards or cash
If you are unable to tip as much as in previous years, homemade baked goods presented in gift boxes with a personal note are a thoughtful addition to the cash tips. Holiday tipping shouldn’t be a stress, but rather a time to show your appreciation and say thanks to those whose services you enjoy all year round.
