Abstract
This study examines tipping attitudes and behaviors of American tourists at all-inclusive resorts in Mexico and the Caribbean. Survey data from 232 participants revealed that 75% tipped at least once during their stay, with tipping behavior influenced by perceptions of resort policies. Tipping amounts and strategies (each meal, end-of-trip, or both) were standardized for analysis. A subset of 111 participants who only tipped after each meal and stayed between 3-7 days was used to control for confounding factors. Tipping motivations were assessed using four constructs: duty/social norms, reciprocity, altruism, and future services. Duty/social norms emerged as the strongest predictor of tipping frequency and amounts. Social norms were also influential, with non-tippers not perceiving widespread tipping, either by U.S. or non-U.S. guests. In contrast, tippers were more likely to agree that U.S. tourists tipped and disagreed or were neutral about non-U.S. tourists tipping. This finding had a significant effect size. Among the 26 participants who estimated server wages (in USD), responses ranged from $3.00 to $250.00, with a mean estimate of $60.12 (SD=51.19) and a median of $47.50. This contrasts sharply with actual server wages, which in Mexico range from $17.50 to $21 USD per day depending on working hours. Collectively, these findings highlight the ethical implications of wage disparities in Caribbean tourism and underscore the need for all-inclusive resorts to implement new strategies that transparently communicate to resort guests the prevailing market wages of service professionals, like servers.
Presenters
Joe DowningAssociate Professor, Corporate Communication, Penn State York, Pennsylvania, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Critical Issues in Tourism and Leisure Studies
KEYWORDS
Resorts:Caribbean Area,Tipping:Social Aspects,Tourism:Caribbean Area,Tourism:Mexico
