Wages in DR

gayc

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Hi All

I'm spending 2 weeks in the Iberostar Costa Dorada in June but hope to get out and about a bit too.

Can I ask about wages? I know when we go to Egypt we often take pens and paper which are really welcomed by everyone, adults and waiters included. We used to take pens for the children but soon found the adults wanted them too. We also take baby clothes for the orpahnage.

We are always told that people only earn $20 a week including hotel staff unless they get tips, and I never really know if it's true. I often wonder what is true and what is rumour and would hate to cause offence by offering something pretty worthless.

I gave a good quality pen (as well as tips) to the chap that looked after the beach towels in Egypt. He seemed absolutely delighted but there's still a bit of me that thinks it's something that could be really offensive (done out of ignorance) if offered to some-one who earns more.

I feel it could be similar in DR.

What sort of money would people in the hotel make, room maids, waiters etc?

Would they appreciate things in addition to tips? What about clothes? We are always told in Tunisia to leave behind any unwanted clothes for the maids. Again, I can imagine it sometimes being welcome but sometimes being very offensive.

All comments appreciated.

Gay C (Mrs)
 
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HOWMAR

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Minimum wage in the hotel sector is about RD$5,000/month, or about US$160. This is the wage that the service staff receive. A tip or gift will never offend anybody. Items like t-shirts and baseball caps are very popular gifts.
 

gayc

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HOWMAR said:
Minimum wage in the hotel sector is about RD$5,000/month, or about US$160. This is the wage that the service staff receive. A tip or gift will never offend anybody. Items like t-shirts and baseball caps are very popular gifts.
Thanks for that info.
 

daydream

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Sep 19, 2004
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Did you mean to write $200 a mth instead of $20? $200 a mth is typical for hotel workers in the DR. For entertainment staff the monthly wage is around 8,000 pesos plus tips and for cleaners it's slightly less at around 5,000 pesos.

Tips are always welcomed - if leaving tips for the maids then it's best to hand it to them in person. There are many organisations that would welcome your clothing donations and or school supplies - pens/books etc etc. You can contact Mario Mattana who manages the Fun Royale/Tropicale hotel in Playa Dorada on: MMattana@FunRoyale-Tropicale.com, and phone 809 320 40 54. (Playa Dorada is the resort next to Costa Dorada where you are staying). He is heavily involved in Fundacion Patria which is a foundation dedicated to helping schools in Puerto Plata. Take a read of their website http://www.fundapatria.com/index.htm


I hope you have an enjoyable holiday and leave a trip report when you get back.

Daydream :classic:
 

gayc

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Thanks Daydream

Actually I meant to write $20 a week, not that I quite believe it. I think these things get repeated that often, we never quite know the truth.

The pay is still poor though and it's good to think that you can have a great holiday and give a little something back.

One thing that always winds me up is when I take about 20 books on holiday with me - I'm an avid reader. It really bugs me to see greedy English people grab them within 5 minutes of me dropping them in the reps 'library' box, when they only bought one book with them for the plane and they take that back with them when they finish it along with whatever they manage to grab. (Yes I'm English too before anyone yells at me - and I know we are not all like that).

If I leave them in my room, will they find their way to people who can use them or sell them? Are the locals keen to learn English?

I'll start collecting pens and small baby items.

Regards, Gay
 

luzcace

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Hotel workers make about 5000 pesos minimum wage plus legal tip which is about another 5000 pesos per month, depending on the hotel and company.
They always tell people that they make less than 100 US p/m just to get more extra tip and gifts.Kitchen staff, depending on the position, make between 6000 and 15000, waiters, bartenders and maids get paid the minimum wage but take home about 500 pesos in tip every day, and those are who complain most(LOL)
 

daydream

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gayc said:
One thing that always winds me up is when I take about 20 books on holiday with me - I'm an avid reader. It really bugs me to see greedy English people grab them within 5 minutes of me dropping them in the reps 'library' box, when they only bought one book with them for the plane and they take that back with them when they finish it along with whatever they manage to grab. (Yes I'm English too before anyone yells at me - and I know we are not all like that).

If I leave them in my room, will they find their way to people who can use them or sell them?

I am also English and agree that we are definitely not all like that! I think the types of people you mention fall into the 'I have paid for my AI holiday upfront and therefore I don't need to take my wallet with me when I go' category!

Anyway, that aside, may I suggest that you donate your books to the Dominicankids monthly auction? Take a look at their website www.dominicankids.com If you go to the 'auctions' section and then click on 'Monthly Auctions' you will see items that have already been donated on which people can bid and all the money goes to the children who need it most.

As you will see there are some English books that have been donated already and I think this is a great way of raising money for the children. You can contact Carina who is a member of DR1 if you would like to donate your books for auction at the end of your holiday and she will add them to the auction list.

Daydream
 

gayc

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daydream said:
I am also English and agree that we are definitely not all like that! I think the types of people you mention fall into the 'I have paid for my AI holiday upfront and therefore I don't need to take my wallet with me when I go' category!

Anyway, that aside, may I suggest that you donate your books to the Dominicankids monthly auction? Take a look at their website www.dominicankids.com If you go to the 'auctions' section and then click on 'Monthly Auctions' you will see items that have already been donated on which people can bid and all the money goes to the children who need it most.

As you will see there are some English books that have been donated already and I think this is a great way of raising money for the children. You can contact Carina who is a member of DR1 if you would like to donate your books for auction at the end of your holiday and she will add them to the auction list.

Daydream

Thanks Daydream

I will see what I can get together for when I come.

Regards, Gay
 

ricktoronto

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For Pete's sake don't tip wait staff or maids with a pen. It isn't Cuba. (Note I mention Cuba as they have shortages of everything, however the help there needs money not writing implements equally)

You tip people with money. Give the same you'd give at home - $1 a drink to a bartender, $1-$2 a day to a maid, 10-15% of roughly what you think a meal might be worth to a waitress, say $3-5. The waitress already owns a pen, trust me.

Donate school supplies if you want, very nice to do that, but don't imply to a maid she cannot buy a pen without your help so you swoop in with a box of BICs. And she will have a hard time buying milk with that pen, vs. using, say, money. Cash, dinero, moolah, lettuce, etc.

We should have a sticky thread on not offending the help with cosmetics, clothes, pens , etc., as you would not do that at home - try giving a pen as a tip at the restaurant you frequent at home.
 

gayc

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Thanks Rick but you didn't have to be quite so pointed. :D

The whole point of me asking was to find out the truth and whether it would be offensive. If you've never been to Egypt, Cuba, DR or wherever, you have no idea of how bad or otherwise things are wage-wise. Often, even if you have been, re: Egypt, it's hard to truly know. You can hardly go around asking everyone what they earn and even if you could you don't necessarily get the right answers.

Of course I wouldn't tip the waiters or maids with a pen, and certainly not a BIC. What I was asking was whether things like that are of value in addition. In Egypt, for example, we are told by the hotel reps, that the kids can't go to school without pens.

I have a hard time understanding it as pens aren't all that dear there compared to an average tip. However we certainly found them very welcome with children selling book markers on the streets, and adults from stalls would ask for them for their children. Pool staff also seem to like them, for kids and family, I guess. Giving a good quality pen at the end of the holiday to chap that did the beach towels, in addition to the tips (money) we gave every day, seemed to be appreciated. But that's Egypt and who knows, maybe they think anythink that's free from another daft tourist......

I do appreciate what you've said and I think you're right, a sticky would be a good idea. As a tourist visiting on a package holiday, it's hard to know the truth and you certainly don't get it from the reps. I would never leave clothes for the maid in a European resort, but in Tunisia, we are told to leave some if we can. They certainly wouldn't wear what we are taking on holiday, so I presume they either sell them or the whole thing is a silly myth perpetuated by the reps. How do you tell?

I know the subject of tipping is a difficult one. I hunted around the net when we went on a cruise last year for the first time. From what I read, we English (on the whole - sorry to generalise) tend to be poor tippers at 10% with Americans tipping 20% and other countries in between. I had a good laugh at one US site that said if the waiter dropped a bowl of soup all over you, you should reduce the tip from 20% to 10%. I can't see many in England tipping 10% and going home covered in soup ;)

I often wonder how staff at All-Inclusive places do and whether their wages are low assuming they get tips; knowing that a lot of people don't tip much on an all-inclusive holiday if anything.

I was very surprised when we were in Egypt (All-inclusive) and our bags were taken from the coach and later brought to our room. We tried to tip the porter and he actually refused it!! The only thing I could think of was since they were a bit slow and I rang to see where our cases were, perhaps it was some-one from reception not a porter.

Anyway, I'm going of track now. The point I was making, is that it is very useful to know the truth before you go, so a sticky would be a really great idea.

How do you feel about things like tea-shirts and baseball-caps as already suggested? Sometimes it's nice to give a small gift of some sort or something that isn't so easy to get there but what would you suggest.

Gay C

ricktoronto said:
For Pete's sake don't tip wait staff or maids with a pen. It isn't Cuba. (Note I mention Cuba as they have shortages of everything, however the help there needs money not writing implements equally)

You tip people with money. Give the same you'd give at home - $1 a drink to a bartender, $1-$2 a day to a maid, 10-15% of roughly what you think a meal might be worth to a waitress, say $3-5. The waitress already owns a pen, trust me.

Donate school supplies if you want, very nice to do that, but don't imply to a maid she cannot buy a pen without your help so you swoop in with a box of BICs. And she will have a hard time buying milk with that pen, vs. using, say, money. Cash, dinero, moolah, lettuce, etc.

We should have a sticky thread on not offending the help with cosmetics, clothes, pens , etc., as you would not do that at home - try giving a pen as a tip at the restaurant you frequent at home.
 

Chris

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I think ricktoronto has pointedly pointed out exactly what is acceptable. ;) What is wrong with tipping with old fashioned money? If you then want to leave an additional gift, this becomes so much easier, a pen, soap, clothes, schoolbooks for the children, all of the things suggested by the reps would be fine and the decision becomes so much easier.
 

canbon

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does anyone know what it costs for people to live in the DR--would the wages at a resort allow them to live reasonably comfortable or would they just be able to pay for the bare necessities? I often wonder what the vendors on the beach make and the guys/girls that try to get customers to go to the different bars/discos (Playa Dorada complex has people on the streets giving out fliers for the particular bar/disco they work at). It seems to me that things are expensive to buy for the amount of money they earn.
 

HOWMAR

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canbon said:
does anyone know what it costs for people to live in the DR--would the wages at a resort allow them to live reasonably comfortable or would they just be able to pay for the bare necessities?
There is also the third alternative. Many work for minimum wage (around 5000 pesos/month) and can only afford to live in extended family groups with multiple wage earners.