BC Business
You can now expense housekeeping and other types of tips on business trips by adding them to your credit card bill
Everyone from bellhops to valets deserves a tip, but to avoid going out of pocket, check your company’s expense policy before your business trip to understand whether documentation is required, or if you can include a flat percentage for cash handouts. To make sure you have cash at hand, request small-denomination bills or coins when you exchange funds, or break big ones with a cash purchase when you arrive.
If you do need to submit receipts, many hotels now allow housekeeping and other forms of tips to be added to your credit card bill. You may even be able to use a QR code to tip some service providers, like airport porters or tour guides, via smartphone payment. Ride-hailing apps make it easy to record tips by incorporating them into the booking process.
Exceptional service, of course, should always be rewarded, and each time someone retrieves your luggage or a vehicle or brings ice or towels to your hotel room, it is appropriate to offer a small cash tip. But those auto-tip screens that appear when you order a simple coffee or quick takeout food? Feel free to round up or to bypass them. Generosity is always admirable, especially in areas where workers are poorly paid, but ideally employers should compensate workers fairly.
In restaurants, particularly in Europe, be aware that automatic service charges might already appear on your bill (“coperto” in Italy or “couvert” in France is like a head charge, which might include water and perhaps bread). Large parties or online advance bookings sometimes carry an automatic service charge, too.
Keep in mind that there are some countries and cultures where tips are not expected, or where tipping is even considered rude: ask your host or a colleague or check Tripadvisor forums, or even ask your concierge—and then don’t forget to tip them!
Just two blocks from Vancouver’s Waterfront Station, the luxury Azur Hotel Vancouver recently opened, with rooftop city views from the 14th-floor Skybar and Lavantine Restaurant (plus all-day dining at the lobby-level Dahlia). Among the 104 rooms are Roy-family-worthy penthouse-level suites with fireplaces and their own panoramic patio views.
When it comes to travel-friendly fashion, Vancouver brand Duer wears the pants. The brand’s stretchy, breathable bottoms pioneered the pandemic-born “soft pants” movement. Pieces like the Flex pant look as polished as dress pants while being wrinkle-resistant and stretchy enough to wear all day while travelling.
“You can easily transition from the plane to a day of sightseeing or meetings to dinner out,” says Duer’s director of product Elizabeth Davey. The company’s fabrics blend natural and technical fibres that breathe, wick moisture and have antimicrobial properties—meaning more wears with fewer washes.
Pants take up lots of packing space, so Davey’s travel wardrobe checklist includes “one great pair of pants, plus jeans” in a dark wash, along with multiple shirts in muted colours and pairs of casual and dressier shoes. “Then you can be more liberal with accessories” to add style and colour, she says.
For women, she suggests one-piece jumpsuits, like Duer’s sleek Performance series: they’re comfortable on a flight, dressier with a blazer or heels and layerable with a T shirt or long-sleeve shirt underneath.
Davey’s personal travel secrets include packing a large tote with a zipped-up, extendable compartment, “especially if you plan on coming home with more than you packed.” But her number-one tip? “Always travel with an on-the-go stain remover in your bag, and to be sure to tackle the stain right away so it doesn’t set.”