When staying at local hotels, who are charging a mandatory service fee and also a resort charge, am I correct that the valet would be covered? We did a staycation and once you add all the tips, taxes and resort fees the nightly charge becomes surprisingly high. I felt overly pressured by the valet guys for additional tips, when I felt I had already paid for that service.


Auntie’s answer: Not surprisingly, each hotel offers different amenities under its resort fee, which often costs $60 per day. They will also add on a 10% service charge. The 13% accommodation tax for hotels is only charged to tourists, so your staycation fee should not have included that.

Unfortunately, I cannot tell you if the service fee you were charged included any gratuity for valets. I think the best course of action when planning another stay in a Cayman hotel would be to check ahead to find out what fee covers what.

Though I do think that the valets should have backed off. As far as I’m concerned, nothing guarantees me not tipping more than the service person pushing me to hand them said tip.