The working band is $600 to $2,000 per staff member per week. The figure shifts by region, role, and stay length. The full breakdown, by destination, with five worked examples.
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The gratuity line is the largest cost the headline rate does not surface. On a six-bedroom villa in August with three staff, the tipping line lands between $1,800 and $6,000 for the week. That figure is rarely written on the contract. It is also not optional. The expectation is established, the staff plan their week around it, and the management company assumes it.
The numbers below come from booking data on 184 stays we have placed or vetted in 2024 and 2025, cross-checked against the published guidance from Plum Guide, Onefinestay, Le Collectionist, Thinking Traveller, and the regional management companies. The bands hold across the major luxury markets. The exceptions are noted by destination.
Per staff member, per week. Cash, on the final morning. The lower bound is a quiet stay with average service. The upper bound is a full-service week, weddings or milestone birthdays, and exceptional staff.
| Region | Housekeeper | Pool / gardener | Houseman / driver | Chef (independent) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mykonos, Santorini, Greek islands | €700 to €1,100 | €500 to €900 | €600 to €1,000 | 10% of chef invoice |
| Tuscany, Provence, Italian and French countryside | €500 to €900 | €400 to €700 | €500 to €900 | Cook usually included; tip €300 to €500 |
| St Barts, Anguilla, BVI | $1,200 to $2,000 | $800 to $1,400 | $1,000 to $1,800 | $600 to $1,500 total |
| Turks and Caicos, Barbados, Antigua | $900 to $1,600 | $700 to $1,200 | $900 to $1,400 | $500 to $1,200 total |
| Mustique, Parrot Cay (full-staff islands) | $1,500 to $2,500 | $1,000 to $1,800 | $1,200 to $2,000 | $1,000 to $2,000 total |
| Bali, Phuket, Koh Samui | $300 to $600 | $200 to $400 | $300 to $500 | $200 to $500 total |
| Costa Smeralda, Capri, Cote d’Azur | €800 to €1,400 | €500 to €900 | €700 to €1,200 | 10 to 12% of chef invoice |
| Marrakech, Morocco | €400 to €700 | €300 to €500 | €400 to €600 | Dada cook €200 to €400 |
| Aspen, Vail, Telluride (ski week) | $1,200 to $2,000 | n/a | $1,000 to $1,500 | $800 to $1,500 total |
| Hamptons, Napa, US summer rentals | $800 to $1,400 | $500 to $900 | $700 to $1,200 | 10 to 15% of chef invoice |
Bands verified against booking data and platform guidance, May 2026. Currency follows the staff norm: euros in Europe, dollars in the Caribbean and the Americas, local currency in Asia and Morocco.
The senior member of the staff team, usually a long-tenured employee of the management company or the owner. The housekeeper sets the tone of the stay and resolves the small problems before the guest notices them. Pay the top of the regional band when the work has been visible (towels refreshed twice daily, beds remade after pool sessions, a missing item produced from nowhere). The housekeeping lead also distributes the pool of cash to the other staff. Hand them the envelope first.
Often two people, often one. The pool service is twice-weekly in the Mediterranean and daily in the Caribbean. The gardener visits two to three times in a week. Both staff members see the property but rarely the guest. Tip into the pool, distributed by the housekeeper. Lower bound is fine unless the work was unusually visible (storm cleanup, late-night pool refresh after a party).
Roles that vary by property. The houseman handles luggage, runs errands, and is on call for the guest. The driver shuttles the group between the villa, town, and the beach. On Caribbean properties the houseman and driver are frequently the same person, and the role merits the top of the band. On Mediterranean properties the driver is usually contracted per transfer, not staff; tip the transfer fee.
Two cases. First, the chef is independent and booked through the villa. Tip 10 to 15% of the invoice, in cash, handed directly to the chef on the final night. Second, the chef is bundled by the manager (the in-house package). Tip the chef separately from the housekeeping pool, $300 to $800 in cash, handed directly. The chef in the in-house arrangement is often the manager’s relative; the cleanest math is a direct envelope.
Do not tip the manager directly in the gratuity pool. The manager is paid by the property owner and the platform. If the manager has been outstanding (resolved a multi-issue arrival, recovered a missed transfer, found a chef substitute on 12 hours notice), a separate envelope of $200 to $500 with a written thank-you is the right gesture. The optics of tipping the manager from the staff pool are bad for the staff.
Do not tip the booking agent at Plum Guide, Onefinestay, Le Collectionist, or any other platform. Their compensation is paid by the platform on the booking commission. A written thank-you sent to the agent’s manager is the right reward for excellent platform-side work; it materially affects their year-end review and costs nothing.
Five trip configurations we have priced. Numbers verified against the source bookings. The takeaway: gratuities are the second-largest line on top of the headline, after tax.
Staff team: housekeeper, pool, gardener. No chef.
Housekeeper €900. Pool €600. Gardener €500. Airport transfers (two, V-Class) €40 each way, €80. Total gratuity: €2,080, roughly $2,290 at the May 2026 rate.
Staff team: housekeeper, pool, gardener. Independent chef four nights.
Housekeeper €1,000. Pool €800. Gardener €600. Chef on a €3,200 invoice at 12% = €384. Transfers €120. Total gratuity: €2,904, roughly $3,200.
Staff team: housekeeper, two assistants, pool, gardener, houseman/driver. Chef five nights.
Housekeeper $2,000. Two assistants $1,200 each. Pool $1,200. Gardener $1,000. Houseman/driver $1,600. Chef on a $7,500 invoice at 15% = $1,125. Captain/mate on a single boat day, 12% of $4,800 = $576. Total gratuity: $11,901.
Staff team: housekeeper, two assistants, cook (included), gardener, pool, houseman. Independent chef on three event nights.
Housekeeper €1,300. Two assistants €800 each. Cook (included by Thinking Traveller norm) €400 separate envelope. Gardener €500. Pool €500. Houseman €1,000. Wedding chef on a €6,800 invoice at 12% = €816. Wedding planner separate envelope €500. Total gratuity: €6,616, roughly $7,280.
Staff team: housekeeper, two assistants, cook, two security, pool, gardener, driver.
Housekeeper $600. Two assistants $350 each. Cook $500. Two security $250 each. Pool $250. Gardener $250. Driver $450 (split between two drivers $225 each). Total gratuity: $3,400. Bali is the destination where the headline rate is low and the staff count is high; the gratuity math reverses the Caribbean ratio.
Five bookings across five destinations: tipping consistently lands at 3 to 11% of the headline rate. The Caribbean sits at the top of the band, Asia at the bottom. The math is more predictable than the contract terms.
The currency. Local cash, always. Euros in Europe. Dollars in the Caribbean and Bali. Sterling in the Cotswolds. Withdraw from a bank or carry from home. ATM in Mykonos at 1am on Saturday is a poor plan; the limits are low and the machines are often empty in August.
The envelope. One envelope per staff member, names written on the front. Hand the envelopes to the housekeeping lead on departure morning, with a verbal note of who gets which. The housekeeping lead distributes the same day. If you prefer to hand directly, distribute room by room as the staff appear; the housekeeper will not mind the override.
The note. A single line, in English, on the envelope: “With thanks, the [Surname] family.” The staff keep the envelope. The note carries forward to the next family who books the villa via the staff’s repeat-guest log.
The timing. Departure morning, before the airport transfer. The housekeeping lead is usually present for the final inventory check. Hand the envelopes during the inventory, not before, not after. The order of operations is: walk through the villa, sign off the inventory, hand the envelopes, leave.
The pre-conversation. If you are uncertain of the gratuity expectation, ask the manager on day one or day two, in writing. The well-run managers will give you a number band and a staff roster. The badly-run ones will say “whatever you feel is right.” That answer is itself the data point.
What goes in the envelope versus on the invoice. Gratuity is cash. The service charge on the invoice (5 to 12% line item on Caribbean rentals especially) is not the gratuity, even when the contract implies it is. Read the contract. The service charge typically funds the management overhead, not the staff. The staff still expect the cash envelope on top.
Mustique, Parrot Cay, parts of Anguilla, the top of the Necker tier. Staff count is 6 to 12, sometimes higher. Use the upper-band figures across the team. A staff of 10 at $1,500 average is $15,000 for the week. The headline rate at this tier is $80,000 to $250,000 per week; the gratuity is 6 to 12% of the rate and is non-optional.
Aspen, Courchevel, Verbier, Gstaad. The staff team is housekeeper, chef, driver, sometimes a separate ski concierge. The week is seven nights with the chef working five or six. Gratuity bands track the Caribbean top, not the Mediterranean. Christmas and New Year weeks add 20 to 30% to the bands.
The staff work materially harder. Add 30 to 50% to the regional band for every staff member, and tip the wedding planner separately ($500 to $2,000). Pre-discuss the gratuity with the manager before the event. Some managers will adjust the staff baseline upward for an event; the gratuity should match the work, not the original staff plan.
Weeks one through three at the regional weekly band. From week four onward, drop to 60 to 70% of the weekly figure per additional week. Pay in two installments: the midpoint of the stay, then on departure. The midpoint payment keeps the service consistent over a long stay.
Smaller properties under $5,000 per week often have no on-site staff during the stay. Tip the arrival cleaner $50 to $100, in an envelope on the kitchen counter. Tip the departure cleaner the same amount. Pool service or gardener visiting once during a seven-night stay merits $20 to $50 in an envelope.
Cut to the lower bound of the regional band, never below 60% of the floor. Write the manager separately after departure with the specific issues. The staff and the management are different problems. Stiffing the housekeeper for the manager’s failure punishes the wrong person and costs the staff a week of expected income.
Five patterns from booking data on 184 stays. Each one is recoverable; better not to make them.
Assuming the service charge covers the staff. The 5 to 12% service line on the contract funds the management. The staff expect cash on top. Read the contract; if unclear, ask in writing.
Tipping by card. Card gratuity reaches the staff later, often after manager review, and frequently at a discount. Cash, in local currency, on the final morning. The mechanics matter to the staff.
Skipping the in-house chef separately. The chef in the in-house package needs a direct envelope. The housekeeping pool excludes the chef in most setups, and the chef walks out at the same rate as everyone else even though the work was different.
Tipping the manager into the pool. The manager is paid by the owner. A separate envelope is the right gesture for outstanding work, not a slice of the staff pool.
Withholding the gratuity over a manager issue. Two different problems. Two different conversations. The staff did the work. The manager is the separate negotiation, in writing, with the platform if needed.
The working band is $600 to $2,000 per staff member per week. Mediterranean averages $600 to $1,200. Caribbean averages $800 to $2,000. Asia averages $300 to $700. Paid in cash, on departure morning, in local currency, distributed by the housekeeping lead unless you prefer to hand directly.
Almost never. A small number of full-staff Caribbean properties (Mustique, parts of Anguilla) include a service charge of 5 to 10% that is partially distributed to staff. Even then, an additional cash gratuity is expected. Default assumption: the gratuity is on top.
Tip the housekeeper, the pool and gardener, the houseman, the chef if independent, and the driver. Do not tip the villa manager directly; a separate envelope of $200 to $500 is the right gesture if the manager has been outstanding. Do not tip the booking agent at the platform; their compensation is paid by the platform.
Cash, in local currency, on the final morning. Card gratuity reaches the staff later, often after manager review, and frequently at a discount. Carry the cash from home or withdraw on arrival.
Tip the chef directly, separately from the housekeeping pool. A separate envelope of $300 to $800 for a four-night chef week, handed to the chef on the final night, keeps the math clean.
Yes, 10 to 15% of the transfer fare, in cash, both directions. On a $180 round-trip transfer, $30 to $50 covers it. A V-Class driver who handled luggage for a group of 8 and waited 90 minutes for a late flight earns more, $60 to $100.
Ten percent of the charter fee, in cash, handed to the captain at the end of the day. A $5,000 day charter with captain and first mate is $500 split between them. Exceptional days (flexibility on routing, lunch sourced ashore) merit 12 to 15%.
Yes. Weeks one through three at the weekly band. From week four onward, 60 to 70% of the weekly figure per additional week. A month-long stay with three staff lands around $7,200 to $14,400, paid in two installments (midpoint and departure).
Cut to the lower bound of the regional band, never below 60% of the floor. Speak with the manager separately, in writing, after departure. The staff and the management are different problems. Stiffing the housekeeper for the manager’s failure punishes the wrong person.
If there is no on-site staff during the stay, no. Tip the arrival cleaner $50 to $100, in an envelope on the kitchen counter. Tip the departure cleaner the same. Pool service or gardener visiting once merits $20 to $50.
The 18-page PDF with line-item math by destination, the gratuity table by region and role, the late-availability email script, and the contract clause checklist. Free. We trade it for an email.
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