Maitre'D tip...how much is too much?

DiorAndKisses

Hi everyone! I posted this on local and club boards, but decided P and E is the best place for this type of question. I'm considering booking a NJ reception hall that charges 20% service charge, 7% sales tax, and then also a 5% Maitre'D tip. I'm probably going to have about 200 people, so that would make the Maitre'D tip about 1000. I did some research and called other local places, most of which said that the maitre'd tip is at the customer's discretion, and a few others said approx 3 or 4% depending on service. My gut tells me that promising in the contract that I'd tip a Maitre'D 5% prior to seeing her or his service is a bit odd. My question (sorryI'm so long winded): Is a 5% Maitre'D tip on top of a 20% service charge a bit steep? If I may...what did some of you pay the Maitre'D? Thank you in advance for your help.

sucrets4

I got married on Long Island, and they told us that it was customary to tip $3-4 per guest.  But the maitre'd didn't get that, he split it up amongst everyone.  It was in our contract, but the amount was just suggested and it wasn't paid in advance.  I gave my dad an envelope to give to him at the end of the wedding.The service charge is to pay all of the workers (servers, cooks, etc) and the maitre'd tip is for all of them.Hope that made sense!

AmoroAgain

That's the craziest thing I've ever heard.  Apparently, in the midwest, we don't do things the fancy way, huh? lol

sucrets4

Oh, and we had 100 guests.  But I don't know if they would hold you to it?  Have you called and asked your place if you MUST give that amount?Honestly, it sounds about right.  Our place came out to about $90 pp with service charge and tax, and it was an afternoon wedding and definitely one of the cheapest prices we got ($69pp before all the added stuff). 

ggmae

Maybe I'm cheap, but after paying $92/pp and an 18% service charge (which we were told covered gratuity as well), we tipped our maitre'd $100. We had 100 guests. There was nothing in our contract about it and the business manager told us to tip as we saw fit.

weddingbells2010

The gratuity charge that is usually included (in the neighborhood of 18-20%) gets split between those who worked your wedding reception (and, if you think about it... 200 people probably means about 15 or so tables, with 1 waiter per table, plus bus staff, bartenders... that probably adds up to about $50 bucks each).  The maitre'd and the bridal attendant (the woman who will be at your every beck and call for the entire night) usually get a little extra cash on top of that for their extra work.  It shouldn't be mandatory in your contract, in my opinion, but it is customary for a job well done.

DiorAndKisses

Thank you so much, ladies!  The information is very useful and I appreciate the advice.