Question: Lessons, season programs and tipping

[Mudgirl630]

I do not know how people are tipping the instructors for kids, but when some of you say "a lesson for an adult", a group or individual? I think that changes the amount.
Here in Aspen, private, full day, is between $889 to low $1k, so $20 would be an insult. A group lessons up to 5 people is $255, so I would say $30- $50 for a tip depending on how many were actually in a lesson.

 

[Mudgirl630]

OMG! This made me laugh... here's a similar story... I took all 3 of my kids to Shawnee almost 2 years ago. They were 9, 7 and 4 (with autism). I too DD out of the daycare and bought a private lesson for her (the 4 year old) and he was AWESOME!!!!! Took her on the lift, kept her longer than the 1 hour.... and she even called him by the wrong name the whole time as the front desk had given me a different name and I had told her the instructor's name before we met him (autistic thing; she's bad at names and very rigid at times).

I had no cash in my pocket! All I had with me was a credit card. No ATM, no nothing. I went everywhere - to the cafeteria to ask if they could run my card through a higher amount if I bought something, to the front desk where lessons were sold - etc etc. No one, but no one at Shawnee was willing to run my credit card and give me $20. Even when I explained I wanted it to tip an instructor... I was irritated and embarrassed at the same time... I didn't have one of those credit/debit cards either... Sure I could have gone back to the car for my wallet, but it was a major hike and I had already left the boys alone in the cafeteria for too long drinking hot chocolate already. I finally gave up. I had every intention of sending $$ back to the guy, but it just never happened.

I still feel badly, even writing this. If anyone ever deserved a tip for great service, it was him.

You can still mail him his gratuity.

 

[Mudgirl630]

Big Sky offers both ski lessons and a guide service for about the same price/hour. Perhaps this is why our instructors seem clear on that fact that people taking private lessons want to learn.

Here in Aspen also.

 

[Mudgirl630]

I always wondered what the average percentage the instructors got by giving private lessons. Or do they get paid by an hourly rate? Not being nosy, but I wanted to make sure that the time they spent with me was well rewarded for their effort.
Anyone can share some ideas?
Thanks in advance.

 

[Jilly]

Most schools pay their instructors by the hours they teach. Then if they get a "requested" instructor, more again. The amount per hour would depend on certification level and maybe how long they've been with the school.

Then there are local laws....In Ontario you have to be paid for at least 3 hours of work. So if you teach a night class that is 2 hours, you get 2 hours at pay rate and 1 hour at minimum wage.

Trust me, instructors do not get a whole lot more for a full day private lesson @ $1K. Most goes the school/resort.

 

[snoWYmonkey]

@Mudgirl630
We are paid hourly where I work. Between 8 per cent to 35 per cent of the private lesson cost where I work. Depends on the hourly pay scale which is a complex matrix. I can not make more than 12 per cent on a half day private. This after 20 full time years and multiple certifications.
I have to show up in the morning and after lunch. If no lessons are to be had I get a half hour of show up pay for the whole day.
I work three jobs in summer as I do not have the energy to do so in winter. For certain a lifestyle choice, but one that gets garder and harder to sustain as health insurance is so expensive on the marketplace for us older folks.

 

[marzNC]

I always wondered what the average percentage the instructors got by giving private lessons. Or do they get paid by an hourly rate? Not being nosy, but I wanted to make sure that the time they spent with me was well rewarded for their effort.
Anyone can share some ideas?
Thanks in advance.

I would guess it can be very different depending on the region and the type of ski area/resort.

What I pay the ski school for a lesson has little to do with how much I tip an instructor. That was the case when I was playing for my daughter to do full-day ski school or a group intermediate lesson.

For a Taos Ski Week, there are 6 morning lessons with the same instructor. The total cost is under $500. I've heard that people tip $5-20 per day for a regular Ski Week where people are assigned to a Ski Week group based on a ski-off. For a Private Ski Week where I chose the instructor by name, I often tip more but it depends on the situation.

My thinking is partially based on what I consider a reasonable hourly rate for a very experience instructor. The basis for that number are the piano lessons my daughter took in elementary school and the private tennis or golf lessons that I did a few times.

If I arrange a semi-private lesson for 2, 3, or 5 hours with friends at a destination resort, we tip individually. For 2 hours, we may all tip $20. That doesn't usually change if there are 2, 3, or 4 students. My friends and I are seniors investing time and money so that we'll be skiing at a high level for the next 10, 20, 30 years. Very different from a family getting the kids started on skis, potentially with one or two parents who are intermediates.

 

[Chuyi]

@snoWYmonkey. Girl u need 2 market urself better. On busy/powder days people pay for private lessons as a fast pass. In Utah the classes r 100%booked so u have 2 find/beg instructors who r off with Special request + lunch+large tip.

 

[snoWYmonkey]

@snoWYmonkey. Girl u need 2 market urself better. On busy/powder days people pay for private lessons as a fast pass. In Utah the classes r 100%booked so u have 2 find/beg instructors who r off with Special request + lunch+large tip.

I had 490 hours of instructor managed lessons booked before the resort even opened. Not a marketing problem, a living wage problem. My pay scale is at 13 out of 15 pay scales, so almost at the top. With the added $15 an hour incentive for managing all my own repeat private studentsI still only keep 12 per cent of a half day self booked lesson! They run a little iver $800. Even our examiners only keep about 15 per cent of a half day self managed lesson. Our early start lessons only add a half hour of pay to our day at the same rate as the rest of the day or morning. Different schools have different pay systems. Our is better than Deer Valley but worse than Aspen or Telluride.

 

[Mudgirl630]

@Mudgirl630
We are paid hourly where I work. Between 8 per cent to 35 per cent of the private lesson cost where I work. Depends on the hourly pay scale which is a complex matrix. I can not make more than 12 per cent on a half day private. This after 20 full time years and multiple certifications.
I have to show up in the morning and after lunch. If no lessons are to be had I get a half hour of show up pay for the whole day.
I work three jobs in summer as I do not have the energy to do so in winter. For certain a lifestyle choice, but one that gets garder and harder to sustain as health insurance is so expensive on the marketplace for us older folks.

I see....

I was hoping that you guys make more than that. I am sure it changes depends on where you work. Thank you for sharing. For this reason, one should tip even more for your hard work.

 

[liquidfeet]

I see....

I was hoping that you guys make more than that. I am sure it changes depends on where you work. Thank you for sharing. For this reason, one should tip even more for your hard work.

Ski instructors in the US are paid a ridiculously low amount by the ski school they work for. It's shocking, given what the clients pay the ski school. Tips are appreciated. Many clients simply don't know this. It's not like the mountain puts a "gratuities appreciated" on the bill.

Instructors pay out-of-pocket for a good amount of their own professional development. Instructing is seasonal employment, so there's no health insurance and no pension. It's a great job if all you look at is the work itself, but a horrible job if a ski instructor has to cover life expenses with that pay. People do it (I've been doing it), but there's definitely a downside and the public doesn't know about that.

 

[Mudgirl630]

Ski instructors in the US are paid a ridiculously low amount by the ski school, given what the clients pay the ski school. Tips are appreciated. Many don't know this.

Instructors pay out-of-pocket for a good amount of their own professional development. Instructing is seasonal employment, so there's no health insurance and no pension. It's a great job if all you look at is the work itself, but a horrible job if a ski instructor has to cover life expenses with that pay. People do it (I've been doing it), but there's definitely a downside and the public doesn't know about that.

I think Aspen Snowmass pays for health insurance. I know that they pay much better than other resorts for all the workers. They just increased their pay a few weeks back. They also have some employees housings. It is now $2600 per Sq Ft and up for condos here. As much as they try to increase the numbers of employee housings, still not enough. Many drive a far to get to work.

 

[marzNC]

Our is better than Deer Valley

The very experienced Level 3 instructor I know who taught at Deer Valley for a season after he retired from his day job found that tips were very good for semi-private lessons. Especially from parents who set them up for a few teenagers from the same or multiple families.

With the added $15 an hour incentive for managing all my own repeat private studentsI still only keep 12 per cent of a half day self booked lesson!

Interesting to learn there is a financial incentive to managing repeat client lessons. Do you think that's common at destination resorts? In particular the ones on Ikon/MCP.

 

[Jilly]

Canada really isn't much better. As I mentioned Ontario makes them pay for 3 hours. But that is only after you have started. No show up fee. So you're out gas money to start, then not get a lesson? But they do have pay minimum wage not matter. All company workers that are paid by a company are covered under the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board in Ontario. It you are contract, then you're not covered. Also we have pay CPP, EI and Income tax just like any other employee. So there some insurance in case of a workplace injury. Then our health is a whole different matter compared to the States. As instructors though we have to pay for our own instructors insurance, but the CSIA looks after that for us.

And as @liquidfeet mentioned, the instructor is out the $$ for their equipment, any training not offered by snow school, meals and gas. Yes there are "pro deals" on equipment, but they aren't that good. And only the upper echelons get the freebie/sponsorships. The local hill where I worked years ago only did training to get the "volunteers" up to snuff for their L1's. Hill insurance will not let anyone teach without a certification level. And I think that's across Canada, not just Ontario. So they were always pushing for L1's. For me to work on my L3, I needed to drive to the bigger hills where there were L4's to work with. And the terrain needed for it. Loonies again!!

 

[snoWYmonkey]

Interesting to learn there is a financial incentive to managing repeat client lessons. Do you think that's common at destination resorts? In particular the ones on Ikon/MCP.

I am almost certain from the pay scales I have looked at this year that most of the ones in our region offer a significant incentive for instructors who teach so called request lessons where the student asked for the person by name. We have an added incentive, which is when the student contacts us directly and we literally manage the online booking on their behalf, fully bypassing the sales staff. They still manage credit card payments, but that is it. A request at my resort is a slightly different designation. It is actually a lesson that is assigned to us. If we reach out to the student before the lesson, and establish that text, email, or call connection, and can document that we discussed where to meet and ideally a little more, then it turns from an assignment to a request. This again reduces the workload for sales as the guest then ideally contacts the instructor directly with any changes. Basically three tiers of privates, assigned, request and instructor managed. One additional incentive is if we are already booked and match students with additional instructors for the same day. We get a small hourly increase for managing that relationship as well. Not my favorite as it is quite a bit of work, especially if they are not on the same family or group as I am. This happens a fair bit when I am already booked. It can be quite a few hours of work lining up the right instructors and communicating with the student and their instructor. Some colleagues have to find up to ten instructors just for one family group plus friends. So many facets. The biggest incentive aside from instructor managed is the per child one for 3 to 5 year olds. Those instructors are hard to keep motivated.

 

[marzNC]

I am almost certain from the pay scales I have looked at this year that most of the ones in our region offer a significant incentive for instructors who teach so called request lessons where the student asked for the person by name.

That I've heard before. Was one reason I started trying to get recommendations by name. It's a win-win situation in that I get to work with someone I know already and the instructor gets a benefit as well. I'm also more likely to provide a recommendation by name for instructors that I've liked working with because that has value to the instructor, as well as the potential student(s).

We have an added incentive, which is when the student contacts us directly and we literally manage the online booking on their behalf, fully bypassing the sales staff. They still manage credit card payments, but that is it.

That's what was a new idea. I've used direct contact with a few instructors besides you to set up a private lesson at other resorts, but never considered that there could be financial incentive.