Tipping Your Apartment Building Staff

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The holidays are a time for giving, and that includes providing a small token of appreciation for the staff of the Glenwood apartment building you call home. From holding doors open for you every morning, helping you to carry groceries, or loading your car for a weekend out of the city, your building staff is just as much a part of your home as your apartment itself! We’re going to cover an important holiday related item: a guide to holiday tipping for your building staff. We’ve corralled a list of most asked questions to help you figure out how much to put into their holiday envelopes.

Sometimes large apartment buildings will send out a list right at the beginning of December to all residents, listing each building employee. The building’s super, doormen, concierge, and porters may all be included. Depending on the size of your building, this can range from just a handful of people to an entire football team (well, not literally, but you get the point).

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Now, we’ll preface this by saying tipping is a very personal thing, and much like NYC restaurants will often suggest you tip 20% for good service (as states the New York Times), it’s not a hard and fast rule. There are many factors that play into this, such as:

So, let’s say that your building has a staff of 20 people. On the very light side of tipping, you’d want to factor in around $500 split between the crew, while the more generous side would be around $2,000. This is about a quarter to a half of your monthly rent/maintenance, give or take. It may seem like a lot on paper, but it’s just another expenses that can be chalked up to NYC living. (If you’ve ever lived in a non-doorman building and tried to get a package delivered, you’ll understand why having staff in the building is such a perk – worth a bit of extra money!)

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Tipping in cash is always appreciated, if you’re able to do this. Putting the money in a plain white envelope or an envelope with a simple holiday card and handing them directly to each building member is the best way to do it, rather than handing everyone’s envelopes to the super. If your staff has Venmo, it’s a quick and simple way to transfer directly and safely between bank accounts – no extra envelopes required!

While tips are appreciated all season long (November through January), when the staff receive holidays tips early on in the season it allows them to factor the money in for personal family gifts and experiences, so the earlier in December, the better!

Quick answer to this is no – you don’t need to tip just because you live in a luxury West Side apartment building with doorman services. However, you will definitely be in the minority. As far as baking cookies and giving them out in lieu of cash, while it’s a nice gesture, nobody will be able to pay bills or buy Christmas gifts with your baked goods. Cash is the best route to go here, even if it’s on the light side. Remember, this is all about appreciation!

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