What a great idea! As long as there are no strings attached (must show ID and it has to match the buyer's name, minimum purchase, that sort of thing).
OTOH, I have seen some nasty comments by restaurant servers in re any kind of 'deal' coupon. The diner doesn't get the standard menu, they do get the bum's rush out the door, no attention to service and the diner tips on the $10 they spent instead of the $50 the coupon was worth.
It might work for some of the 'things to do' in the area, tho..
We know that you are supposed to tip based on the full amount of the bill, not the discounted amount. Many of the restaurants around here give you the bill and treat the discount coupon liked it was payment, so you see the full amount for tipping purposes.
The coupons all say that they can be bought as gifts and names aren't checked. We were just thinking about offering it, since we see the deals for the local places that the guests might miss. But I'm just worried what guests may think of it. Or should we instead send them the offers?
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If I were traveling and I were offered a discount coupon to a restaurant, I'd want to first know if the innkeepers ate there, too. So, because I do have discount coupons for my guests I ascertain first where they want to eat, then I offer the coupons. I don't want it to look like I'm pushing them to go somewhere in particular, but it's a nice surprise for the guest if they were already planning to go there.
I've seen the restaurants here wise up to the tipping issue and present the 'before' bill and the 'after' bill so the guest can see they got the discount and so they can see the total amount.
I think you have to present the discount 'deal of the day' type coupons in advance. Because most of the discounts here (the ones I hand out) are for 15%, it's easy to figure the tip. It's either the discounted amount or a little more.
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