Today's Topic: Tipping at-con

We're grown-ups now. Instead of bouncing around at the whim of our parents, we can and do take ourselves to cool places to do fun things.

Yes, I'm talking about sf conventions.

There are two big ones this month, WorldCon in Reno, and Dragon*Con in Atlanta over Labor Day weekend.

You're ready to go.

You've preregistered for the con.

You have a hotel room.

You have your travel plans.

You have books or other items that you want autographed.

You've looked at the convention website and are getting an idea of panels you want to attend.

You have comfortable shoes.

You know the 6-2-1 rule: 6 hours of sleep, 2 meals, 1 shower/bath for every 24 hours at the con.

Now here's the thing you may not have planned for but you need to do anyway: TIP THE HOTEL STAFF.

The person who unloads your car and takes your bags to your room should get $1-2 per bag.

The person who cleans your room should get $2-5/night.

This website is a good guide.

Yes, if you have a lot of bags and are staying several nights, this is not an insignificant amount of cash.

Budget for it just as you budget for how much you're going to spend in the art show or dealers' room.

Because really, not tipping is a jerky thing to do. And please, no excuses of "I don't have cash on me, I'll make it up to the person later." You know you need to tip the bellman and the maid; show up at con with small bills in the appropriate amounts.

Don't even start with "I can't afford it." Grown-ups leave tips. Remember that bit about how we're not children anymore? Yes, you have more Star Trek figurines than your 12-year-old nephew, but you know what? That still makes you the grown-up. And odds are that the cost of one or two of those figurines is about what the total hotel maid tip is going to be for your next con.

So maybe skip getting the Khan figure so you can go to the con, and do it the way it should be done.

As a grown-up.