13 MAY: Australian travellers don’t like tipping - and many have a real fear of being hit on by aggressive cabbies and waiters when they visit the USA.

But TravelManagers personal travel manager Gayle Dawson says their fears are largely unfounded. America is not a land of compulsory 20% tipping.

Gayle Dawson.

"There’s a lot myth attached to this", she says. "I was a waitress there for a time and the idea of having to tip 20% is nonsense. Waitresses certainly don’t expect that.

"You tip only when you think the service is worth it.

"I suggest to clients that they keep a few $1 notes handy for cabbies or hotel porters. And for good service in a restaurant they can just drop $5 on the table".

Gayle ought to know what she’s talking about. She spent all her teen years living in different parts of the US.

She’s been back in Australia for some 14 years, but remains passionate about America, and believes it’s this attitude which helped make her a finalist in the ‘Best consultant North America’ category of the recent 2011 Travel Weekly awards.

She says 90% of her sales are for America, and shortly she’ll lead a group of 70 on a tour of the US west coast.

It won’t be a standard brochure itinerary.

"I don’t just take a wholesaler’s itinerary in its entirety", she says. "I like to customise things to ensure that clients get exactly what they want.

"There are some things you just can’t get through wholesalers. I’ll go to the Internet if necessary to get what I want".

As an example, Gayle points to the $26-a-head deal she has secured via the Web for an Alcatraz island tour in San Francisco. Some wholesalers sell a similar package for $76.

"It’s not just a question of price", she says. "I really like helping people. In fact, I won’t go to bed until I get answers to requests which clients have made during the day".

Gayle has been 10 years in consulting, two of them with TravelManagers.