r/MadeMeSmile • u/MustardGoddess • Apr 27 '26

Good News That's awesome...

Post image

Jeff Dinnebell and Megan Lingsweller, owners of The Standard Restaurant in Toledo, Ohio, surprised all their staff with an exceptional gesture: temporarily closing the establishment and sending their team on an all-expenses-paid Caribbean cruise to the Bahamas. During the trip, the employees kept their usual salaries and received additional bonuses.

The initiative included all the staff, from the kitchen to the servers, and aimed to recognize their dedication in a sector characterized by long workdays and high employee turnover, showing an uncommon model of workplace recognition.

18.2k Upvotes

96% Upvoted

396 comments sorted by

View all comments

30

u/ro536ud Apr 28 '26

For those saying they’d rather have cash, it doesn’t work like that.

If ur gonna give an employee say $1000 as a bonus, it costs way more than that when factoring in other expenses that come about from that. The government always wants a share and then you got Medicare and other expenses. That $1000 now costs $2000 to the business.

Whereas some trip expensed by the company can cover that more easily with the tax burden.

It also provides a bonding experience and forces the employees to take a trip and enjoy some days off. Some people won’t allow themselves to take a break unless it’s forced

5

u/brokenlabrum Apr 28 '26

If this cruise was a vacation and not a trip where business occurred, all those taxes would still need to be paid. I’m not going to speculate on whether the business owners paid them, but the IRS has gone after people pretending family vacations were business trips to avoid taxes.