How Much Does it Cost to Hire an English Butler in the US?

Americans don’t think about things like butlers and servants and are renowned can-do people whose ancestors roughed it to hewn out land and build communities.

Yet, butlers exist, and the popular television drama Downton Abbey prompts a new fascination with them.

How much does it cost to hire an English butler in the U.S.?

Key Points

It may surprise you that many butlers in the U.S. don’t make any more than other types of professionals.
The range is between $15 and $25 an hour. However, the salary largely depends on experience, needed time, and duties.

In this article we explore what a butler does, the qualifications required, pay and the cost to hire an English butler in the US.

Table of Contents

Key Points
How much do professional butlers get paid?
How much does it cost to hire an English butler?

How much do butlers get paid in England?
Do butlers make good money?
How much does a servant cost in America?

Is hiring a butler worth it?
How much does a Savoy butler get paid?
How much money do you get for being a butler?

Conclusion
Sources

How much do professional butlers get paid?

A butler does more than answer doors and greet guests. A proper butler manages the household — often including the other staff. The butler will coordinate the dinners or parties and ensure all guests’ needs are met.

A hotel butler will greet and check in guests, ensure their rooms are up to the hotel’s standards and take care of all dining and entertainment needs. A butler will arrange for necessary transportation to and from the hotel too.

In a large household, the butler may have his own department where he is in charge of the wine cellar, dining room, and pantry. Others are in charge of cleanliness, entertainment, scheduling, and rooms.

A butler’s duties often include purchasing items for the pantry, wine cellar, and basic household needs, managing the house’s costs, scheduling workers, and maintaining payroll.

U.S. butlers earn salaries ranging from $22,740 to $70,534, making the median salary $37,050¹.

One American butler makes the highest salary for the profession globally, earning $2.2 million a year.

How much does it cost to hire an English butler?

Butlers trained in the United Kingdom make more than their American counterparts with most earning around $150,000 working abroad. Most of those trained in the U.K. work abroad.

The BBC estimates that there are 350 to 400 butlers trained in Britain each year, and demand for their skills in foreign countries is high.²

How much do butlers get paid in England?

English butlers can earn a good deal of money but only if they dedicate themselves to learning every aspect of the job. English butlers can earn £120,000 a year, which translates to $147,267.60 a year in U.S dollars.

Those desiring to become a butler start with a college degree in either hospitality, communications, or management. They go on to butler school where they learn the detailed aspects of etiquette and management.

Butlers deal with a number of areas in the management of a household or caring for people so they must have a vast amount of knowledge in many subjects including costing and budgeting, accounting, human relations, communication, cooking, menu planning, event planning, management, scheduling, wines, etiquette, and personal care.

They must also be problem-solvers and able to multi-task in order to be successful.

Do butlers make good money?

Well-trained butlers can make good money but they must be well-educated and experienced. The better trained and more experienced butlers climb to the best positions with the most earnings.

Top U.S. butlers make on average $70,000 a year.

How much does a servant cost in America?

The term servant can incorporate many types of jobs from maids to cooks, to drivers.

Those who work full-time for a family will make the most but most do not. Maids charge between $40 to $65 an hour although many will work for $20 an hour with a minimum number of required hours.

A personal chef makes an average of $30 to $40 an hour in the U.S. They can cost around $45 an hour to cook for a private dinner party. A chef that has some celebrity status or local notoriety will cost

much more. A chauffer earns between $75 and $250 an hour but you can pay up to $1,000 an hour depending on the type of vehicle requested.

Is hiring a butler worth it?

It depends on your needs. One of the benefits of having a butler is that you have more security to feel safe. Butlers also do things like check locks, validate staff’s backgrounds, and generally know where everyone is at any point in time.

How much does a Savoy butler get paid?

Butlers at the legendary Savoy³ make the typical salary of most in the area which is £31,453 yearly. That amounts to $38,639.45 a year in U.S dollars.

A Savoy butler’s primary job is to ensure guests are happy. That means providing for all their needs, whether a little or a lot. They are to do their duties in a non-intrusive way and handle all the needs of business and vacationing guests.

Much of their duties are to make arrangements during their stay, whether getting tickets to a show, making dinner reservations, or arranging transportation.

How much money do you get for being a butler?

The money you earn as a butler varies and depends on your education, credentials, experience, location, and employer. Many butlers make more than $70, 000 while some employment companies list the average salary of experienced butlers at $64,887.

Butlers in the U.S. tend to fall into two categories beyond the hospitality industry.

The first are those who use them for special occasions, such as dinner parties or weddings. These are events where extra help and prestige are needed, and people are willing to pay for them.

The second group is those employed full-time by wealthier families and household management. This is largely to prevent access by the public or others to the primary household members or to keep the household running smoothly in the absence of the owners.