To tip, or not to tip. That’s the question for a lot of frequent travelers. Do you tip hotel housekeepers? (Photo: Chris McGinnis)
If only tipping were simple. You already know the etiquette for the common travel situations: restaurant servers, taxis, housekeeping. But sometimes it’s not so straightforward.
Here are six scenarios that can trip me up when I’m traveling:
1. I have no small bills. Sadly, I find myself in this situation more often than I’d like to admit, particularly with the valet or bellman. Recently I stashed a wad of singles and fives in a deep corner of my bag for just such emergencies.
2. I have no local currency. Often I don’t head to the ATM until getting settled into my hotel, which means I occasionally encounter an uncomfortable tipping moment in the meantime. Only recently did I learn that in many–if not most—countries, tipping in U.S. dollars is welcome and occasionally preferred. (This was especially the case on my recent trips to Cuba where $1 is a day’s wage.)
3. The service has been paid for by someone else, and it’s unclear whether the gratuity has been covered. I encountered this not long ago when a black car from the hotel to the airport had been paid by a third party. The discomfort was compounded by the afore-mentioned problem of having no local currency. Even if I had learned the gratuity was not covered, I couldn’t offer a credit card to charge the tip when I wasn’t even sure how much it cost. Awkward.
Good news: Uber joins Lyft in making tipping drivers easier
4. Traveling internationally, I am unsure of local custom. I wish I could say I’ve always done my tipping research before arriving in a country. Asian countries tend to have a no-tipping culture. Europeans tend to tip less than Americans. It’s complicated! Here’s a comprehensive international tipping guide from Conde Nast I’ve found helpful. Also, treat Las Vegas as a foreign country when it comes too tipping—a land where all sorts of free goodies are bestowed, but where tips should not be withheld. Read up on how to handle everything from casino culture to pool cabanas.
5. At a buffet or high-end cafeteria, the server has a limited role. Does the 15-20% still apply? Emily Post says 10% is appropriate, but I waiver between thinking this is too much and thinking it’s too little. And there’s a big difference between a luxe brunch buffet and a place just slightly nicer than Chipotle.
6. I received services from someone who could be considered a peer. On a recent trip to Hong Kong, I was provided a media guide. By the end of the day, he felt more like a colleague and friend than guide. Would a tip would be demeaning? I ended up thanking him with a letter of commendation to his client instead, but I wondered if I’d done the right thing.
Note: TravelSkills is on vacation this month. We hope you enjoy this previously popular post!
Tipping in Vegas? YES. And generously. Pictured: The new High Roller ferris wheel. (Image: Chris McGinnis)
I have found a few ways to tip with more confidence:
When in doubt, err on the generous side. Many workers depend on tips to make a living wage. According to PayScale.com, 25% of food servers’ income generally comes from tips. And there’s something to be said for karma. If you worry that you may be over-tipping because all you have is that big bill, hand it over anyway—make the guy’s day, and it will come back to you some day, somehow.
Do the research. Before a trip, check that you have small bills and do research about local customs when necessary. It just takes a few minutes and prevents hours of guilt and confusion.
Keep a tipping app on your phone or tablet. In your favorite app store you’ll find myriad options. Some are international guides that also provide advice (like GlobeTipping on iOS and Global Tipping Guide Pro on Android). Others are U.S.-focused and will calculate the tip and even split the bill. A few of these will calculate in local currency outside the U.S. (like Tip Calculator Pro+ on Android).
Related: How to tip properly in Asia
A tip says, “Thanks for making my trip better than it would otherwise have been.” Sure, situations will always arise when you’re unsure about protocol. But with the right tools and preparation, you’ll almost always be able to offer that appreciation befittingly.
What tricky tipping situations have you encountered, and how did you address them?
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No, tipping in Europe or the UK is not “less” than Americans, it just (rightfully) isn’t custom as people are paid a fair living wage and customers aren’t coerced into paying the salaries of the service staff. You DO NOT tip a taxi, Uber etc. in the UK or Europe, further, you DO NOT tip in hotels, you DO NOT tip the barman and in most cases you do not tip the wait staff. In most European countries you DO NOT tip the restaurant staff as the service charge is built into the price by law. From the taxi example: you have asked a driver to take you to an address, he/she then takes you to that address, what EXTRA service was provided to you to warrant a tip? They have done their job. The same goes for a barman: you walk up to the bar, you ask for, say, a bottle of beer, the barman leans down, grabs the beer, pops the lid off and hands it to you. How does that warrant a tip? I understand that labour laws in America are almost non-existent and therefore customers are forced to pay the salaries of staff through tips, but that just isn’t the case in most of the rest of the world. Always do research and follow the local custom. Don’t think your way is better (i.e. if you go to the US with its excessive tipping culture, tip as this is what is expected, but if you are in Europe, the UK, Asia etc., DON’T “err on the generous side” like mentioned above as you are not following custom). Further, US dollars would not be welcome in the UK, Europe, Asia (so I wouldn’t say MOST countries). This article is pretty poorly researched.
Nice! I’ve now started tipping a flat dollar amount on a bottle…. I’m done paying a 15-18% tip on a grossly inflated bottle price… they are not getting a windfall profit simply because I (or someone in our party) decides to splurge on a (ridiculously) expensive bottle.
I have yet to tip housekeeping staff. I’d rather they stay away if I’m spending 1-3 nights at a hotel. I am the least messy traveler I know (based on years of experience!), so all they end up doing is replacing my towels despite me following directions for reuse correctly. I guess they feel obligated to do something other than tuck in my top sheet.
Now if I were up to some shenanigans, I would definitely leave a tip. You include a note, right? Otherwise it might just look like you left money out by accident…
The most insidious part of the whole scam is the way people are shamed and guilted into tipping because, if you don’t, then you are “cheap”.
And the other idea that it is somehow my job to pay the salary of these workers. In San Francisco, the city introduced an extra 4% charge on meals called “Healthy SF” – this is supposedly to pay for health insurance. Now, you’d think a job benefit would be paid by the employer, the employee or the government, right? Wrong, they stick it to the customer who already has to pay for his own health insurance
So that’s 9% sales tax, 15% tip and 4% on top – almost 30%!
You have to pay the 4% so I now tip 11% instead of 15%. They get the other 4% anyway.
Sorry…. can’t bring myself to tipping the housekeeping staff. I have a REALLY hard time on cruises as well. I just dropped $8,000 for my family of 5 to spend a week on a cruise ship then I have drop another $300 for housekeeping??? My wife forces me to tip our cabin attendant. I’d rather pay $8,300 and not worry about being guilted to tip. Tipping has gone from rewarding exemplary service to paying the wages of certain employees.
I could not agree with you more!!! AND the mark up on a bottle of wine is bordering on ridiculous (2-4 times what the bottle costs). I’ve heard the taxation/government argument as well and I’m not sure that it applies to alcohol. Side note: Recently stayed a few days in Seattle ($15/hr minimum wage)… and the price of food was outrageous and they expected a tip on top of it which I of course paid (very nice town, no need to go back to pay those prices).
Fair point. The vigilance against nanny state socialism should never be taken for granted.
My comment wasn’t directed at you so much as at the larger body politic in the U.S. that doesn’t recognize its own socialistic tendencies, like that special breed of people that denounces “government healthcare” but in the next breath says “Hands off my Medicare!”…
Ha. First time I ever went away with my wife, I gave her one rule. Do not bring any bag that you are not willing to carry up a flight of stairs.
She never has.
Well, I don’t expect a nanny state to look after me, and I support slashing taxes, repealing ObamaCare and privatizing social security.
But if you want to call me a socialist, then I guess it is ultimately all relative.
If you were actually like almost everyone in America then you’d behave like a socialist but loudly and ignorantly denounce socialism. Oh, and confuse nationalism with patriotism, but that’s the subject of a different rant…
Housekeepers job is to keep the room clean and supplied and otherwise, like small children, should be seen and not heard. If i am staying in a room for only 2/3 nights then, for the most part, I would rather the housekeeping staff do not enter my room at all.
In other words, I am more likely to tip them to stay away rather than do their job. The other reason to tip them is if your are up to mischief and want them to keep quiet – they see and know everything.
I never tipped the maid/housekeeping staff until my son got in the hotel business (management) and I asked him about it. He told me how thrilled staff are when folks leave a tip in the room–they tend to be minimum wage jobs. So for the past 20 years or so I always get an envelope of small bills before I leave home so I can leave 5 bucks a day in hotel rooms, couple bucks to put my bags in cab, etc. Karma, people…believe in it. The buffet issue does get me guessing–not leaving 15-20% for someone who brought me clean napkins and a drink but will usually leave at least a $5 bill or more, depending on what (or how many) they brought us!
Only when I’m traveling with my wife and want to act like a big shot (until I forget I don’t have any cash!!)
You actually use a bellman?
I thought wheelie bags put them out of business. I always decline their “services”. I particularly dislike it when they grab your bag to try and intimidate you into employing them.
I don’t think I have tipped any hotel staff in 20 years. There is quite simply no need to, unless they really go out of their way for you.
Restaurant staff and cab drivers are pretty much the only people you need to tip.
I used a bottle of wine as an example because it is the exact same job to open a $10 bottle as a $100 bottle.
Different dishes on the menu are less directly comparable, but I suppose you could say that merely bring a dish to the table is also the same work/effort whether it is a $50 lobster or a $10 mac-n-cheese.
Really, the entire tipping thing in the US has gotten out of control. What used to be a buck here or there has morphed into a kind of tax. We’ve allowed ourselves to be suckered and exploited.
8% of $100 is eight bucks. The tax on eight bucks will be less than that $5 tip. So the server is still making a little money on the $5 tip. I’m not suggesting a $5 tip, just pointing out the facts.
Do you tip the same on a $60 steak as on a $10 burger, all else being equal?
Well, like almost everyone in America, I’m not a socialist. And if I was, I feel sure that living in the US is massively frustrating and I would have moved to North Korea or Venezuela.
But no, my tip reflects the quality of the service, and not my ability to pay. After all, does Bill Gates pay $1,000 for a piece of fruit at his local food store?
There’s a simple answer why the tip is expected to be higher on a $200 bottle of wine vs a $20 bottle. Like it or not, in many ways we have a Socialist economy. For example, the highest 1% earners pay about as much income tax as the other 99% combined.
So the expectation is if you can spend 10 times more on wine you can spend 10 times more on the tip. In fact, that is a bargain! If it worked like the progressive income tax system and became a progressive tip system, a 10x wine price would translate to about 30x more tip.
So if you are a Socialist, tip more on that more expensive wine. If you’re not, then don’t.
Uncle Sugar is going to get his pound (or pound and a half) of flesh. I try to bang out 20%. I’ve been in all of the incidences Chris names above. What’s getting tough is things like bellman and such where there is no transaction to add to a credit card. I’m also not sure how muggers make a living any more by the way. If I got mugged I have to ask if the had a Square credit card reader!
I do understand the tax issue but, even so, it’s really not my problem. That is something to be worked out between the workers, the business and the taxman. It should not be my job to pay the workers’ tax obligation. My tip should reflect only the quality of service.
The system is bad and wrong, I agree. But why is it always me who it ends up costing, and not anyone else?
Al, I would agree with your thought on the bottle of wine, except for this reason. These days a servers sales are tracked through the computer. The government will tax you based on your sales, last I knew they assume you make at least 8% tips. Servers have to manually enter tips that are not paid on a credit card. If you didn’t make 8%, you are taxed on it anyway and not reporting at least 8% will get you audited. So if you left the same $5 tip for $30 or $100 bottle of wine, the server who took your order for the $100 bottle would still get taxed on 8% for the $100 bottle, even you you left her/him only 4.5 percent. A server who doesn’t make 8% tips either needs a different type of job or to work at a different restaurant but a lot of times, servers depend on the generosity of one table, to make up for the table that didn’t tip or left a $1 on the table.
Tips as a percentage has inflated over recent years. As a kid I remember that 10% was considered reasonable. People often say it’s 15% now, while some try and suggest that 20% and even 25% is “”normal”.
When you consider that the underlying menu prices have been going up, there is actually double dipping going on if the percentage is higher as well.
I tend to tip by dollar amount rather than percentage. After all, if I order a more expensive bottle of wine, why should the tip be more – it’s the same work regardless of value.
So, a buck per drink at the bar, a couple of bucks at a buffet, and 10% to 15% for a place with tablecloths.
Re hotels, I never see any need to tip anyone, unless I have really heavy bags and stairs to climb. Cabs I round up to the nearest $5.
Frankly, the entire tip mentality has got out of hand. Rather than feeling entitled to a set amount, consumers should vary the tip a lot more based on job performance. I don’t like ti when a service charge is included for that very reason.
And I must confess that part of what I like about places like Japan and Australia is that they don’t have a tip culture at all
I worked in the restaurant industry for quite a while. In the USA most servers make $2.13 per hour. I don’t know how they arrive at tips making up 25% of income, maybe they average that with hosts, cooks, ect. but a server at a casual or upscale restaurant is expecting tips to be a huge portion of their income. If tipping was 75% of their income, that would still only be $6 an hour from tips and that is not enough. Many years ago when I served at a casual chain seafood restaurant, we expected to get about $100 in tips from a 4 to 5 hour shift. Your pay from the restaurant was nothing after taxes, and some people even owed money!! I tip well and 20% is still a very good tip. At a buffet, what am I paying 10% for? I probably do sometimes but are you paying that much for someone to clear your table or bring you a drink? That is a lot, when you consider average tips for full service is still 10-15%.