Oh man, do you know how long it took me to type all that in & now you want me to update it too? Had I known it was online, I would have just posted the links that SanDiego1K did. Ok, I'll edit w/ the local FT input. Re: Austria, it was 5% on top of the service charge. Local FT input in italics.
I congrat the OP for her work but I just returned from 30 days in 5 countries (Belgium, Netherlands, Poland, Czech Republic and Germany) in Europe and basically I never saw a tip over 3% and over 90% of the middle class locals I was with did not normally tip for meals, bellmen, taxis etc and stated it was not the local custom to tip "like the tip-crazy Americans".
Again, it varies. I was in AMS a couple of years ago w/ a colleague who didn't tip at dinner because he read in Frommer's that it was included when it said service charge, and got berated by the waiter for not tipping above the s.c. And some places where you round up or it is 10%. I've also been in places where tipping is minimal or not at all, including one country where I didn't find that out until the final day no tipping (grr) & in 14-days of travel there not one waiter or waitress said btw you don't need to tip .
So whilst some of the #s might be off a tad, I think having a chart at least gives us 'tip-crazy' Americans a bit more of a clue on what's the norm give or take in various countries, especially countries we might not go to on a regular basis.
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Tipping hotel maids
Sharon, this is terrific. Thanks.
To FTers, do you leave a tip for the maid in the hotel? One of my colleagues leaves relatively large tips $5+ per day in the US. Is it appropriate to leave these tips outside the US and if so where and how much?
Unless there are policies in place re: tipping maids whether US or international, I would request that this thread stick w/ the 3 categories shown. There's actually a 2-3 page thread currently going (not a sticky) in TravelBuzz re: maid tips, & the philosophies behind them, so you might want to check that out instead.
BTW if people have input on tipping in countries not listed in the first post, please post in this thread & I'll update the list.
I support this idea. E.g. 10% seems to be the standard when Magellen's have had no clue. 0 to 10% would be more accurate in many cases, but there are also examples in the other direction. E.g. I would say that in Austria W/W would be expected to be more than 5% unfortunately.
Agree, TD 10% actual 15% added to most bills in the Bahamas
I can add Estonia to the list, where the standard is also 10-15%, which is common in restaurants, but not so common for the taxi drivers. As for pubs, they usually have a big bowl for all the waitresses where you can put the spare money, but us locals are not so good tippers at pubs All in all, at Scandinavian countries tipping is usually not as expected as in UK&USA, I would dare to say.
...............................and in Germany I round up (28.50 Euros becomes 30 Euros).
That is basically what all my local middle class foreign citizen associates recommend and do for all the EU countries I have visited (about 8+) for business and for vacation. Another example is they will usually round 29.5 euros to 30.0 euros. Occasionally they add add an extra euro or two for an exceptionally excellent service but it is a rare event.
In Canada I tip 10 percent in restaurants, and in Germany I round up (28.50 Euros becomes 30 Euros).
Both of my daughters were waitresses in Canada - one waitressed both in Canada and the U.S. during her student years, and they would seriously dispute your notion that appropriate tipping practices in Canada are that distinct from those of the U.S., i.e. 15-20% is more appropriate.
Last edited by Fredd; Sep 28, 07 at 9:39 am.
Reason: clarifying wording
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I'm not sure that taximen in the UK expect tips. In my experience, it is quite normal to just pay the metred fare or round up to the nearest pound; tips are really if the driver has done you some special favour or made conversation with you.
But Taiwan, I would amend: no tipping in restaurants. Just not done at all. Fancy ones add the 10% surcharge and non-fancy ones definitely expect exactly nothing.
Taxis: Yes, no tipping, but personally I will round up iff 2 conditions are met: a) it's not full of smoke flavor, and b) the driver actually listens to my panicked pleas to slow down a little.
Thanks - will update the first post w/ FTers input re: Canada, Germany, HKG & Taiwan. Give me a couple minutes to do so.
BTW - I emailed a couple Canadian FTers re: tips & got the following responses...
"Seems pretty acceptable to tip 15-20% in Canada. That said, there isn't much tolerance for bad service. Bad service will warrant a maximum 10% tip, with 10% pretty comon from the older/retired crowd at any service level."
"Wait staff generally earn more here than in the US and do less for it, so I consider 10% to be appropriate in most situations. Certainly 15% or more for exceptional service is fine."
So I've amended Canada to be 10%-20%.
Also, after the Magellan info I put in italics if local FTers input is dif than what's listed.
Had I known it was online, I would have just posted the links that SanDiego1K did. Ok, I'll edit w/ the local FT input. Re: Austria, it was 5% on top of the service charge. Local FT input in italics.
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