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Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Minneapolis: DL DM charter 2.3MM
Programs: A3*Gold, SPG Plat, HyattDiamond, MarriottPP, LHW exAccess, ICI, Raffles Amb, NW PE MM, TWA Gold MM
Posts: 100,407
Many private clubs (even in the USA) forbid tipping and either impose an automatic service charge or give staff a special holiday bonus (sometimes collected by member donations). Ideally an airline lounge is close to a private club (and historically this is how they started as invitation only rooms offered by airlines to important customers they knew), so to me it seems strange to tip even when this clearly is the custom for bartenders in USA lounges.