Originally Posted by graraps
Cattle, the point I was (unsuccessfully by the looks of things) trying to make is that tipping is discretionary. I only tip when I feel the person has gone the extra mile for me, I can't imagine myself giving a tip to the taxi driver for driving me to the airport or to the hotel maid for changing the towels in my room. On the other hand, I will gladly reward extraordinary performance (like braking speed limits to get me to the airport on time for my flight
).
So the way I think of it is : you have to be there because of your employer, therefore you have to stay in a hotel. But you don't have to tip, do you?
Tipping conventions vary so much from country to country that this might be a reason for the differences here.
In the US, it's customary to tip the taxi drivers 10-15%, all waiters 15-20%, etc. In fact, waiters and even taxi drivers actually depend on tips for their wages. Waiters usually make below minimum wage ($3 per hour perhaps), with the expectation that tips will cover the rest. If they don't get tipped, they essentially don't get paid.