Preview travel gives these tips:

Hotel
$1 per bag for a bellman carrying luggage
$1 to $2 for a doorman hailing a taxi
$1 to $2 a day for a housekeeper (to be left on the dresser at the end of your stay)
$5 to $25 for a concierge who makes your dinner or show reservations

Parking/Taxi
$1 to $2 for a parking valet when the car is retrieved
$1 to $2 for a taxi-cab driver for short routes

Restaurant/Room Service
15 to 20 percent of the check for a restaurant waiter
10 to 15 percent of the check for a room-service waiter (if not already included in check)
10 to 15 percent of the tab for a bartender

Miscellaneous
$1 per bag for an airport baggage handler
$1 per coat for a coatroom attendant
10 to 15 percent of the bill for a hair stylist/barber

what I give in US-restaurants (don't do this in Switzerland - you would spoil our system, tips are included here so please only round up) is about the 15-20% preview travel recommends - but beeing lazy (to calculate) I just write it on the credit-card into the tip-column in % (f.e. 16%) and leave the total open.

Questions:
- is this acceptable?
- is it dangerous? (that way I leave the toal open, but I see little danger as long as these bills are at the hotel-resaurant or bar, I can still discuss the matter at check-out-time, when they present the summarized bill - never had to till now)
- will the owner give the credit-card-tip to the employee? (will he deduct the 3-5% credit card commission from that tip amount? should I pay the tip practically always in cash? paying cash do I help to "cheat" the income-tax-system of that state, country? etc, etc).
- how do I/you tip if on the bill/credit-card-slip there are two tip-columns ? (headwaiter and waiter?)
- is it acceptable if I/we deal with my/our luggage my-/ourself? (for not taking risks, but also for not having to tip).

Good luck carrying your own luggage Rudi - I have had to practically wrestle mine away from overenthusiastic bellboys - which is silly considering that I usually travel with a (heavy) laptop which I won't let anyone else take [they usually don't even try] & a (very light) overnight bag, as I seldom stay more than one night. If I have enough strength to lift it into the overhead locker on the aeroplane I can take it up in an elevator/flight of stairs myself!

This is particularly awkward when you arrive in a new country & don't have the right sort of currency/change. I suppose that you could just travel with a massive wad of US$1 bills & use those, but in some countries that is considered inappropriate.

In fact, at a hotel that I spent one night at, when I wanted to take my own (hand)luggage to my room the concierge said to me "You don't stay in a 4 star hotel & carry your own luggage. We won't allow that" - apparently I wouldn't be getting the full four star experience if I took my bag up in the elevator myself!

Rudi,

1. Its acceptable, I'm just not sure if its wise (esp. in a public place like a bar)
2. Why leave any question: Just take 10% of the bill. Add Half of that to get a 15% tip, double to leave a 20% one.
3. The owner will definitely pass the tips along. Leaving cash would probably make it easier to cheat, but it doesn't really matter since the IRS will usually just estimate tip income and tax accordingly.
4. Not sure about the 2-tip column. I just write what I think is an acceptable total and circle it.
5. Handling your own luggage is acceptable, I think.

Oh Rudi, I feel for you.

This is one of my pet hates. If I can carry my luggage from - the blue carpeted terminal - to the taxi; to the hotel; I can sure as hell manager it to the elevator*.

When I tell the receptionist/concierge this they usually reply that they need to demonstrate the "features of the room" to me.

I'm sorry but I know how to switch on a telly, turn on a light and find the bathroom without someone showing me, thankyou.
MF

*I sacrifice English for American at this point (ie. elevator v lift) on the basis that Mr Otis was an ex-colonial (American). It is very infrequently that an ex-colonial has claim to an invention and therefore credit where credtit is due. Anyone want to argue with me? I refer you to such things are Democracy - Swiss (according to Rudi). The Internet - English (according to all right thinking people).

European's invent it. American's market it.
Nature is a wonderful thing.

Oh Merry - it IS good to have you back! I thought that the Americans wouldn't have the faintest idea what a 'lift' was, so I stuck to Americanese as well. On another thread you'll see that Rudi offered me a US passport... and he's been trying to apologise with Swiss chocolates ever since.

Concerning tipping the housekeeper, I, too, had always left the tip at the end of the stay until a friend told me she always leaves it the FIRST morning with a note explaining that it is the tip (so housekeeping isn't confused and thinks it is just money left out in the open).

She says she gets really good service that way. I've tried it since, and it seems to work.

I put EVERY morning 1$/person on the bed (housekeeping persons also change from time to time during longer stays).

If I stay a while (ski vacations) I add a special swiss chocolate package with a note saying "thank you for helping us to have a great vacation".

I always insist on carrying my own bags and rarely, if ever, get into a confrontation with anyone. When I arrive at the hotel, I am usually tired, want to get settled in my room and unpack. The worst thing is to have to wait for my luggage. Once in a while, I'll let the bellman carry my bag under the condition that he rides the elevator up to the room with me. If he says, he'll meet me be up there with my bags shortly, no dice!

Neal

For luggage, I try to carry my own... the
bell staff can use the time to handle the
families with 425 bags to bring up.

If I am jetlagged, most of the bell people
know it and I just leave the bags with them
and bring them up (the only thing I always
keep with me is my briefcase... Can't lose
my paperwork.)

I leave a few dollars for the housekeeping
staff, and to make it easy on them, I try to
do stuff like hang the towels on the shower
rack, put the sheets, blankets on the bed
wipe around the sink... They work hard enough
without picking up after a messy man.

Restaurants: it depends on the service,
exceptional service gets 20 percent (one
waitress in Toronto asked if I made a mistake
I told her to take herself out for something
beautiful like her.) If the service is poor
I have left as much as 7 cents tip. This could be wrong, but as I said elsewhere it
doesn't take much to be a little cordial.
CATMAN

I agree, Catman - tips are for SERVICE, and there are times when staff almost deserve negative tips. One of my pet peeves is when tips are included in the bill - tips should be discretionary, & unless you have a large party, there is no reason to include a 'service charge'. I have been known to cross these items off the bill when the service has been appalling - and I agree with giving massive tips for great service: this morning's brunch (Ryles, in Cambridge, MA) was one example when a tip of over 20% was more than justified...

I don't understand! What is this "bellman" you folks are talking about??? I asked the check-in guy at the Motel 6 last week for help with my bags and he waved a shotgun in my face and told me to take a hike. But, hey, at the Econo Lodge they've got these great new-fangled ice machines (not to mention the vibrating bed)!!!

;o) -- obviously...

Oh, and Merry, wasn't it a "new worlder" who invented FREQUENT FLIER PROGRAMS??? Not to mention this site!!!

Matt - I guess motel 6 doesn't have a 'frequent guest' program... if you stay there ten times & are still alive, consider yourself lucky!

In my student days, during a drive from Vancouver to Newfoundland via the Grand Canyon (it was November, & I wanted to see it), we stayed at a Motel 6 in Provo, Utah. After a massive dinner at a nearby steakhouse (where they looked at us as if we had three heads when we asked about a winelist), we went back to the motel, only to find the cops staking out a room near ours.... I salute your courage!

One thing I like about Europe that I don't like in the U.S. - not having to tip(such as while dining) because the employees already get a decent wage; although I understand that a token tip for good service is customary. I feel like tipping(in N. America) is more of an obligation than a show of appreciation. I also hate, by employees, the constant "suggestion" of tipping.

For those not from the U.S. A few notes on tipping in the U.S.

1) Tax, which can be as much as 10%, should not be included when figuring out a tip.

2) Never ask the person serving you how much you should tip! they will almost always give you an inflated amount. I asked a person serving a drink - was told 20%! how about 10%? (although, if you sit, $1.00 per person is generally considered to be minimum).
3) If the person is an owner of the establishment, it is NOT customary to tip them.

4) Self serve buffets and the like are just that - self serve. But if there is good service with the buffet(like at the Ritz I give 15% anyway), 10% should be adequate. Also, busing(cleanup) tables is not customary to tip for.

I think that tipping is more of a company's way of getting the customer to pay the employee's wage. I certainly don't mind tipping if someone does a person favor(favour for you Brits *s*), for really really good service, or if someone goes out of their way for me; but, I dislike the idea of tipping when someone simply does their job. I do tip the customary amount, usually slightly more, but I don't like it.

My peeves:

#1. I dislike tipping for a service that is provided as part of what I am already paying for. Like a Taxi...why can't they be paid a decent wage to their job? I am already paying for a ride, how personal is that? yes...they might take the time to point out things if I am new in town, maybe that deserves a tip, but simply giving a ride...that is what I am paying for!

#2. Employees soliciting tips!! I don't know how many fast food places I have been that have tip jars...it is fast food!!...I have to pick up my own food, the act of preparing food is what I am already paying for! At one fast food place, the two owners actually had the nerve to put a tip jar out for themselves!...they own the place!! ..they are not employees!

#3. While in Las Vegas, it is usually customary to tip the Black Jack dealer if they were nice and you won; however, did you know that all the tips go into a central collection that is then equally distributed to all the dealers equally? This was explained to me as a IRS requirement so that the IRS would know how much each the dealers were tipped. I say the IRS is probably overstepping their bounds, but, since it is the way things are, the collection of tips really amount to a "wage" that is paid by the customers. The Casino should take care of wages themselves and leave me out of it. My tips weren't intended to pay the whole staff, they were for the individual - so, I no longer plan to tip at the casinos since the individual can't keep it.

#4. A business that has signs indicating how I should tip...why don't they pay a good wage first!

In my younger days, I worked at a number of service jobs and never expected a tip nor asked for one. At one job, I occasionally got a tip, but it was not common and considered a special bonus - never expected or requested; ...and I was always happy to do special requests...again, no tip nor was it expected.

I wish more businesses would put up signs like "Our staff is paid well, no tip is expected. We are happy to serve you!"

How did all this tipping come about? Maybe a long time ago there weren't waiters or waitresses and someone walked into a eating establishment and said "let me bring your food to you, so you don't have to get up" and tipping was born...but now, since it is part of the meal, lets drop it!

We could do the opposite:

tipping fees:

Would you like your food cooked? 20% tip.
Do you want your salad tossed? another 20%
Want eating utensils to help with that food? 25%
Need a napkin? 5%
Want to come inside out of the cold? 30%
Want to sit down? another 20%
Want us to kill the cow or do you want to? 40% if we do it.

ok, no tips, but in order to eat you have to:

Kill the cow
butcher the cow
light the grill
Slap the steak on the grill
set table
could make this list of "personal" services very long, but how about?..just give me one price, then pay be taxes, staff, and overhead out of the total and keep the rest for your profit. On this issue, Europe wins my vote.