I've never been to Thailand before. When we go this year, we were not going to take out any cash since we aren't leaving the resort (Hilton). We're taking the hotel car to/from the airport, planning to only eat inside the hotel, wife will get massage probably at the hotel. Will hotel restaurant bills have tip lines (eg, US, HKG)? And my hotel includes 10% service charge. Doesn't that cover all gratuities like tips for bellmen and housekeeper? Do you think it'll be feasible to go cash-free on our 4-night stay? I guess the tip for the airport driver is the only tricky one.

Wow - do u have a special reason not to leave the hotel? I am sad for all the wonderful things you will miss. Why go to Thailand at all if you only want a nice hotel experience - not being snarky I just honestly don't understand.

I was kind of hoping to not going into that, because it would really be off-topic and plus I'm sure most of you can't relate to the way I am.
I love researching fares and rates. But I'm not really into sightseeing and am not good at (and get stressed out by) researching new countries and places. The concept of traveling (experiencing airport/hotel lounges, etc) excites me, and once at the destination I just want to be stress-free. I'm not good at dealing with new currencies and having a carefree attitude about visiting a country I've not been to. Hence I've only been to one new country (Singapore) in the last 10 years, while I've probably been to Jpn and HKG a combined 30+ during that time. Even then I definitely would've been open to trying some local restaurants outside Hilton in Phuket, if it weren't for my kids who have bad peanuts allergies. There're various reasons why we ended up deciding to go to Thailand this fall, whose details I won't bore you with.

Have fun! Do what you want and don't worry about anonymous internet strangers that question your personal preferences.

If you really wanted to, Thai people who work in the tourist industry are happy to accept USD.

Have some $1/$5's on you, and that'll work fine.

To the best of my knowledge, housekeeping is just flat salary - they don't get any benefit from the service charge. I always leave a tip for them, but it's up to you.

I would tip at a local massage shop (low wages) for good work (variable) but not at the hotel spa. Those folks are well paid.

Thanks - I totally get it - different strokes for different folks! Hope you enjoy your stay a lot (folks don't get some of my preferences either and I was just honestly curious ;) )

Just a caution which you probably already know - I'd have the front desk write a note about peanut allergy in Thai and have EVERY waiter read it (including in the note nothing cooked in a pan that had peanut oil in it previously). I'm sure you are way ahead of me - but I've come across staff who sound like they understand English well but really just smile when they don't understand something!

Okay, I'll have some US dollar bills then. Quite honestly I really hate the whole concept of tipping. But I'm just going to do whatever is the norm in the place I'm visiting. So within the hotel grounds (including hotel-arranged airport transfers), housekeepers would be the only people I should tip on top of the 10% service charge already built into my booking?


No worries. With regards to peanut allergy, yes thank you we will definitely do that.

That's just a "in case you want to" suggestion that it's not necessary to deal with currency exchange because USD is perfectly fine for tipping service personnel from driver to valet/porter to housekeeping.

Within the range of service personnel you'll encounter/engage on the Hilton resort, the housekeeping staff will be the lowest paid. You can decide for yourself what to do.

I agree there's not likely to be much need for cash for tipping in this situation, but I would find it stressful and limiting to not have some Baht on me. e.g., what if your hotel taxi or grab taxi has a problem and you need to get somewhere quickly? What if you want to buy a snack from 7-11? Or buy some interesting snack from a street vendor? Sure, they might take US dollars, but now you have to worry about it and do calculations and will get cheated.

It's super easy to just trade $20 (or whatever) for some emergency Thai Baht at the airport. They are easy to find and you'll get a decent rate (far better than ATMs, where you'll lose at least $6 per withdrawal, and far better than at the hotel, which will take out a 10% cut). Just avoid Travelex. You can then trade the excess back on the return trip to the airport.

P.S. I'm told that at major chains, all staff are supposed to get their cut of the service charge, including maids. Even if they aren't paid directly, it goes to the hotel and its up to them to give it back to the maids. It's understood that the only reason to be paying 400 baht or whatever per day in service charge (for which you earn zero reward points) is to pay for service. That said, many people will still tip. I sometimes still tip, not because I feel I have to but as a bribe.

The highlighted above basically sayz it, there is really no "norm" in tipping in Thailand. The locals, when dinning in restaurants, would leave the leftover coin change in the plate after paying. But not all Thais tip. I doubt that office workers would leave any tip at lunch. So, basically, it's up to you. If you have it, like the service, and want to give, by any means, go ahead and tip. Otherwise, don't sweat this tiny part of your trip. Thai people, in general, are very pleasant people and many in the service industry don't expect any tip. Remember, this is the Land of Smiles and you will find everything goes much better when you have a smile on your face - whatever the situation ...

We also travel as a family and our trips are usually 4 weeks and hence our 2 suitecases are jampacked heavy. I give the bell boy THB 100 for bringing the luggage to our room and another 100 for loading them into our taxi upon departure. For me, I believe this is fair (not to mention saving my back) regardless of what the attendants gets paid by the hotel.

While I understand that there is no tipping in general, it still seems like most of you still do hand out little tips here and there. Keep your smile advice is very cool and something I hadn't heard before, but we will definitely keep that in mind. The foreign money thing has always been such a hangup for me. But okay, BigE's point is well-taken and perhaps I will just get $20 worth in Thai money just in case.

I have never felt the need to tip in Thailand. In fact the only place I have felt compelled to tip anywhere in the world is in North America.

I always tell my friends you should not feel like you have to tip in the land of smiles, but ultimately it's up to you. As a non-American, I just can't see the obsession with tipping for the littlest thing. There was one time, I helped a N American family carry a suitcase down some stairs in the Tube, and they kindly thrust a note at me. I don't remember exactly what I said, but they seemed stunned when I said no.

As a non-American, if I was going on this trip as described, the only tips I would leave would be for the masseuse if (s)he was particularly good, if my bags are carried to the room (although I usually carry bags myself, I won't say no to someone actively offering to take them), and I may leave some coins or 20s for the housekeeper.

For restaurants I will leave the coins.