Tipping in Thailand
#1
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Tipping in Thailand
According to Condé Nast Traveler's Etiquette 101: The Tipping Guide tipping in Thailand is suggested as follows:
At Restaurants: About $1 per diner for the waiter.
At Hotels: About $1–$2 per bag for the porter; no tip necessary for the housekeeper or the concierge (service charges are included at hotels of two stars or above).
Guides and Drivers: About $1 for taxis; $2 per hour for private drivers; $10–$20 per person per day for tour guides (who also tip tour drivers, so don't worry about that).
Who Else?: If you ever find yourself at a local masseuse, a three-dollar tip at the end of the massage is about right.
Dollars Accepted?: Yes, preferably two-dollar bills (see Cambodia).
Note: A common feature in Thailand is the ubiquitous bathroom attendant. Some of them might even throw a towel over a man's shoulders while he's at the urinal. Fifty cents, or about 20 baht, should do it there. It's also common to get a hot towel and drink upon checking into a nice hotel, but no tip is necessary, as the service is included.
https://www.cntraveler.com/stories/2008-11-11/etiquette-101-tipping-guide
What do you think? What was your experience? Any advice or input?
At Restaurants: About $1 per diner for the waiter.
At Hotels: About $1–$2 per bag for the porter; no tip necessary for the housekeeper or the concierge (service charges are included at hotels of two stars or above).
Guides and Drivers: About $1 for taxis; $2 per hour for private drivers; $10–$20 per person per day for tour guides (who also tip tour drivers, so don't worry about that).
Who Else?: If you ever find yourself at a local masseuse, a three-dollar tip at the end of the massage is about right.
Dollars Accepted?: Yes, preferably two-dollar bills (see Cambodia).
Note: A common feature in Thailand is the ubiquitous bathroom attendant. Some of them might even throw a towel over a man's shoulders while he's at the urinal. Fifty cents, or about 20 baht, should do it there. It's also common to get a hot towel and drink upon checking into a nice hotel, but no tip is necessary, as the service is included.
https://www.cntraveler.com/stories/2008-11-11/etiquette-101-tipping-guide
What do you think? What was your experience? Any advice or input?
Last edited by Kalboz; Oct 1, 2018 at 9:59 am
#4
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I wonder about whether in Thailand (and many other countries) the housekeeper or other employees ever really receive that service charge. In such situations, I tend to leave a tip (maybe $1 or $2 per day) in a nice hotel if the housekeeping has been good, and nothing if not. Would welcome other thoughts on this.
#5
Join Date: Jul 2008
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most of it the tipps are way too high
At Restaurants: we just dine in small restaurants and street kitchen but I usually give about 20 THB tip
At Hotels: 20 THB per bag is a common rate even in the higher priced hotels. Just keep in mind that the staff at the hotel usually earns about 300 to 400 THB a day
Guides and Drivers: for a normal taxi ride just add to next full 10 THB. when I take a taxi to the airport I usually give between 30 and 50 THB tip
Who Else?: it depends on the kind of "massage" you get ... . 100 THB for a normal massage seems a lot ot me, but I have no experience in that
Dollars Accepted?: sorry, I never have $ with me in Thailand ...
At Restaurants: we just dine in small restaurants and street kitchen but I usually give about 20 THB tip
At Hotels: 20 THB per bag is a common rate even in the higher priced hotels. Just keep in mind that the staff at the hotel usually earns about 300 to 400 THB a day
Guides and Drivers: for a normal taxi ride just add to next full 10 THB. when I take a taxi to the airport I usually give between 30 and 50 THB tip
Who Else?: it depends on the kind of "massage" you get ... . 100 THB for a normal massage seems a lot ot me, but I have no experience in that
Dollars Accepted?: sorry, I never have $ with me in Thailand ...
Last edited by olisch; Dec 8, 2008 at 11:54 am
#7
Join Date: Jul 2008
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imho you do to good to the room maid ... the relation from tip to their salary doesn't fit. They will usually earn between 200 and 400 THB a day, so 50 THB from you a day is a huge boost for their salary ...
#8
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and for what it's worth ... my wife, who is thai, never gave tip before she got to know me, even she earned good money. she told me that tipping doesn't belong to thai culture and that tipping just came with farang ... but nowadays thai people got used to getting tipped, so many of them expect to get a tip.
In the end the more tip you give them the more they expect to get tipped
In the end the more tip you give them the more they expect to get tipped
#11
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and for what it's worth ... my wife, who is thai, never gave tip before she got to know me, even she earned good money. she told me that tipping doesn't belong to thai culture and that tipping just came with farang ... but nowadays thai people got used to getting tipped, so many of them expect to get a tip.
In the end the more tip you give them the more they expect to get tipped
In the end the more tip you give them the more they expect to get tipped
#13
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Every situation is different, and there are all sorts of travelers so it is challenging to come up with some sort of universal tipping chart.
Some restaurants add a 10% service charge to the bill so no tip is required. In others round up or up to 5% is fine, if the service was good. For taxis just round up to the nearest whole 10 baht figure, unless the driver helped with bags, shopping etc., then add 20 or 40 baht (and another 20 baht if the taxi was radio-dispatched). For most personal services add 2 to 5% if the service was good. In the attended bathroom situation leave 10 or 20 baht. Most Thais will not tip in an establishment where the owner/operator is present, and I do not, I guess because it might be insulting or just seem like you accidently dropped your money? This includes quite large restauarants with wait-staff, by the way. In nightclubs, 5 - 10% is OK, leaving a tip on the change tray means it gets pooled and shared, while handing the tip directly to a server means they get to keep it.
Most of my retail/service/restaurant interactions are with sole proprietors so I do very little tipping. However, most Thais do expect foreign tourists to tip.
#14
Join Date: Nov 2006
Posts: 1,048
If you're in Vietnam, a $2 bill is considered lucky. They like to collect them. If in Thailand, use Thai baht. I usually give 30 baht/bag for the bellman.
#15
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: London
Posts: 6,265
I am still surprised by this. In my BKK visits, the only hands out for tips that I've seen are cabs - and even then rounding up works well for them.
Perhaps we spin in different Thailand social circles and/or have different views on tipping in general.
Perhaps we spin in different Thailand social circles and/or have different views on tipping in general.