Room Service Tip
 

I struggled with this last night... I don't know why, maybe I'm cost concious in this economy.

There was a delivery charge added to the price of the meal and 22% gratuity and then tax and everything.
There is a line for additional tip....

Who gets what? does the server get any of that? At a restaurant I tip 18-20% everytime... here they charged 22% automatically.

Should I be adding on top of that? I have to say that I always do, but yesterday I read through it and struggled a bit.

thoughts?

Gratuity is a tip. I do not tip more if I'm charged a gratuity, esp if it's 22%. Some hotels charge a "service charge" for room service (or, as you mentioned, a delivery charge)....in that case, I normally tip since I figure the hotel is charging you for the convenience of room service.

Same reply as Diplomatico gave.

I agree with the other posters. The 22% is the tip. Anything more than that is nice and generous, but certainly not expected nor compulsory. I have left it blank many times without a twinge of guilt. ;)

I'm wondering
 

And coming from a culture that does not routinely tip this confuses me. I "get" the tipping while I'm sitting in the restaurant and try to be a good tourist and do it right, however, that tip is based on how attentive/good the service is while I'm dining. In the in room dining situation, the meal is dropped off and that is the end of the server. Why is the expectation that the percentage is going to be as high?

I like to be generous, but 22% is more than enough for a tip. That's more than 1/5 of the bill!! I might even complain and force them to take it off if service was bad. I'd much rather have a "mandatory" tip of 10-15% and then add on something.

However, I've also appreciate good service. I will tip above and beyond the suggested tip for staff that bring my room service order right away, make sure the food is hot, or bring everything in one of those nice combination food warmers/tables on wheels. I'm addicted to those. :)

I struggled with this too, but when I saw the 18% gratuity on top of a $4.95 service charge, that was all.

It's amazing to see such a consensus on FT. Me, too.

I will park my "me too" right here. The first couple of times I ordered room service, I didn't pay attention to the charge and filled in a tip--and realized after that I'd double-tipped. It really annoys me that they have the blank tip line after they've already charged one (although I'm sure it's the exact same machine they use in the restaurant, so they probably don't have a choice--still seems sneaky).

Occasionally, I run across hotels that are even more blatant in their capacity to insult the customer...

I can accept that "Room Service" menus generally list prices higher than those for the same items in the hotel's dining room/coffee shop, but I am insulted when the Room Service menu comes with another bit of chiseling....a "Charge for Inroom Dining"....seen more and more.

Then there's this newly magic 22%. Oh, where, oh where did 18% go? Lost in the same cloud as 20%, I guess....

No wonder Europeans find our "tipping" customs ridiculous. They are.:td:

You are so right, they are ridiculous.

22% plus a "service charge" or "delivery fee" is way excessive on top of the inflated prices.

I stopped adding the tip when hotels added the mandatory delivery charge plus "convenience fees" or whatever. As long as the server/delivery person is getting around whatever I would tip in a restaurant, I'm not adding anything on top of what the hotel's already charged me.

It just forces you to read the fine print more carefully. Instead of thinking about how outrageous it is, why don't you congratulate yourself on not being duped into writing another tip? And spread the word to your family and loved ones. This is the way F&B has (deteriorated) evolved and complaining about it won't do much good.

Albeit, 22% seems slightly high. Was this at a resort area or a vacation site?

The calculus of tipping
 

Actually, the way it works is, if a 22% tip is automatically added to the bill, there's now a new total, so you ought to add a 22% tip to that. But now there's another new total, so you have to add a 22% tip to that, meaning of course that you will have to add a 22% tip to the new total thus created, which then you will have to add a 22% tip to ... Eventually, you will have asymptotically given the bell hop everything you have.

I agree with everyone else.

22%? That's greedy, IMO.

I've seen small pots of coffee for $8.95 and large pots for $12.95, outrageous on their own. But to tack on $2.95 - $4.95 delivery fees plus a 22% tip as well?

No wonder I'm happy when I can find an Embassy Suites room for $150 or so.

Why stick with room service when you can order out?

You can get all sorts of food now online - or in the yellow pages - free or cheap delivery and the tip is up to you.

But does the 18-22% actually go to the person bringing the food up to you? If it does, that's great. If it does not and it goes to the bottom line of the hotel, does it really count? The proble is that it is hard to know where the money is actually going.

Let them know some of their customer's are paying attention. I make notes on receipts when the gratuity / tip is already included and I'm provided with a "Tip" line.

I've done this in the Hilton LAX a lot.

If the server receives none of this tip, he/she is working for the wrong hotel.

There are hotels that won't allow the delivery driver to go up to the room in order to preserve their room service monopoly. So you better have a mobile for them to call and be prepared to go down to the lobby in that case!

Greedy? Sure. But it happens.

Know any good delivery places in Eindhoven? :D

Not all of us are lucky enough to be spoilt for choice... ;)

I don't know. Does the "Additional Tip" go to the server?

When there's a Gratuity % already included, I guess I won't be adding tips.

I never add a tip when someone has done it for me, especially in addition to a "service charge".

Although it's a bit of a shame, because you wonder how much the person delivering the food is actually getting (chances are they're not making very much to begin with) and how much is going to the hotel. There is talk of making a law in the UK disclosing how much of the tip is actually going to the server, but as of right now it's just talk.

I have actually asked the person delivering and more often than not; service charge is for the person delivering the grub.

$4.95 is plenty for bringing the Club Sandwich, thank you.

Well, exactly.

$5 tip (and by the way I paid €10 for a service charge the other night :mad:) is plenty for someone who carries a tray from a lift to a room.

Actually, I've always been of the impression that you tip on the base value of the service, not on the extras such as tax, service charge, etc. Now, that said, I'm also not stingy when I tip (18%-20% is about normal for me) as long as the service is not lacking. Based on this, you do not keep adding fractions on top of fractions ad infinitum to get to a final value.

I'm also with everyone else here: 22% is more than enough for a tip, considering (A) I have no choice in the matter and (B) the amount of effort to earn this tip is less than if I was sitting down in the restaurant.

Economics of tipping
 

It would be interesting to know if any economists have studied or theorized about tipping. Economists generally assume that the economic behavior of individuals is rational, and that the sum total of individuals' rational economic behavior will be economic efficiency. It seems hard to reconcile these assumptions with tipping. The whole process is wildly irrational and introduces many inefficiencies (bookkeeping, tax avoidance, distortions caused by different assumptions among the people involved about tips, dissatisfaction on both sides of the transactions, to name a few.)

One way to put the question: in areas of the world, e.g. Japan, much of the South Pacific, tipping is not customary. How is the economic functioning of travel and service industries in those places less efficient than in places where tipping prevails? (Maybe should be a separate topic?)

There is a Doubletree resort in Miami that I frequent.

As a HHonors Diamond, I always get "free" breakfast coupons, except they have a 25% tip included on the check. This isn't room service, It is a buffet, they get nothing else from me.

I nearly always tip the room service waiter in cash, as I doubt they get much, if any, portion of the service charge. I also tip the breakfast staff in cash also.

Funny thing... a few years ago, I realized that pretty much the only reason I carry cash anymore is for tipping. Rarely (other than a cup of coffee of bottled water at the airport) do I use cash for purchases and usually the amounts are very small.

My experience is that wait/service staff have always REALLY appreciated the cash tips. Yes, I have been accused many times by my spouse for overtipping... waiters, hotel maid, the bellman, the car valet, caddies, skycaps, taxi drivers etc... I'm certain this stems from the fact that while growing up, MANY of my close friends and several family members were in the service industry in these exact jobs and I can't begin to tell you how important the tips are to them. Yes, the system we have in the US for this type of compensation is not optimal and should change to give these hardworkers a fair wage, but until then, I don't want to make them suffer for this system, and yes, I understand that I may be perpetuating a system that isn't ideal, but the human cost of not doing so is quite material.

Living in Europe, I usually give 10% or less in restaurants.
I do not tip hotel rooms or airport lounges.
Personally, tipping should not be.
I expect good service, and I expect to know the price in advanced.
Adding for the plate (done in Italy) or service on top of the price makes me order less next time.

A good way to get around the Room Service charges and tipping is to order food to go from the hotel’s restaurant.

Based on my experience working in a hotel restaurant, 18%-22% doesn't go into the server's pocket in the restaurant, either. He/she tips out the bartender and other help (food runners, busboys, etc.) I will tip the same on a room service order as I would on an in-restaurant order. It's not my concern how much goes into the server's pocket any more than I care what ultimately ends up in the waiter's/waitress' pocket in the restaurant.

22% is it - no more.

I might shed some light on this, I set up databases for hotel food services. This is not always the case, but the following is what most likely happens. If there is a delivery charge (usually a per trip charge which is very common at resorts and nickle and dimeing 4 and 5 stars) that goes to the house. The service charge then goes to the room service staff (Room service normally pools tips and may have to tip out a bartender as well). If there is not a delivery charge, but just a service charge, it may be that the house takes a percentage of the tip (a common one is 18% with 15% going to the server and 3% to the house). Their is no hard and fast rule, but always read the guest check closely.

I must say, I always add a tip on top of the "room service gratuity" already on the bill. Having worked in the service industry, I doubt the server is getting rich off my extra 10%.

I just wonder how much of that the server is actually taking home...I suppose I should start asking.

Regarding restaurants, there's a difference between here and Europe. In Europe the server makes a living wage. Here, in many states, management is allowed to pay the server less than minimum wage with the expectation that there will be tips to make up the difference. Most European friends I explain this to say 'That's not my problem' as a response.

FWIW, most waiters and waitesses here in NYC loathe it when Europeans sit at their tables. They know they'll get a $2 tip on a $100 check.

For the same reason the European waiters will get a big smile on their face when they see Americans sitting down.

It's a simple rule, tip appropriate to the country/culture you are in!

The last time I ordered room service (years ago), the hotel had a mandatory gratuity, and a line on the check for additinal gratuity. I felt that 22% was enough and did not add any additional. After taking the check and starting to walk back to the elevator, the courier loudly said "f*ing stiff" 'under his breath'.

Personally I would never look down on anyone for "only" leaving 22%, but clearly, hotel staffs expect more.

Ditto.

Yes, but my American tipping guilt sets in and I leave a buck for the person who brings my orange juice. :rolleyes:

Considering I'm not expense accounting these outrageous in room dining charges the last time through LHR T5 I visited the M+S Simply Food on the arrivals level and bought myself a nice cold cut spread plus a bottle of Shiraz. Walked back to my room in the Sofitel and ate and drank totally guilt free in my room.:cool:

I agree. As a European, I usually give 10% for good/reasonable service. Hotel rooms I do not tip extra. Also a 22% automatically added tip on the bill, unless stated on the menu I would complain about. I don't want to be forced to tip. The delivery charge should cover the cost of the delivery and the tip should be for serving and there isn't exactly any of that when it's room service. I will usually tip more in the US, but the rest of the world I only tip more than 10% if the service is exceptional, and I'm not afraid to walk away without leaving a tip if the service was poor!