2023-05-19 15:30:00
Dhe airline has given the passenger 30 kilos of baggage allowance, now the bellboy at the hotel is struggling with his suitcase and, with obvious effort, places it on the rack in the room intended for this purpose. In most places in the world it would be embarrassing not to tip now. Before a trip you should therefore stock up on small change in the local currency or US dollar bills so that you do not fail when it comes to tips when you arrive.
However, the matter with the tip is complicated: Sometimes the staff in the restaurant, hotel or on the cruise ship gives you an angry look if the tip is too small. Sometimes you get an angry look if you even pull out your wallet. Here one stands there as a miser, there as a rude brute with no feeling for the customs of the country.
And something else is to be considered with regard to tip: according to the tip researcher Michael Lynn from the Nolan School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York State, not only rigid economic conventions play a role in tipping. How a waiter behaves can also have an unconscious effect on the customer. For example, if the service staff squats down at the table to make eye-level eye contact with the guests, or if they address the guests by name, their willingness to give (more) tips can be significantly increased.
So how do you behave properly? Based on life experience and tip tips from the travel portal Check24the guide Marco Polo and the travel blog Travelbloke we have developed a four-part tip guide.
1. How much it is customary to tip
Tipping should be a bonus. A voluntary. If you found the food delicious, the service good, the guide competent, it serves as a means of expressing exactly that.
It is an unwritten law in Germany to add about ten percent to the bill in restaurants, for example. That way you are on the safe side. But it also means that if you omit the tip, you express your dissatisfaction with the flower.
The ten percent rule is also a good benchmark in many other countries. For example in Spain, Portugal, Greece, Croatia, Poland, Hungary, Romania and the Czech Republic. It is also a good guideline in Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt and the countries of Latin America – although 15 percent is not uncommon there.
If you give less or nothing at all, you will probably only be looked at in Scandinavian countries. In Sweden, a service fee is usually already included in hotel and restaurant bills, as is the case in Finland and Switzerland.
The same applies in France when the restaurant receipt reads “Service compris” (service included), or in Italy when it states “coperto” (coverage). In restaurants in Latin America, too, it is not uncommon for a flat rate to be added to the bill. Needless to say, the staff is happy there as well as here, flat rate or not, if guests still round up a little.
This bill does not include service, so tipping is encouraged
Source: pa/Lars Halbauer
If the service is not shown separately, a tip is expected. In Italy, 10 to 15 percent is common, which is also considered appropriate in England or Ireland. North America is expected the most: because wages in the service sector are often very low there, a tip of 15 to 25 percent has become a matter of course, and it is given to diner staff, liveried waiters and pizza delivery drivers alike. It is not uncommon for the tip to be demanded unequivocally in the USA.
2. How to get rid of your money
So much in advance: there can be problems. For example, if you kindly tell the waiter at a restaurant in Paris that he should round up to an even amount, he will probably play deaf and give you the exact change. In France, as in Spain, Greece or Turkey, it is customary to simply leave the tip on the table. Always in cash, even if you paid by card.
The situation is different in Scandinavia, where cash is slowly dying out. There are shops and restaurants that only accept cards or payment via app. In Sweden, some restaurants give you a card reader to type in a total amount (with or without a tip). But nobody gets angry if you don’t round up, since service flat rates are often already included, as mentioned.
Even with a drink in the evening, the tip does not necessarily have to be planned for when travelling. So he is rather unusual when visiting bars in Spain, Portugal or France. In England, however, you can show your appreciation by asking the bartender for a drink.
Whether in the hotel or on the cruise ship – tips for the cleaning staff are simply left in the room
Source: pa/dpa theme service/Andrea Warnecke
If you want to pay the kitchen team or other staff in the hotel without direct customer contact, there is a tip box at the reception in many countries. Baggage porters are simply given small bills or larger coins, in many places 1 to 2 US dollars or 1 to 2 euros per course or piece of luggage is usual.
In a similar way, the room staff is also considered by the guest – only that the tip is not handed over personally, but left in the room. Typical places for this are the pillow on the bed or the shelf on the bathroom mirror. Especially with higher amounts, the recipient can see that the donation was meant and that the guest did not simply leave the money in the room.
International rates are 1 to 2 dollars (or euros) per night. However, room service in the USA expects more: between 2 and 5 dollars, depending on the type and class of accommodation. In Southeast Asian countries, on the other hand, amounts around the equivalent of 50 cents are common, if at all.
3. Avoid tipping blunders
Caution is advised when traveling to Japan, where well-intentioned generosity can become quite embarrassing. Making things as comfortable as possible for the guest is a matter of course in restaurants and hotels there. This means that tips are quickly perceived as an insult here.
Exceptions: In ryokans, the traditional Japanese inns, you can pay tribute to the waiter, and in hotels of western chains you can hand the porter 200 yen (1.40 euros). But in an envelope, please: handing over money openly would be tactless.
The principle “better than nothing” also leads to a faux pas in some places: Anyone in Thailand – at least in better houses – who leaves or pockets less than 10 baht (almost 30 cents) is giving too little and ends up making a mistake. In Spain or Portugal, no small amounts are left behind either. This is perceived by the staff as extremely stingy and impolite.
4. Traveling in a taxi, on a cruise or in a group tour
Taxi drivers around the world often do not expect a fixed tip – that the passenger rounds up the amount due, but they do, at least in Scandinavia, Latin America, many countries in Southeast Asia and North Africa. In Italy, Portugal and Spain, drivers are relaxed if the passenger only pays appropriately.
In England, Hungary, Greece, Belgium and South Africa, on the other hand, it is better to follow the ten percent rule. Only in the USA and Canada is more expected or directly requested if one should forget it: 15 percent is usual.
Those who go on a cruise should also deal with the topic. In the travel description under the item “Services” it can sometimes say: “Tips are not included in this trip.” Means: That you pay them in addition to the travel price is seen as a matter of course.
Major cruise lines help their guests by leaving “tip recommendations” that add up to $20 per passenger per day. In some cases, the tips are even debited from the guest’s on-board account – if the guest is not satisfied with the on-board service, he must act by reducing the amount.
For group trips, it makes sense to hand over the recognition for the guide collectively. This is usually done at the end of a trip – when saying goodbye in the lobby or at the airport. The usual amounts are between 3 dollars per day and person in some Asian countries, up to 10 dollars per day and person in the USA or the safari countries of Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya and Zimbabwe. Handing over the recognition in an envelope also shows good tact.
And in Japan you can make the guide happy with a souvenir from home, for example marzipan or gingerbread.
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