Euro Tipping Etiquette

I would only ever tip in the currency of the country I'm visiting. I would find it rude and presumptious to do so otherwise.

Don’t assume you have to tip. If you’re in a country that doesn’t have the Euro as its currency don’t try and pass Euros (or dollars as is sometimes asked here) as that is beyond the pale. Bottom line is don’t tip unless perhaps you visit a heavily touristy area and it’s “obvious” that a tip is expected.

The thing is, you'd be just passing on the inconvenience and cost of buying local currency to the person receiving your tip.

The days when the US dollar was king and everyone wanted is are long gone. I'm sure now it's just a hassle to have to convert it somewhere (and eat that cost).

Yes, it is poor etiquette to tip in anything besides the local currency. Perhaps no tip is even needed.
In Japan a tip is seen as an insult.

Thank you, everyone, for your replies. I did not presume it was appropriate and only asked when Rick Steves mentioned that many of these countries quote prices in Euros even though it is not their standard currency. We can easily acquire the local currency.

Come to Hungary a country that has been a tipping culture for at least 100 years. But different than the US as there is no pressure to tip if your budget or circumstance prohibits it.

,With a service charge on the bill it's nothing to maybe 5%. No service charge, then 10% is the norm, or more if it was great or less to nothing if it wasn't great.

Euros? Sure. You would be surprised how many locals have Euro bank accounts and there are certain services that prefer Euros. But no coins and only perfect unblemished bills as that's what the banks will require. A tiny tear and it's difficult to change or deposit.

Oh. And you are absolutely correct. Any place that has Euro prices on the menu has accepting Euro tips in their business plan. Crazy to think otherwise.

Of course, if 5 out of 10 restaurants you visit have Euro menus, then toss the RS guide book cause Rick is sending you to too many tourist eateries. 2 in 10 is okay.

Often, but not always, you can tip on your card. So the 8.000 ft bill shows up. You say, charge my card 9.000 and done. If the 20 Euro bill shows up, simply say charge my card 22 Euro. If they say, no can do, and that's fairly common, pull out thr cash, forint or Euro.

The reason its better to pay cash for tips, here in Hungary, is that if you put it on the card the receipent loses 27% to VAT, its automatic and not much way around it. If you pay cash, tips are not considered taxable income under Hungarian law, so the receipient gets the full tip.

I did look up the Czech Republic for you. Same as Hungary. Here is an interesting article on it. https://www.expats.cz/czech-news/article/czechs-less-generous-with-tips-than-germans-or-americans

And just for comparison, in London now there's a "discretionary service charge" automatically added to the bill. Usually 12.5% (for some reason). Which is actually simpler to deal with.

The problem with the service charge here is:
One, nothing discretionary about it, you pay it if its on the bill (it will be noted in the menu before you order).

And two, by law it can only be used to pay employee wages. Well, that doesn’t mean "higher" employee wages, it can in fact (if I understand correctly) be used to meet the minimum wage. So, no, its not a tip. Its a way around VAT taxes that would take a while to explain. By partially circumventing the VAT this way your food just got cheaper. Quite a bit so too, in a cheap restaurant.

The discretionary service charge in the UK is discretionary. Despite it being included on the bill it is not mandatory to pay it, you can ask for it to be removed and they are legally obliged to do so although most people don't ask for it to be removed mainly because of guilt shaming.

Previously there were a few high profile cases of restaurant chains pocketing the service charge instead of passing it on to their staff there has recently been a law passed that ensures that 100% of tips and service charge goes to the waiting and kitchen staff.

isn't the question about Central Europe, and the currency to use?

is it poor etiquette to tip in Euros? If commonplace and perfectly
acceptable,

I think an extension of when to tip and how much is pretty much in line with the question. But the direct question was answered, at least for Hungary, sure, use your euros to tip.

On those occasions in Czechia when we believed a tip was called for, we were able to have it added to the credit card bill. So euros never were even considered. Same in Poland.

Czechs serving in cafes/restaurants etc would not expect to be tipped in Euros but for other services like tour guides or pre-arranged transport then it's ok. Just consider that if you tip in a foreign currency then it has to be a note otherwise they cannot change coins at the exchanges here. Or else they'll just save up tips in Euros and spend them the next time they got to a Eurozone country.