if your hotel includes free breakfast, do you tip?

You don't tip. Breakfasts are self-service.

H*** no, even if there is a tip jar out.

Usually no since it is self service. However if the staff does something special just for you ie. Heat milk or provide an item that is not normally on buffe. I would tip as a thank you for the xtra service.

Not all included (not really free) breakfasts are self serve. And, yes, if someone serves you and/or provides service "above and beyond", then I do tip and recommend that you do, too. Keep in mind that norm for tipping in Europe is more like 10%.

'norm for tipping in Europe is more like 10%' The norm for tipping is from nothing to a few small coins, never coming close to two euro.

Hello Jennifer. In my recent trip to London, I was at a small hotel that served breakfast in a dining room in the basement. The cold food was self service, and the warm cooked food was served by employees to the guests at their tables. I think none of the guests put tip money on a table. The employees there did not expect to receive tip money. If money were put on a table, as a tip, the emplyee who carried empty dishes away from tables might not see the money, the money might be put in the rubbish bin. (Edit) The employees working in the breakfast room (two young women) were pleasant, polite, they did good work. I guess they are paid a very small amount of money. And I observed (perceived) that they think they are not appreciated by the manager of that hotel. If I will be a guest at that hotel again, I will give a generous tip to an employee working in the b reakfast room and kitchen.

Norm for tipping is not 10%,, norm is as other poster said,,nothing to a few coins in change. That said , i have been known to leave a coin or two for a girl who was pariticularily pleasant,, or young, figuring shes probaly owners daughter and this is a chore for her, or some places I stay looks like they use immigrants and I imagine an extra .50 or so is appricieated as they are probably not in the higher income bracket like a waiter at a decent resto or cafe.

Actually the norm for tipping depends on the country and even then the particular place within that country. Most of the places that we stayed with breakfast included had very little personal service and therefore warranted no tip. We also stayed at some places, one in Florence particularly comes to mind, where a personal server came to us daily and brought beverages and hot items that we chose. That person would get a tip (from me).

As others already said; I never did and never saw anybody else to tip for breakfast in hotel in Europe and as a matter of fact neither in the USA.

We always leave a tip if there is any kind of friendly personal service, which for us on the last 6 trips was pretty much always. Along the lines of what Pat said (which I agree with) most people working in that industry are low-income workers and I feel if I am able to afford a vacation in Europe I should tip for their service - whether it's the norm or not. For me, it's the right thing to do. To me, it's no different than leaving a tip for the maid, which I always do.

Do you tip the checker at Walmart? Do you tip the counter workers at McDonalds?

Lee funny you should ask,, lol first off, no, I don't tip checkers and McDonalds etc,, BUT my daughter who works at Mcdonalds says that people do occaisonally leave her the change,, and its a big thrill to her and the others when they do. I also tip at full serve gas stations, my son worked at one when he was 16 and one dollar literally made his day,, ( well he often ended up with about 10 total on a rainy day shift) ,, but I see your point. My point is ,, even though I am fully aware of the tipping policy in Europe, I still occaisonally treat someone I encounter to a bit of change,, its not needed, I know this, but sometimes you just feel that is will be a nice gesture.. and I am not a big tipper type normally at home either, 15% is my norm, but once in awhile.. a bit more,, it really doesn't hurt me, we are talking a euro or less, and you never know it just might brighten someones day. I do however almost always tip hotel maids... just saying, one euro per person on piece of paper on which I have written " pour madam , merci" ,, I do that each day so whoever cleans the room gets it, and I always leave the note so they know its for them, otherwise they may just think you left change on the dresser( which in my experience they would never take) . This of course assumes my room is cleaned welll, bed made, towels fresh , garbage emptied,, if a shoddy job is done I do not tip.

jennifer, I've seen a few people leave a generous tip, including one last year that left €10 for the staff in the breakfast room. However, I don't think this is typical or expected. I generally don't leave a tip unless there's something very special with the service. I believe there's information in the Guidebooks on the subject of gratuities, but I can't remember the details. Cheers!

I'll confess I've never been a fan of tipping. People do it here in the US mostly because it's expected and it's expected simply because people do it. It's a vicious circle that only gets more absurd with time (when I was a kid, everyone talked about 10%, then a decade or more ago it was 15%, now people "in the know" say 20% - it's all absurd). At home, I only tip what I have to to avoid insulting anyone - but it's almost never because I want to. If I could, I would get up and carry my own dinner plate to the table and refill my own drink. But I digress... What I really wanted to point out is that there is some evidence that people in countries outside the US sometimes view us as a little naive and a little too eager to show off how much money we have. While no one is going to refuse money thrust upon them, you might be mistaken if you think a big tip will only elicit warm thoughts from the person receiving it. But since this question is about a breakfast-included hotel; No, I would not leave a tip unless there was a staff person who went way above-and-beyond to do something (and I can't imagine what that would be). As someone else noted, money left on the table might be overlooked because they aren't expecting it. And it might elicit a smirk and an eye-roll if it is noticed.

Randy , most obvious you have never worked for tips. First in States tips are not just for the heck of it, you have ridiculusly low min. wages,, and people in serving jobs can actually be paid even less then the normal min.. so tips are basically you the consumer helping the employer pay decent wages( think of it as a hidden tax, lol ) . If you legislate living wages for your service workers then perhaps tipping could be done away with, as it is apparently( and this I find hard to stomach) restaurant owners do not feel they can afford their profit margins to be impacted by paying a decent wage. Secondly, Americans do as a rule do tip very generously, more so then Canadains even( we are mostly in the 15% with an occaisonal 20% tip range, but on the Hawaii forums I have gone on posters( americans) feel tips should be 20 ot 25 % , holy cow) , From my own experience with years of working at a nice place here, yes, Americans often left more then a local would , and trust me we NEVER rolled our eyes at that, we LOVED it, we knew you were overtipping but it elicted nothing but DELIGHT from us.. thanks. I loved Americans tipping me, and I was in position that was considered non tipped by our union, so double bonus for me, higher wages then the servers and Americans giving me five bucks for doing any little extra thing for them, no matter if it was usually my job to do it anyways. lol ( talk to chef re special order, get a candle on their dessert, seat then near a view, place an order for the next daym suggest a nice wine, etc,) I hardly think the french are smirking and rolling their eyes in a derogatory manner either, they may be smiling cause they know you ARE overtipping, but trust me, they are happy as anyone would be to have extra money,, who hates money!

if there is somebody working the room- serving coffee, refilling dishes etc I always tip. usually a small tip every day to whoever is on duty that day.

in general tipping amounts vary from country to country in Europe, there's no "one size fits all" approach.

so what we have learned here is that some do and some dont. i also learned what "checker" is. i had never heard that term before!

"punching your ticket into heaven" , how silly, nope, just thinking it makes me feel good to know someone who has a sucky job can stop for a beer after work. Its not a big deal, its not "overtipping" if you leave less then a euro or so.. its just a nice thing to do.. cynics always see the negatives though. PS no one gets into heaven by works alone.. just a thought.

Yes, some do and some don't here in the USA, too. Even on buffet type self service there is a server who cleans your table after you depart and usually brings you your requested breakfast beverage...coffee, hot chocolate, tea. What's it going to hurt you to leave a Euro or two?

One thing I like about staying in small places - Gästehäuser, Privatzimmer, etc, is the opportunity it gives my to interact with the locals. I once told my hostess in the Black Forest how I tipped, and she scolded me for overtipping. She told me in no uncertain terms that I should round up to the bill up to the nearest Euro and that was it. She would still probably scold me. I now round up anything under 50 cent to the next Euro, but if it's over 50 cent I add 50 cent before rounding. My tipping over the last year has averaged about 10%. Wait staff in Europe do not get paid sub-minimum wage like here in the US. They are subject to the same minimum wage laws as any other worker, so they aren't dependent on tips to make up the difference. In my opinion, the whole tipping thing is a racket perpetrated by restaurants so they can advertise an artificially lower price. It's really a form of lying. I remember the waiter in Rothenburg, who insisted on speaking English to me despite the fact I was perfectly able to understand German (and only spoke German to him). When the bill came it was around €23; I don't remember exactly. I only had a €20 and a €10. I gave them to him and said, deliberately, "fünf und zwanzig", (25), expecting to get a five as change. He went away, never to be seen again. I hunted him down and demanded my change. Seven Euro would have been a 30% tip! He must have believed that clueless Americans are big tippers. I think the concept of tipping is unique to this side of the pond. Europeans don't think of it as a tip, it's just considered "petty" to take the small change. One of my first meals in Europe was in Brussels. When I got up to leave, I left a tip, probably 15-20% on the table. When I paid at the front, I took all of my change. I remember the look of displeasure on the face of the man, apparently because I was taking the change.

Self-serve breakfast room in small pension or hotel: No, not even when someone pours coffee or performs another small breakfast-related task. B&B: No, not even when being completely served...pretty sure my nightly rate sort of covers it, and it would be weird tipping the home owner. Café in hotel: Depends...I follow the generally-accepted practice for the country I'm in. Only in Canada will I tip exactly like I do here. TGI Friday's in Reykjavik: Dang it...I wish I could recall how we handled this one so I could better address James' point about tipping in US corporate chain restaurants abroad. I just recall it being the most expensive lunch I've ever eaten anywhere (high times before their economic collapse). Oh, and the food was just as bad as it is at any Friday's here.

We usually leave a small tip if someone has been brought in to help serve, they check how we are doing and quickly clear our plates. We do not leave a tip at a B&B if we are being served by the owner. A lot of people never leave a tip for their tour guide either and have many reasons to justify this action. People who claim to never tip make all sorts of excuses rather than just admitting that they are cheapskates!

Lee's got German tipping down (not surprising). Took me a while to get used to it. Sometimes servers even react as if 12% is a lot. Had fantastic service at a place we frequent semi-regularly. The bill was 45 Euro so I just gave her "funfzig" - she looked at me deadpan - "Are you serious?" Then my husband chided me for over-tipping...but she wasn't offended, just thought I was being a little dumb, I think, or getting my German wrong. My German tips at restaurants tend to average around 10%, I'm fine with a little under or over if it rounds up to a nice round number. I do not need more euro coins. As for the tipping debate...it's only a racket insofar as the USA does not pay servers a living wage. The issue is with our lawmakers and big business lobbies who want access to an underpaid labor force so they can increase THEIR bottom line. If you don't like tipping, advocate for a higher minimum wage. In some states in the South, servers make under $4/hr. You cannot live on that. You can't even live on minimum wage in most places. As a former server and food industry worker myself, I am inclined to tip "overly well" for really good service, but I'm just as likely to leave an obviously paltry tip for bad service (or no tip in Europe for bad service since servers here aren't taxed on their tips I don't think unlike the U.S.). Restaurant patrons should be able to tell the difference between problems that aren't the servers' fault, and when the server is just being lazy or rude. It's pretty easy if you pay attention.

I wasn't around for the beginning of the history of tipping, but I'm pretty sure it started as an unusual action for exceptional service. At some point, the norm was to simply say thank you. Then gradually word got around that a "better class of people" would usually leave a little something. Pretty soon, people being people, almost everyone began leaving a little something - whether the service was especially good or not. At this point, the servers began expecting it. After a while, it was no longer good enough to leave just a little something (at least in the US) and people began one-upping each other. By this time, it occurred to restaurant owners that this was adding up to a substantial stipend on top of the wait staff's ordinary wage and began to hold back wage increases. Finally, making special exemptions for food industry workers in minimum wage laws became the norm - all because of tipping. This is all a little bit chicken-egg, but it seems to me that if there is any "blame" to be applied in the absurd US tipping situation, it belongs on the lap of the tippers, themselves. They started it. No one wants to take blame for something they see as a kindness. But that's how it has worked out. I have a friend who has spent 30 years being a waiter. He tried at various times to get into another line of work, but could never afford it. He made too much money waiting tables to ever afford to quit.

Tipping amounts in Europe are becoming as regional as in the United States. There is no more hard and fast rule as you travel about. Just like here where we may tip a waiter 20% in big cities like Boston or New York and that amount is deemed "overtipping" in places like rural Iowa or North Dakota where 15% or less may be the "norm", how much you leave in Milan or Paris would be different than rural Germany. There are also differences in how much is left at the end of a meal depending on where you are eating - i.e., you are having a light lunch at a cafe or a 5 course dinner at a Michelin star rated restaurant. I've seen the difference in tipping amounts demonstrated by my European relatives who are scattered across multiple EU countries-some living in small villages and some in major cities. As for tipping at a hotel or b&b after the free breakfast - if it is the owner serving you, no tip required. If the owner is bringing in outside help every morning to make sure the buffet is stocked or guests are served at their tables and tables are bused quickly after you are done with your free grub, then yes, 1-2 Euro is plenty and is no different than leaving $1-$2 for the breakfast room attendant at Hampton Inn in the US. @Randy: While your friend may have made a lot of money waiting tables, he's definitely in the minority. I had a friend in Philadelphia who used to wait tables at Le Bec Fin who did quite well for himself with tips. But I have a brother in law who manages a popular chain restaurant in the U.S. and the waitstaff there is struggling to make ends meet even with their tips. We recently needed to clear out a lot of old furniture, electronics and housewares from a relative's home who had just entered a nursing home. Nearly all of it was snatched up by waitstaff my brother in law knows. They are hardly raking in the bucks.

I sometimes tip in a hotel breakfast room if the server is attentive. At one hotel in Munich, we stayed for 4 nights. After the first morning when I asked for coffee right off the bat, the server didn't ask again - he knew I wanted coffee. That takes effort and an interest in your job. So, each morning I left a .50 tip. ALso, remember that here in the U.S., wait staff can end up paying income taxes on tips they didn't receive. In an effort to curb under-reporting of tips, the IRS put in rules years ago that bascially presume a certain amount of tips will be earned and will be taxed.

Ceidleh makes a good point. I know a waiter in SF who makes about $70k a year between wages and tips. Sounds like a lot, right? But he's working at a Michelin-starred restaurant, is extremely good at what he does, and when you consider the cost of living in SF and that most public servants make WAY more than he does, it's not extravagant, it's a decent middle-class living for a middle aged guy in SF, working a job he can't do for many years due to the physical nature of the work. I was a server when I was 19-20 and I was exhausted then. I can't imagine doing it now at 32, or at 42 for that matter. Being on your feet all day, moving constantly, the constant pressure of trying to please the customer - I hated serving, so I have a lot of respect for good servers. It's not an easy job. I feel like an attentive server deserves the tip no matter where we are, but I still try to adjust what I give based on local expectations. Steve - the point you bring up is what i was referencing obliquely in my post about taxes. I've been told but haven't verified that if you tip less than 7% on the bill in the U.S., you're screwing the server over, as that's what they're taxed at. So I will tip that much for bad service in the U.S., I tip nothing in Europe for terrible service. But I don't want to "steal" from even bad servers vis a vis their taxes.

It's actually 8% that the IRS assumes is the miminum a server has earned in tips on what they've "sold". And I agree with everything Sarah said. Unless you've been a server, you have no idea how hard it is. And for those that don't like how the system is here in the US, and don't tip well for good service, you shouldn't eat in restaurants that have table service / servers.

".... you shouldn't eat in restaurants that have table service / servers." Rest assured that I try to follow that advice as much as humanly possible.

@Sarah: "... since servers here aren't taxed on their tips I don't think unlike the U.S. ..." In Germany (and there is no European income tax law) that depends. Servers who are employees and get the tip in question voluntary and directly from the customer in addition to their regular pay don't pay taxes (EStG §3.51). If any element of that sentence isn't there (e.g. the server is the owner of the pub, croupiers/dealers in gambling casinos (= no wage), the ladies at public restrooms (= no wage), some tip pooling system) they have to pay income tax. If tips are undocumented German authorities will usually assume 2.5% of the turnover in tips.

Thanks for that good information! I can't imagine ever leaving less than a 2.5% tip, but I'll keep this law in mind if I am ever so angry with service that I am tempted to leave nothing behind. Which hasn't happened so far yet in Europe.

In Brussels a few months back, we got nice personal service from a gentleman at our "free" breakfast and we left him a tip. If that's a faux pas, then oh well. The same day, we went to a restaurant where the service was lousy. I left no tip and really wanted to tell the waitress she needs to work harder. So I'm not a sucker and I'm not trying to buy my way into heaven. I just genuinely like doing things for nice people.