tip at hotel?

You will probably get lots of differing answers, but here goes for my two cents:

No, there is no need to tip at a hotel and even less so at a B and B. You do not mention what you are intending to tip for, not sure where the 10% is intended, but you would get some odd looks and confusion if you tried to up your B and B bill by 10%.

The only place I can think to tip would be at a better sit down restaurant where you get table service. Look at the bill first, they may already have a 10% service charge in there. For a Pub where you go to the bar and get a beer or order food, no tip is expected, except in touristy places maybe.

Taxis might also get a tip, but probably only a bit of change or rounding the fare.

Some may tip housekeepers, doormen, bellhops...I usually do not stay places that fancy to have to worry about it, but see no need to do so.

At a B and B, the Owners typically are caring for you, your cost of stay is compensation,

No tips at hotel or B& Bs, other than in a restaurant in a hotel, if service hasn’t already been added.

Taxis - 10% or just under, whatever this rounds up to. No tips at bars for drinks.

Highly unusual, if not downright eccentric.
Tipping, in the form of »keep the change«, is limited to cafes, restaurants and taxis, and even that is in many countries - especially in central and eastern Europe - not customary.
In all my travelling in that area I only had once a waitress indignant not getting a tip. That was in touristy Dresden, probably spoiled by too many Americans.

It's a great question in terms of Americans trying to be sure we do the right thing in other countries. While it may be eccentric or "spoiling the staff" in some countries, in the US, it is very much "expected" to leave a tip for the hotel room staff and others who provide service such as porters. Though of course that can also vary by property type and their policies or expectations.

In this respect it is a totally different culture. I once made the opposing mistake by not tipping in a Boston restaurant. It was somewhat embarrassing that the waitress had to follow me on the street to remind me of my omission.
Having said that, weren't there some initiatives - in New York if I remember correctly - to introduce a »service included« system?

Yes, so true. And as the rules or expectations vary by country in Europe, so they can vary by state in the US. While I generally assume the rules and expectations for tipping are similar from state to state, there could easily be legislation to introduce policies that differ.

Having said that, weren't there some initiatives - in New York if I remember correctly - to introduce a »service included« system?

Yes, and from what I hear, they were abject failures. Some of it was due to people feeling that they just could not "not tip", but overwhelmingly, for all the talk of providing a "living wage" to wait staff, that is the last thing that both staff and owners want, especially in higher end restaurants.

In the US owners pay a sub-minimum wage to staff because "they receive tips as part of their wages". We tip because staff "are paid a sub-minimum wage". The current system benefits owners because they have less revenue as risk and they can overstaff to exceed service needs, send home unneeded staff when needed, who are happy to go if they are not making tips.

From the staff standpoint, they can work fewer hours and make significant wages, know many wait staff, family members have been wait staff, a good restaurant can yield $100 to $500 a night, in places where tips are cash, that is mostly tax free. Most wait staff at a higher end restaurant, or even a popular sports bar would laugh at you if you enforced a "No Tip" policy and offered them $15 to $20 an hour.

At most restaurants in the US, if you want to start a fight, ask the back of house staff (Cooks, Chefs, etc.) what they think about wait staff and tipping, and if it is fair.

So, for Americans, its not really a gratuity - a reward for good service - its a surcharge for labor costs. That just doesn't sound right. And I know many, many Americans who do not tip hotel housekeeping. Tipping seems to be the one area where some people refuse to follow the "when in Rome . . . . " rule of good behavior. Kudos to the OP for wanting to find out the local custom.

Hi -

One thing you can do tipping wise in a pub, especially if you are ordering a particularly large/complicated round of differing drinks and you get good and cheerful service is to say the bar person when they give you the bill (verbally) ‘will you have one with me?’ (admittedly this might sound weirder in a US accent than my own industrial West Riding accent). The usually appreciative bar person will then add the price of a half of beer or rough equivalent to your bill and take the cash as a tip as a general rule. No need for the US style ‘dollar a drink’ tip.

This works fine, certainly in the northern parts of the UK and as far as I know throughout the UK. And generally ensures you get good service throughout the night!

Ian

I always leave £2-3 each morning for the person cleaning the room in any hotel (not a B&B). It is an unpleasant, difficult job. If i can afford to travel, i can leave a tip for the maid.

Hi, kfyoung62,

Hotels: No, unless as previously mentioned, a bellhop takes your luggage to your room. If that's the case one pound per bag, if they're large (i.e.: 24" or more). If you're wealthy enough to stay in a hotel with a bellhop, the cost should be of no consequence.

Hotel housekeeping: Two to three pounds per night; more if you've left the room looking like a pigsty.

Pubs: If you order from the bar, 50p for the bartender for one drink; one pound for two to four drinks; two pounds for five or more drinks.

Restaurants: Generally 10%; more if the waitstaff has provided superior service. As previously noted, check your bill to see if a service charge has already been added.

Taxi: Round up to the next pound, then add 10%, and round that up to the next pound. So, for example, if your fare is exactly 14 pounds, add one pound 40, and round it up to two pounds. More if the driver has provided excellent service.

B&Bs: No tip required. If you stay for a few days, and really enjoy the owner(s), a small gift (box of choccies, tin of shortbread, etc.) might be in order. But that's purely voluntary.

Don't forget that these folks are working for a living, and in most cases, making a hell of a lot less than you do if you can afford to take a holiday overseas. Not only that, but with the pound clocking in right now at $1.21, it's not going to cost a lot to make someone's day a little better. :)

Slainte!

Mike (Auchterless)

Tipping Bellhops really irritates me! I have just wrestled my luggage from baggage claim, across town, to the front desk. And then I should tip someone take it up the elevator to my room?

Mike Tipton, then just say “No thank you, i’ll take my bags up”. That’s what i sometimes do.

no need to tip , anyone at anytime.

Hotel housekeeping: Two to three pounds per night; more if you've left the room looking like a pigsty.
Pubs: If you order from the bar, 50p for the bartender for one drink; one pound for two to four drinks; two pounds for five or more drinks.
Taxi: Round up to the next pound, then add 10%, and round that up to the next pound. So, for example, if your fare is exactly 14 pounds, add one pound 40, and round it up to two pounds. More if the driver has provided excellent service.

Can't say I've come across the above before. Certainly wouldn't be handing over extra money to the bar staff for each drink unless I knew them well and was a regular! Even then, it would be only the odd time. Sounds more like the North American way.

Definitely no need to tip in a B&B. The owners will generally be doing everything including the housekeeping and will have set their prices. We have on occasion received a small token from the guests' own country (e.g. a tiny pair of china clogs from the Netherlands, and a small basket from Alaska).

No need to tip by the drink in a bar. If it's a huge round of drinks and a busy bar it's nice to say 'and one for yourself' to the bartender, but absolutely no obligation and not expected.

If I stay at the same hotel for 5 or so days, and have the same person attending to the room the entire time, my wife and I generally leave a tip of €1 , £1, or whatever currency, per person, per day. However, if we don’t have the room cleaned every day, we don’t tip at all. In S. America, where wages are next to nothing, we always give a tip.

Having worked at several jobs over the years which included tips as part of remuneration, I was always happy to receive a tip. Which is why I am always very conscious of tipping people who provide a service for/to me, and why I often tip more than required for services over and above the norm.

Mike (Auchterless)

@FFS - Are you from Aberdeen, perchance?

Pubs: If you order from the bar, 50p for the bartender for one drink; one pound for two to four drinks; two pounds for five or more drinks.

What? Never encountered this in all my many years of drinking up and down the UK. The only form of tipping in a pub is when you offer to buy the barstaff a drink (usually when you're buying your last round/drink), they'll either have a drink or, more usually, take the cash equivalent. You don't do this at every round and even then this is usually customary in pubs where you're a regular and you know the staff.

Hi, JC,

Are you originally from Aberdeen as well?

Mike (Auchterless)

Hi, JC,
Are you originally from Aberdeen as well?

No.