Here’s What You Should Know About Tipping When You Travel

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Is tipping an American thing?

Are there places where you are absolutely expected to tip, or where it is considered even insulting to do so?

Read this post to learn what you should or shouldn’t do when you travel to different parts of the world as far as tipping is concerned.

To answer the previous question, tipping is not exactly an American thing. By that I mean, the practice did not originate in America. Like most things practised in the Western world today, it originated in Europe.

However, it is now practised more in America than perhaps in any other part of the world. The reason lies in a law passed by Congress decades ago that allowed establishments to actually pay workers way below the minimum wage if they earned tips.

Without your tips, many waiters in America can earn as low as $2.13 per hour.

That’s why some people have actually spoken up and tried to encourage fair wages in US restaurants.

Tipping in America

Image credit: Charles Parker on Pexels

In United States restaurants, you are fully expected to tip 15-20 percent of the total bill – before taxes.

Some generous people leave more, up to 30 percent and perhaps more.

The waiters depend on the tips to make something even close to a decent income, so if you tip anything less than the total amount they will wonder or ask you if they’ve done something wrong.

The one thing people often complain about is that waiters feel entitled to the tip. There are numerous instances of waiters chasing patrons down the street to inquire why no tip or less than the adequate amount was left behind.

Also, although restaurants are the most common places, there is tipping in other service sectors such as in taxis, airports, salons, spas and with valets or porters in hotels.

The valet or porter will be content with a $2-3 tip but in the other sectors like hair styling, the person rendering the service might expect significantly more.

If you travel to Canada instead of the US, you can expect to find a similar tipping culture.

Tipping in Europe

Image credit: Adam Derewecki from Pixabay

In Europe, the tipping culture isn’t as strong as it is in America or even Canada. In fact, in some places, tips aren’t expected at all.

For one thing, servers are paid significantly better than in America, so they don’t have to depend on tips to make something close to a decent living.

For another, many restaurants in countries like France, Italy and Spain actually include service charges anyway – so that’s the “tip” added to your bill!

But if you do feel like you really enjoyed the service at a restaurant in Europe and you want to leave a tip, 5 percent of the total fee is more than all right, with 10 percent actually being a significant amount.

In fact, expert traveller Rick Steves actually believes that tipping 15-20 percent in Europe is unnecessary, if not culturally ignorant.

If you make a payment for a taxi, rounding it up to the nearest euro or pound for convenience is also an acceptable tip in Europe and will be appreciated.

Countries Where Leaving a Tip Isn’t Common

Image credit: Jason James on Flickr

In Australia, servers are paid an average wage of $15.38 per hour, in comparison to $2.13 in the United States. So, they really do not depend on tips.

Moreover, Australian restaurants regularly add a service charge to your bills anyway, which means that any extra tip you may decide to leave is absolutely your choice.

It’s a similar thing in countries like New Zealand, Belgium, Switzerland, and the Scandinavian countries. Tipping is generally not expected so you don’t exactly have any cause to lose sleep over it.

Places Where Tipping Is a No-No

Just like other countries in Asia, China’s culture is a little bit different to the culture in Europe | Image credit: Pexels

When you visit Asian countries like Singapore, the Koreas, Japan or China, the best general advice is to avoid tipping. The simple reason is so you don’t offend anybody.

In some places in the East, leaving a tip will be appreciated. But in some others, it might be regarded as an insult. This is because some Eastern cultures strongly believe in taking pride in one’s good work. So being offered money for a kind service strikes all kinds of negative chord.

And the last thing you want is to look like a clueless or insensitive tourist.

Moreover, just to give you some perspective, leaving tips is actually illegal in some establishments in China!

Have you travelled before? What are your experiences with tipping?