Tipping of Various Service Providers in Europe Questions

[Angiebear]

Hello

I haven't been to Europe in about 10 years and I cannot recall the appropriate amount to tip the following but I do recall it was different in the US:

• waiters/waitresses in a restaurant?
  
• city cab drivers?
  
• Drivers taking you to from/airport and ports?
  
• guides at an archaeological site?
  
• driver guides that you personally hired(not ship shore ex) for a few hundred Euro - they are also the owners of their business?
  
• hotel staff?
  
• Did I forget anyone?

Any assistance would be appreciated.

Thanks so much

Angie:)

[Globaliser]

I haven't been to Europe in about 10 years and I cannot recall the appropriate amount to tip ...

Do have you particular European countries in mind? Tipping customs and conventions can vary from country to country.

 

Here's a start for restaurant waiters:-

UK: If a service charge has been added to the bill, no need to tip. Otherwise, about 10%.

France: Most places have inclusive pricing (TTC) - no need to tip.

Germany: I've been told that it's considered polite to leave the small change, probably rounding up to the next euro or two.

[Angiebear]

I will be traveling to Italy, Turkey and Greece....Any tipping customs for these countries are greatly appreciated.

[Cruisin Oma]

Hello

I haven't been to Europe in about 10 years and I cannot recall the appropriate amount to tip the following but I do recall it was different in the US:

• waiters/waitresses in a restaurant?
  
• city cab drivers?
  
• Drivers taking you to from/airport and ports?
  
• guides at an archaeological site?
  
• driver guides that you personally hired(not ship shore ex) for a few hundred Euro - they are also the owners of their business?
  
• hotel staff?
  
• Did I forget anyone?

Any assistance would be appreciated.

Thanks so much

Angie:)

 

Angie:

I tried looking for other boards with this information, and unless it is buried in someone else's roll call, I can't find it. I am travelling to France, Spain and Italy and had the same question.

 

Here is a web site I found that may be of assistance - it doesn't address driver guides (maybe a combination of the guide and driver tip?). But hopefully this will help.

 

Tipping Tradition

One area that can often cause consternation among travelers in Europe is tipping: if, when and what to tip for a service well done is anyone’s guess!

 

You can always lean over to see what other diners are leaving behind, and chances are they round out their bills; for example, if the check was for 5.60 euros, they may leave 6 euros.

 

Unfortunately, there is no universal rule that covers all situations in all countries all of the time. In Bulgaria, it is considered impolite to leave the tip on the table so you would hand the bill and tip to the waiter or waitress, while in Iceland, tipping is not even a tradition.

 

Relax, because the short answer is to tip what you feel most comfortable giving whether in a cab, restaurant or hotel. If you stay in a swanky hotel or dine in a posh restaurant and you are uncertain, you can always check with the concierge.

 

Having said this, here are some general guidelines that might be helpful.

 

Tour guides, for instance, are tipped anywhere from a few dollars a day to $10, depending on how long the tour is, while drivers are generally tipped from $1 to $5 per day. In some countries, public restroom attendants expect an undisclosed amount of change: be prepared to carry either change or tissues.

 

In restaurants, service charges range between 10 and 15 percent and are often included in the bill; if the service was exceptional, you may opt to leave something extra behind.

 

Hotel bills sometimes list service charges, in which case you should not feel obliged to leave more. For porters carrying your bags to your room and showing you how to turn the lights on with your keycard, it is customary to tip about $1-2 per bag; the same holds true for a doorman hailing a cab for you. Additionally, some people leave $1-2 a night at the end of their stay for the chambermaid.

 

Depending on the country, taxi drivers may have lower expectations, but 10 percent is a good round number to work with, especially if they assist you with bags. All this tipping talk might encourage you to appreciate the value of packing light, rolling or carrying your own bags, smiling a lot and learning to say thank you in a variety of languages.

 

The link below was for the site, on thr right side under tipping is a map of Europe, and you can click on the individual country to get the general policies for that country. Unfortunaely Italy does noy have a link.

 

http://www.visiteurope.com/ccm/travel_information/tipping/?nav_cat=237994&lang=en_US

[CruisinGerman]

Greetings from our home city of Barcelona.

 

This topic has been covered (and argued) extensively on this same board.

 

No tipping is required at all in countries such as Spain, France, Italy. Labor laws require all wages to be full wages and benefits and it is illegal for employers to force an employee to count on tips to earn a living.

 

If you feel so inclined to give a little something, just round up your taxi fare to the next euro, leave a few coins on the table at restaurants, bars, cafeterias, etc. (even the fanciest and most expensive ones), and give the bellboy a euro coin if he carries your bags.

 

Have a nice trip.

 

Kind regards,

 

Gunther and Uta

[Angiebear]

Thank you both very much for your feedback. it is greatly appreciated.

Angie

[dbh62ark]

Unfortunaely Italy does noy have a link.[/url]

Here's the Frommers expert's advice on tipping in Italy, which is similar to the advice given for France in the other site that you referenced: http://frommers.com/destinations/italy/0228020157.html. You can also find advice for tipping on other countries by typing "tipping France" or "tipping Greece" into the search box on the Frommers site.

 

Tipping-- This custom is practiced with flair in Italy -- many people depend on tips for their livelihoods. In hotels, the service charge of 15% to 19% is already added to a bill. In addition, it's customary to tip the chambermaid .50€ (65¢) per day, the doorman (for calling a cab) .50€ (65¢), and the bellhop or porter 1.50€ to 2.50€ ($1.95-$3.25) for carrying your bags to your room. A concierge expects about 15% of his or her bill, as well as tips for extra services performed, which could include help with long-distance calls. In expensive hotels, these euro amounts are often doubled.

 

Have a great trip,

Donna

[CruisinGerman]

Greetings from our home city of Barcelona.

 

I would like to know where the authors of the guidebooks aimed at Americans come up with fantasies such as "many people depend upon tips for their livelihood".

 

In the European Union, and especially in Continental Europe of the European Union, there is absolutely no such thing as a system similar to what you have in the United States -- i.e. employers of service businesses are allowed to pay their workers an inhuman minimum wage because the workers are expected to make it up in tips. In the European Union, that type of practice is absolutely ILLEGAL. All workers in the European Union must be paid a FULL monthly wage which is not allowed to depend on tips, be given FULL coverage in the Universal Healthcare system, at least 30 days' vacation plus the normal paid holidays throughout the year, and a host of other social protection which need not be elaborated here.

 

So is Frommer's referring to employers who illegally hire workers? How can Frommers make that quote, basically equating the Italian and other European Union systems to your American system when that is absolutely not true and would be illegal?

 

Folks, I live here, Frommer's does not. I repeat that it is not necessary to tip one red cent in countries such as Spain, France, Italy, Portugal, etc. Those of you who do care to leave something, a few coins on the table would be fine, or rounding up your taxi fare to the nearest euro, and tipping the bellboy one euro for carrying your bags, will be much appreciated.

 

Kind regards,

 

Gunther and Uta

[dbh62ark]

Folks, I live here, Frommer's does not.

That's not accurate. Frommers hires experts in each country to write their guidebooks. That's why I have relied on the advice of the Frommers travel writers for almost 20 years and have found their information to be accurate. These are published experts in each country, and the tipping practices do vary from country to country. Individual opinions in each country vary, just as there are cheapskates and those who maybe overtip in our country. I can tell you that based on your statements on other threads on these boards, many other European citizens do not agree with your practices and opinions. I do watch Europeans in restaurants as we travel--and we have traveled to Europe over 20 times--and have personally observed their tipping practices. We have Italian friends who live in Italy who don't agree with some of the advice you have written on other threads, so I do feel compelled to take up for those who aren't permitted to write on these boards.

 

As you said, tipping is not required in many situations but is appreciated. I can't imagine why someone would pay thousands of dollars to go on a cruise and then not leave tips when appropriate, but I can state for sure that my conscience is clear and that I sleep just fine when I go to sleep at night. :)

 

Donna

[Cruisin Oma]

That's not accurate. Frommers hires experts in each country to write their guidebooks. That's why I have relied on the advice of the Frommers travel writers for almost 20 years and have found their information to be accurate. These are published experts in each country, and the tipping practices do vary from country to country. Individual opinions in each country vary, just as there are cheapskates and those who maybe overtip in our country. I can tell you that based on your statements on other threads on these boards, many other European citizens do not agree with your practices and opinions. I do watch Europeans in restaurants as we travel--and we have traveled to Europe over 20 times--and have personally observed their tipping practices. We have Italian friends who live in Italy who don't agree with some of the advice you have written on other threads, so I do feel compelled to take up for those who aren't permitted to write on these boards.

 

As you said, tipping is not required in many situations but is appreciated. I can't imagine why someone would pay thousands of dollars to go on a cruise and then not leave tips when appropriate, but I can state for sure that my conscience is clear and that I sleep just fine when I go to sleep at night. :)

 

Donna

 

Donna - thank you for your advice. I agree with both of you. I have definitely read that the equivalent of a 15% tip is included in your bill. But having been a college student who humped plates, I have a true appreciation for what those people in the service industry put up with. So if I get good service I always tip a minimum of 20%. If 15% is included in my bill, then I will tip another 5%.

 

Europeans may consider this over-tipping, but your waiter doesn't have to put up with you struggling to understand the menu, numerous questions, and the general language barrier. So if I get good service and I am asking the waiter to put up with my inability to understand the menu, my numerous questions, and my feeble attempts at their language, and the waiter does so while remaining courteous instead of being rude, then a 25% tip is certainly in order. If 15% is in the bill, then I would leave an additional 10% gladly.

[carlmm]

then a 25% tip is certainly in order.

 

I almost do not know how I shall comment this.

While I am one of the Europeans who tend to tip a bit more than required if service is good, I can only advise you not to overtip such drastical. I lived in the States for some time and I am thus aware that the systems work very different here and there - and I act accordingly.

That's the point - the systems are very different. 25% are so very over the top in Europe - I can see how you want to show your appreciation of the service and friendliness of your waiters but what you might feel appropriate at home might be not in a foreign country with different law and customs.

 

As pointed out above, laws in all Western European countries require employees to be paid wages that do not need to be subsidised by tips. Healthcare and other social insurances are mandatory and included.

To overtip might just imply you are ripped of, or even make the recipient feel uncomfortable as something uncustomary can raise the question why this is done. Showing superiority? Looking down?

 

25% - every European would just gasp and faint.

[Albert Ross]

Europe does not have the same tipping culture. Most of the times a 10% service charge is included in the total bill in the restaurant, and this will be clearly displayed as a separate line on the bill. There is no need to leave more. If however service is not included it will state at the bottom of the bill ( the word for service is pretty obvious in most languages so you will be able to figure this out!) - in these cases leave 10%.

In a bar you can leave odd change to round the total up to the nearest € if you wish.

A € for a porter who carries your bags, and perhaps a few € for the lady who cleans your hotel bedroom when you leave is also acceptable.

[Globaliser]

To overtip might just imply you are ripped of, or even make the recipient feel uncomfortable as something uncustomary can raise the question why this is done. Showing superiority? Looking down?

Exactly! One thing that people who have always lived in a tipping culture simply do not seem to be able to understand is how trying to give money away to someone who does not need to be paid it and who has not asked for it can be seen by the recipient as a highly offensive gesture, even if the giver has done it out of the best of motives.

 

So, please "do as the Romans do", rather than as you would feel like doing at home.

[dbh62ark]

Yes, I agree with a lot of the statements here but not with some of the statements made on other threads that are just false such as "Europeans never tip." And the false statement made here that the Frommers experts don't live in the countries that they are writing about. There was a lot of good advice given on the links listed above such as looking at the receipt to determine if the "service included" or "service not included" is indicated. And we all know that some restaurants in some European cities are excluding the service because they know that some tourists will add it. But I do object to some statements made on other threads to not tip anyone anywhere. If you don't agree with the tipping system in any country, you should take it up with the owner/manager of an establishment and not take it out on those who have the misfortune to serve you. But if you fail to leave an tip when appropriate, you will likely find that the people employed in the European service industry will not be rude to you because they are very gracious.

 

I also agree that overtipping is considered rude in some cultures, but some of this is in the way that a tip is given, and that's another subject too. I think we've all seen tourists who have maybe been drinking or whatever who are loud and make a big show of giving large tips. But I have also seen some service providers in other countries who are very appreciative of large tips. I was on a private tour with a fellow passenger in Tuscany who had just won $10,000 in the casino; he was thrilled with our tour and tipped 100%, and the Italian driver was thrilled. A service provider in another country might have been humiliated. So the broad overgeneralizations and exaggerations don't work for all situations everywhere in Europe.

 

Again, it is incorrect to state that all Americans should not tip anywhere in Europe as has been stated on other threads. I know some Americans do not want to take the time or trouble to determine what is and is not an appropriate tip in each culture because multiple countries are visited in one trip, but this is part of being a responsible tourist and helps you to learn about other cultures. In the end, each of us need to be educated to understand what is EARNED and what is expected and then make our own personal decisions. That's why we have resources written by experts such as the ones listed on this thread. For those who are making the effort to conduct themselves appropriately in other countries, I applaud their efforts.

 

Donna

[CruisinGerman]

but no European hired by Frommers could ever have the audacity to say that a worker here in Western Europe counts on tips for their livelihood.

 

That is an outright false statement, and the other Europeans answering on this board will attest to that fact.

 

As pointed out in the other more recent thread, some of your quotations from guidebooks and websites are also contradictory in themselves (information such as "the locals never tip but the tourists are expected to").

 

Obviously, if the locals don't tip then there is no tipping culture and the foreign tourists should also not be expected to tip.

 

Another contradiction in one of your recent quotes was one that suggested "leaving 10% tip at restaurants", and then in the next sentence saying that just leaving a few coins on the table was sufficient.

 

I do hope that you are at least getting the picture that tipping in Europe is very different from what you are accustomed to at home.

 

It is just as appropriate to follow our customs here when you are touring our countries, just as we should follow your customs when travelling in America.

 

How would a waiter in New York City feel if I chose to follow my own custom and left the restaurant without leaving the obligatory 15% or 20% tip?

 

I wouldn't behave like that in your country because your customs are very different and that behavior would be considered out of hand in your country. I would hope our American friends would do the same and try to follow some of our own customs when visiting us here in Europe.

 

Kind regards,

 

Gunther and Uta

[Capsu78]

OK, I'll wade into this swamp since I have a slightly different angle here... Why should it be customary to tip by percentage anyway?

 

It certainly isn't logical, or at least it wasn't last week when a simple glass of wine at an "near the airport" hotel bar in a questionable part of a third rate city cost $20. If I was tipping for "ambiance", the armed security guard by the front door deserves part of the tip for making me at least "feel safer" by giving me a "dog in the fight" if a pitched gun battle broke out.

 

My point is there has been an explosion in "food and beverage" pricing during the last 10-15 years. Now it is a $4 mocha, crappa frappa as opposed to "a waitness named Flo serving you an endless cuppa joe". I had no problem tipping and over tipping Flo, for having to put up with me as part of her job description, but where is the rationale/ value equation for tipping 15-20% on a $20 glass of "$12/ bottle RETAIL" wine?

 

As the Miller Highlife driver says "$11.50 for a hamburger? Ya'all must be crazy!"

[Host Karen]

Every time one of these threads is posted, I suffer the same two reactions: dread and resignation. Dread because I know the same arguments will be presented and resignation because nothing will be learned from the discussion, such as it is.

 

Here is the bottom line and the last word on this thread, as I will close it after I post: Tipping is not customary in Europe. Rounding up to the next euro or pound is welcome by waiters, waitresses, bartenders, etc. Small tips to hotel personnel are welcome as mentioned above. Drivers and tour operators will ALWAYS suggest tips because they know Americans are tippers, but it isn't necessary.

 

Most members who read these threads have already decided how they will handle tips. I think the comments on this and similar threads make that obvious. My advice to those who feel compelled to respond is to rethink that strategy. The result is always the same.

 

Karen

HostKaren@CruiseCritic.com