How much, to whom and when? Rules for tipping vary greatly from country to country, some places it’s the norm to not really tip a lot and others its considered rude not to, so how do you get through this cultural etiquette minefield?
Starting with the easiest, Around Asia it can vary but not a lot, in Japan there is absolutely no tipping here at all, it will cause embarrassment and offence to those been tipped. Then we have the Chinese Government who have set up policy that foreigners will be charged more, most of the time you will only need to tip in restaurants and that will only be about 3% and in your hotel for concierge service and that is normally the equivalent of £1.50. In China there is no need to tip taxi drivers however in Hong Kong you normally need to round the fare up and tipping in restaurants is normally about 10% to 15%.
In the United States tipping is seen as the norm for most services, in restaurants you defiantly need to tip, the standard is usually about 15% however in more up market places you are generally expected to tip around 20%. Taxi drivers will also be expected to tip especially in larger cities like new York where they expect 20% however in smaller places you can generally round up. Concierge services will also be exiting a tip normally around £2 to £5 and if they arrange a more difficult task you normally end up paying around £10 to £15. Canada also follows similar to America but can vary depending on which part, English or French. In Mexico you are also expected to tip for every service you receive as people here do get paid very little for the service they provide.
Around Europe you are mostly expected to tip in restaurants and its around 15% to 20% dependant on service and standard, the only difference is France where in bars you do not need to tip as by law this is included in the price. It’s also the norm not to tip taxi drivers.
If you follow these simple rules and you are generally less likely to be caught out when on holiday.
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Picture courtesy of photos8
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