Holiday Tipping

People who are frequent travelers must have faced a situation quite often where they find themselves totally helpless when it comes to tipping. More than helpless, they find themselves to be clueless as to how much is the ideal tip and who should be tipped. It also depends on which place are you traveling to. In some Asian countries, it is a disrespectful gesture to leave a tip while in some places, it is expected that you tip and sometimes, may even be demanded. This is one reason as to why there is so much confusion regarding where and how much you should tip. If you have been in a similar situation, the information given below on holiday tipping should be helpful.

Guidelines & Etiquette - Holiday Tipping

You need to know the rules and customs of the place you are traveling to. Do your homework and do some research about the lifestyle of the place you are going to visit. It will help you save any kind of embarrassment later on.
In a hotel, you have different people for different services. Right from the moment you step out of the cab, a man takes out your luggage from the cab and delivers them till the hotel lobby. Thereafter, another person takes it and delivers it till the elevator. When you reach your floor, another boy comes and escorts you till the room. In such a case, the last person who escorts you to the room gets the tip.
A tip is usually expected when the service has been exceptionally good. In a good restaurant, you are expected to pay 10%-15% of the total amount of the bill as tip. But if you are in a bar, you don’t necessarily have to pay a tip. At the same time, in some countries, taxi drivers also expect a tip and it is ok to give out loose change. Usually, if a cab driver has been essentially nice to you and drove fast without a fuss because you were getting late, it is expected that you pay him something extra.
In your vacation, if you are going for a spa treatment, it is a common practice to tip around 15%-20% in places like US. In other countries however, a service charge is usually included in the total bill and it is not customary that you tip the masseur.
Tips can also be given to tourist guides as they help you in getting around a place and provide useful information. If a guide has been particularly helpful like getting you a cab or helped you with golf or is a fishing guide, it is expected that you tip.

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