Tipping is back in the news, with reports that cafés near the Olympic Village in Paris have been pushing tourists to tip between 10 and 20 per cent on top of the standard 15 per cent that’s already included. Meanwhile, in the US (where else?), everywhere from Starbucks coffee shops to local grocery stores now seem to expect customers to leave a tip of 10 to 30 per cent. Perhaps unsurprisingly, this trend, dubbed “tipflation”, is enraging locals.
Luckily for us, tipping in Europe is rarely as costly as it is across the Pond. Here’s how to navigate the shifting niceties of Parisian pourboires and Turkish bahsis without breaking the bank.
• Tipping is out of hand in the US — this is how to deal with it
UK
Covid ushered in a kind of “tipping creep” in the UK, with QR codes and contactless-payment devices increasingly prompting users to “guilt tip” bar staff, cab drivers and delivery folk up to 20 per cent for their services. However, the advice on tipping in restaurants from Debrett’s, the authority on all things etiquette, still broadly holds: “‘Service not included’ means just that, and it is usual to offer … 10 to 15 per cent.” Legislation brought in this year means that all your tips, even via card payments, will go to staff, rather than being siphoned off by unscrupulous restaurateurs. One south London friend recommends the peak-2024 gambit of “pre-tipping” food delivery drivers a pound or two. “They come to you first on their route that way, with hot food and a smile,” she says.
What to tip for
• Coffee Nothing for a takeaway or in some cases up to 15 per cent if you sit in
• Meals Discretionary if bill states “service included”; 10 to 15 per cent if not
• Guides Optional, but £5 for a half-day and £10 for a full day in the case of a good experience
• Housekeeping Not expected in hotels, but about £3 a day for good service, placed in an envelope clearly marked “Housekeeping”, would be warmly received
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France
In French restaurants a 15 per cent service charge is included in the price of your confit and claret by law and waiters get paid a living wage, so tipping is not necessary. However, a small pourboire for good service — usually rounding up bills to the nearest euro — is not uncommon. Sébastien de Lavalette, a Paris tour guide, scoffs at the notion that the 20 per cent add-ons for “naive Olympics tourists” will stick. “The French will simply refuse to pay more,” he says. The escorted-tour provider Jules Verne recommends a few coins as “customary” in France.
What to tip for
• Coffee Nothing for drinking at the counter or a takeaway; a rounded-up pourboire if sitting in
• Meals Service is compris by law, but additional change is acceptable in case of good service
• Guides €2 to €5 (£1.50 to £4) a day
• Housekeeping Hotel staff in France are generally paid a living wage with benefits, but €2 to €4 a night can be left with a note
Spain
Some restaurants in Spain include a 10 per cent service charge in the bill, indicated as servicio incluido, but this is not universal. Kirker Holidays says that as hospitality and service is “a revered and well-paid profession” in Spain there is less pressure on tourists to shell out extra. In general, 5 to 10 per cent of the bill is acceptable, with tips in cash being preferred, as payment machines seldom have tipping options. Jules Verne also advises 10 per cent tips in restaurants as standard in Spain. The travel company Exodus tells guests on its Camino de Santiago Trek to Galicia to budget for a total of €20 to €25 for tipping guides.
What to tip for
• Coffee Nothing for a takeaway; 10 per cent if you sit in
• Meals For servicio incluido meals, tipping is not necessary; about 10 per cent if the bill states servicio no incluido
• Guides €5 to €10 for a half-day
• Housekeeping There’s no pressure to tip, but you can leave €1 to €4 for each night of your stay, with a note
Italy
In Italy modest tipping is standard practice. Rounding up a restaurant bill by a few euros is sufficient (check if servizio is incluso). The bespoke tour operator Audley Travel recommends that travellers tip 10 per cent in restaurants, €2 to €5 for bellboys and taxi drivers (up to €15 for a full day of touring by cab) and €20 to €40 for tour guides, depending on duration and group size. Cristina Marconi, a novelist who lives in Milan but comes from Rome, says that northern Italians tend to tip less than southerners and that card readers offer standardised 10 per cent tips in bigger cities, “as Italians no longer carry coins”. Not leaving a tip, Marconi adds, “is seen as a slight”. The writer Rosalyn D’Mello, who lives in South Tyrol, advises tourists not to be confused by the coperta, a charge for using the table in restaurants that is between €1.50 and €3 and covers table settings, linen, cutlery and other overhead costs associated, but not service.
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What to tip for
• Coffee Nothing for a takeaway; small change or 10 per cent if you sit in
• Meals Look for servizio incluso on the bill, meaning that 10 per cent has been added; otherwise tip about 10 per cent
• Guides €15 to €20 for a half-day tour per couple/family and €20 to €40 for a full day
• Housekeeping About €1 to €4 for each night of your stay
Greece
Tipping isn’t a strong tradition in Greece, with locals doing so only in small amounts. Tipping culture is most entrenched on islands that have high tourist footfall, such as Mykonos, Crete and Santorini. Dawn Hammett, an English teacher who lived in Greece for 20 years, says that when she first arrived in the country tipping was seen as patronising in small family tavernas. Now, however, she says that rounding up bills to the nearest €5 or €10 for good service is the norm in areas with “high numbers of American tourists”. Ask “Perilamvaneta i filodorama?” to check whether service is included. The luxury tour company Unforgettable Greece recommends a daily €20 to €30 for a crew on boat charters and €5 to €15 for transfer drivers.
What to tip for
• Coffee Up to 10 per cent to sit in
• Meals About 10 per cent, unless otherwise indicatedon the bill
• Guides €20 to €40 total for group and private tours
• Housekeeping €1 to €2 for each night of your stay
Germany
Vishal Vora, a British academic living in Berlin, says that — much like the UK — Germany has moved, post-Covid, to almost exclusive use of cards for payment. It has also moved from a “rounding-up culture” of Trinkgeld (literally “drink money”) left in spare change on the counter to card readers suggesting add-ons of up to 20 per cent at bars, restaurants and food trucks. “As a Brit I don’t really like tipping,” he says, laughing. Informal eating and drinking venues often have a Sparschwein (piggy bank) on the counter into which you can drop a few coins if you wish.
What to tip for
• Coffee 10 to 20 per cent on a card-payment machine is optional
• Meals 10 per cent added to card payment is the new norm, but not mandatory
• Guides €5 to €10 a head is discretionary for “free tours” (the trend of young locals taking you on a tour of their town for tips)
• Housekeeping €2 to €5 for each night of your stay
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Croatia
Audley Travel describes Croatian tipping culture as “casual”, with about 10 per cent for restaurants, rounding up at cafés and about €5 for porters marking you out as a good guest. The Dubrovnik tour guide Sandra Milovcevic says: “If you are pleased, leave a tip and you will make a Croatian smile. If you are not, do not.” The luxury tour specialist Unforgettable Croatia also notes the country’s discretionary tipping culture and says that visitors are unlikely to cause offence if they refrain from tipping. It does, however, suggest rounding up taxi fares and bar bills as a “gesture”.
What to tip for
• Coffee Rounding up to the nearest euro is fine
• Meals 10 per cent is considered a sign of appreciation but is not expected
• Guides For a private guide, a tip of €15 to €20 each is suitable for a half-day tour and €20 to €25 each for a full-day tour; for shared group tours about €5 a head is about right
• Housekeeping €2 to €4 for each night of your stay
Turkey
A service charge (servis) of about 15 per cent is often included at hotels and restaurants, though bills can be difficult to decipher and the charge is not mandatory. Kuver is a charge that usually refers to bread, olives, dips or water that are brought to restaurant tables without having been ordered. If in doubt, query the bill. It is customary to leave 10 to 15 per cent for hairdressers and waiters and round up taxi fares. When visiting hammams, Intrepid Travel advises, it is customary to tip the staff about 15 per cent. Mehmet, who has for a long time worked as a waiter in the resort town of Turgutreis, near Bodrum, says that Britons are “second only to Russians” when it comes to generous tipping. He adds that tipping in cash is best.
What to tip for
• Coffee Round up your bill if you sit in
• Meals Check if servis is included; if not, 10 per cent is usually sufficient
• Guides 50 to 100 lira (£1.25 to £2.50) a head a day
• Housekeeping 5 to 10 lira is appreciated, but not expected
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