Tipping in the USA

meggiebeth

WDW, DLR & DLP enthusiast
Joined
Aug 1, 2011
Hello all! Wondering if you all can help. I am visiting the USA soon from Europe and am struggling with knowing when and where to tip - and how much! I know you need to tip at restaurants - we have done this during our prior trips - but we will be using more services this trip that I believe require a tip. So far I have:

- Valet parking
- Hotel staff delivering bags
- Being served at a bar

I am assuming that tips are unofficially essential for these services? I’m really struggling with when I need to tip for each service, and for how much. (For example, with valet parking, when do I tip the valet person? With the bar tender, do you tip when he gives you your drinks?)

Are there any other things we will be expected to tip for?

Is 18-20% still a respectable amount to tip for meals? (The last time we visited Florida was 2013 so I’m not sure if things have changed since then.)

Thanks very much for any advice you can offer - this whole concept is rather foreign to us and we want to make sure we are following customs!
 
Hello all! Wondering if you all can help. I am visiting the USA soon from Europe and am struggling with knowing when and where to tip - and how much! I know you need to tip at restaurants - we have done this during our prior trips - but we will be using more services this trip that I believe require a tip. So far I have:

- Valet parking
- Hotel staff delivering bags
- Being served at a bar

I am assuming that tips are unofficially essential for these services? I’m really struggling with when I need to tip for each service, and for how much. (For example, with valet parking, when do I tip the valet person? With the bar tender, do you tip when he gives you your drinks?)

Are there any other things we will be expected to tip for?

Is 18-20% still a respectable amount to tip for meals? (The last time we visited Florida was 2013 so I’m not sure if things have changed since then.)

Thanks very much for any advice you can offer - this whole concept is rather foreign to us and we want to make sure we are following customs!
Is it just you? Or If it more some places to eat include the tip in the tab.
And really if you do get really bad service don't hesistate to not tip. But for the most part I think that has only happened a few times.
I don't really know about how much to tip at bars.
Valet is usually a few dollars for parking and getting the car back as employees may have changed when you return.
 


For bartenders, when you tip usually depends on whether or not you open a tab. Depending on where you go, some places allow you to open a tab (sometimes with leaving your credit card with them, other times not), and other places require you to pay for each drink immediately. If you pay for your drink(s) right away, most people will leave $1-2 per drink as a tip, depending on the price and complexity of the drink. When paying a tab, many people will leave a percentage of the total bill as the tip.

I'm not totally sure what the norm is with tipping valet, but I usually give them a tip when they take the car to park it, as well as when they return the car to me, since it may not always be the same person who does both.

Cab drivers and baggage handlers you typically tip at the end of the service.

If you're planning to get any kind of salon or spa services (hair cut, nails, massage, etc), tipping is pretty common, again, at the end of the service.
 
Good thing you posted this, meg! You’re sure to get a clear, concise, universally agreed upon answer to your question! :laughing:;)

18-20% of total cost — restaurant servers, bartenders, cab drivers

$1-$2 — per bag for bellhops, per drink for bartenders if not running a tab

$2 — per guest in room, per day for housekeeping, minimum $5

$2-$5 — valet pick up and drop off each way
 
Bell services - standard tip will be anywhere between $2 per bag upon delivery to your room to $1-$2 both when they take your baggage and when they delivery it ... additional for extra service, heavier bags or items not in standard suitcases, etc.

Valet - standard tip will be anywhere between $2 just upon pickup to $1-$2 for both drop-off and pickup.

Restaurant meals - standard tip for good service will be anywhere from 15% of pre-tax subtotal to 18% of post-tax total ... additional for better service.

Bartender - standard tip will be anywhere between $1-$2 per drink to 15% of the cost of the drink ... additional for better service.
 


I use to tip valet both ways until I met a few of their moms and found out they share tips, so now I just tip when they bring the car.

If you get your hair done, tip the person who washes and the stylist.
 
I use to tip valet both ways until I met a few of their moms and found out they share tips, so now I just tip when they bring the car.

If you get your hair done, tip the person who washes and the stylist.

They share tips at many places. But when you get your car out, the guy that put your car in might not be working that day.
 
Hello all! Wondering if you all can help. I am visiting the USA soon from Europe and am struggling with knowing when and where to tip - and how much! I know you need to tip at restaurants - we have done this during our prior trips - but we will be using more services this trip that I believe require a tip. So far I have:

- Valet parking
- Hotel staff delivering bags
- Being served at a bar

I am assuming that tips are unofficially essential for these services? I’m really struggling with when I need to tip for each service, and for how much. (For example, with valet parking, when do I tip the valet person? With the bar tender, do you tip when he gives you your drinks?)

Are there any other things we will be expected to tip for?

Is 18-20% still a respectable amount to tip for meals? (The last time we visited Florida was 2013 so I’m not sure if things have changed since then.)

Thanks very much for any advice you can offer - this whole concept is rather foreign to us and we want to make sure we are following customs!

18-20% is fine for restaurants.
Valet, a couple of bucks in, a couple of bucks out.
Bag delivery 2 bucks for the first bag, 5 bucks for two-4 bags. And if you have a large amount of bags, well go even higher.
Being served at a bar. if you're running a tab, 15-20% of the final bill. Round by round, Keep it between 15-18%. But there is no need to count it out to the penny.
At fast food places where I order at and pick up at counter and clean my own table zero
Hotel maids. Fewer than 1/3 of hotel guests actually leave a tip. I go by the bed rather than by the person. One bed is $3. Two beds is $5. Go a bit higher in a higher end hotel.
Room service. Also 18-20%
 
I only tip:
  • The valet that brings me my car
  • The porter at the airport who takes my bag
  • People who get a "server's wage"
For meals, I will tip 10-20% of the subtotal (pre-tax) minus any alcohol, depending on the service.

No one else gets a tip for doing their damn job.
 
I only tip:
  • The valet that brings me my car
  • The porter at the airport who takes my bag
  • People who get a "server's wage"
For meals, I will tip 10-20% of the subtotal (pre-tax) minus any alcohol, depending on the service.

No one else gets a tip for doing their damn job.

Minus alcohol???? Why???
10%????
Well I guess if we were dining I would have to leave an extra tip. Lol
 
Tipping is out of control in this country. People want a tip for breathing these days.
Agree. Pay a decent wage problem solved. Housekeeping is actually a non-tipping position as an nicety we will leave a dollar here and there.
 
What annoys me are those restaurants that are basically self service where you order on your own and then someone brings you your food. In Disney springs you have for ex Wolfgang Pucks and Polite Pig. Polite pig is even more tricky as you also have a condiment bar that you have to go to yourself. We just threw a few bucks down on the table and didn’t care. We will not pay a 15 to 20% tip if 1. We have to stand and wait in line to order our food. 2. Someone simply brings our food out to us And That is it. polite pig it was so ridiculous we are right next to the kitchen food came out for our family I would’ve rather gotten up to walk those few feet and save 20 bucks. It’s not like we felt like we were getting any type of service I really wonder if these types of restaurants Use this concept of avoid paying true minimum-wage.And expect us to take care of the rest of your pay. Someone at McDonald’s probably has a higher salary due to reg minimum wage. This concept they probably hire all staff as servers even those who take your orders, and that you take care of the rest of their pay
 
Minus alcohol???? Why???
10%????
Well I guess if we were dining I would have to leave an extra tip. Lol

The server is not making a drink for you in most restaurants, they are putting the order in the system and the fetching it from the bartender. Plus alcohol is charged a premium (because they can). Don't even get me started on ask why I should pay more tip if I order a $30 steak than if I order a $15 chicken dish. Why? The server isn't doing any more, they are still just delivering a plate.

If I have a $35 bill (~$4 of which is tax, for which the server did NOTHING, it's literally added on to your bill), the before tax cost is around ~$28-ish. 20% of $28 is about $5.60, which I would probably round up to $6 because I hate change.

Here's the thing, though. The server gets a "serving wage" of like $2 and change. I've given them $6, and have been at my table for 30 minutes to an hour+15 minutes. The server has at least 4 or 5 tables. So take a best case scenario - The server has 5 tables, all of which stay 30 minutes. That means they've had 10 tables in an hour. If every person paid them like I did, for a similar tab, they've got $60 for that hour. Minimum wage here is $10.50. Oh boohoo, servers. *crocodile tears*

Sorry, I'm not accepting any browbeating for this. Servers get what they get from me and that's it. They're already making plenty of money, even with the pitiful serving wage. AND not all of them report their tips, so they may not even be paying taxes on those tips, either.
 
I have friends who wait tables on the weekends to supplement their regular income. ALL of them tell me they bring in 400 - 600 in tips over 2 days.
 

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