Tipping on holiday

[Gemini]

Our friends were talking about their recent holiday and the high price of everything in New York, not to forget the cost of tipping.
I knew from our recent trip to Florida that these days 18% is considered the very lowest tip you can leave. It all adds up to make hefty food bills when you eat out as a family.

I read this interesting article about tipping In Australia and New Zealand this morning.
We have no plans to go there, but if we did I now know we want have such big tips to feel obliged to leave!

Question of the week: Tipping in Australia and New Zealand

Q I read your newsletter last week about tipping in the US. My wife and I are going to Australasia for the first time. What is the tipping culture Down Under? A British travellers are, in my experience, not brilliant at tipping abroad. Many UK holidaymakers seem to think that adding 10 per cent to the bill is the appropriate figure in any setting. Yet in the US that figure will be perceived as insultingly low, while in many other locations it is unnecessarily high: if you want to do as the Romans when in Rome, you might leave a couple of euros on a €50 meal bill, but there is no problem if you do not. Tipping is simply not part of the culture in East Asian countries such as China, Korea and Japan, and sometimes tourists are actively discouraged from leaving any change. Australia and New Zealand are not quite as extreme. Tourism Australia says: “Hotels and restaurants do not add service charges to your bill, and tipping is always your choice.” Similarly, New Zealand Tourism says: “Tipping in New Zealand is not obligatory, even in restaurants and bars…Tipping for good service or kindness is at the discretion of the visitor.” Were you to leave 10 per cent in an upmarket restaurant in Sydney or Auckland, it would no doubt be appreciated – but it is certainly not obligatory. Minimum wage legislation means waiting staff are properly rewarded. In cities, if a taxi fare is $10.50 and you are paying in cash, the driver is likely to round it down – in a sense, tipping you. The one exception I make is for Uber drivers, who I feel are not as well-rewarded as they deserve to be worldwide. But you can happily go through your entire trip without tipping a single cent, and no one will think the worse of you.

[Plantaholic]

That is interesting Gemini.

[Daisy]

That is interesting, Gem. Tipping always seems such a dilemma here. If a 'service charge' is routinely added I (a) think it's a bit of a cheek and (b) wonder if it ever gets to the lowest paid staff whether they are serving or in the kitchen washing pots. I'm much prefer to tip someone who is paid a decent wage to start with and has given good service.

[Gemini]

Daisy when we eat out we notice that it is more and more common for a service charge to be added. It pays to always check the bill to avoid tipping twice!

[Oma]

I agree I don’t mind tipping a server but I disagree with service charge already added ,