Travel - To tip or not to tip – the traveller’s dilemma

BY LIZ FLEMING

Some years ago, while touring in Tahiti, I watched with gratitude as a young bellman struggled up two flights of stairs, lugging my seriously over-stuffed suitcase. When we finally reached my room, I did what I would have done in any hotel in North America — thanked him with a handshake and a five-dollar bill. Big mistake.

With a look that dripped scorn, the bellman grasped my wrist, turned my hand over and put the cash back in my palm. “I’m not in the habit of taking money from women,” he said. “And you won’t find any other men in these islands who will.”

Tipping, I was later told by the American-born hotel manager, was generally considered insulting in the south Pacific. Who knew? And more to the point, how can any traveller guess what the norm for gratuities might be when visiting a new country?

On a recent train excursion in western Canada, I sat next to a gentleman who was leading a tour group of Australians. “Great people to travel with,” he explained. “Except for one thing. They don’t tip — it’s just not part of Aussie culture.”

And that’s a problem, when you’re travelling in Canada, where everyone from the hotel bellman, to the waitress in the restaurant, to the taxi driver and even the maid who cleans your hotel room anticipate a tip of 15-20 per cent. Not coming through can lead to some nasty glares.

“I build in the tip before I tell them how much a meal is going to cost so we don’t get lynched as we leave the restaurant,” the guide said, with a laugh. “It’s not that they mind spending money — in fact, Aussies are happy to pay whatever’s necessary — they just object to the concept of paying extra for service.”

So how is a traveller to guess whether or not tipping is appropriate, and if so, how much? Start by watching what locals do. In general, North Americans tend to tip more than Europeans and Asians — more, in fact, than people from almost any other part of the globe.

In most countries, it is acceptable to either round-up the taxi fare to the nearest dollar, or to add a 10 per cent tip.

Only in the United States, Canada and Great Britain will the cabbie think you’re being chintzy if you don’t come through with 15 per cent.

In general, most bellmen are happy with a tip of $1-$2 per bag — unless you’re in Azerbaijan, Armenia, Kenya, or Morocco, where $0.50 will do.

Dining out? Plan to leave 15-20 per cent in Canada or the United States, 15 per cent in the United Kingdom and 10-15 per cent in most other countries, but only if the service is good. In some European countries, a service charge is automatically added to your bill. In those cases, no additional tip is required.

If you’re tipping-averse, consider booking your next trip to Japan, where tipping is considered a terrible insult — or to one of the following countries where it is simply not the norm: Australia, Fiji, Malaysia, New Zealand, Oman, Samoa, Singapore, South Korea, United Arab Emirates and Vietnam.