"it won't destroy the culture"

interesting view point, which kind of makes the point, that it will

along the lines of I'm a little bit a virgin

I guess it depends on what your definition of a living wage is, since we're constantly told that all workers in Europe make a living wage. To me, that means a hotel maid in London has a decent place to live plus enough to pay bills, save for retirement, and maybe take a holiday once in a while. If they are able to live that kind of life on their income as London hotel maids, good for them! No tips from me. But I get the impression that lots of people in London who earn more, maybe a lot more, than hotel maids still find it very difficult to live on their paycheck ...

Nah, I will continue to tip the hotel maid - the Fodors hill I choose to die on,

When I leave the hotel, I can see that I’m in Rome and will act accordingly.

You can imply that I’m a naive, stupid American - but I do understand economic disparity,
and will always choose to support the underpaid, probably female, immigrant, hotel cleaner.

We're having the perpetual Fodors tipping squabble . . . but it is mostly grumbling at each other while the OP hasn't bothered to return. Maybe she asked the driver how much tip he expects

@nyse - no, I don't think you are naive and stupid, that's a straw man. I do think you are self-absorbed and inconsiderate. When the inhabitants of a country ask you to do or not to do something it is only polite to comply. If whatever it is really bugs you (perhaps like covering up in a religiously conservative country) you can always choose to go somewhere else.

It sounds like a lovely trip!
We were just in England for 12 days including London. We had a driver when we stayed in the Cotwolds one day and we tipped him 10%. He was an employee of the company, I don't know if it makes a difference if your driver is the owner.
There is an article in Travel and Leisure which lists several European countries and suggestions for when to tip or not and the amount.

We found most places were cashless, but on arrival, we withdrew 100 pounds, just to have some money and also to break it down for tipping the bellman handling our bags, maids and in a few other situations and we were glad to have it.

We found in EVERY restaurant we ate dinner in, the bill included either a 10%, 12.5% or 15% tip which you could decline to pay.I know the shortage of waitstaff personnel is an issue in many cities, and I wonder if restaurants are using tipping to attract and retain their workers.

London tipping is what happens when a culture of no tipping gets contaminated by other cultures (only a little bit virgin etc)..
Plus of course, the population of London is the most diverse with a large non-British-born population (>25%?)

So all those little "it makes me feel good" add up into a fully contaminated culture. Thank you.

We've been in England (from the US) for two weeks now and have spent zero cash. I understand this is not the way many people wish to do things, but it's quite possible. Google Wallet and Apple Wallet are accepted pretty much everywhere in the UK.

My son lived in NYC for 6 years and worked as a chef. He earned a wage, and was not allowed - because of some crazy rule - to be part of the shared tipping pool of money.
the front of staff were the only ones that split the tips, and they increased their wages dramatically.
He was the one that cooked the meal, but could not get any extra for it. His wage was lots lower the then front of house people.
Some of the front of house staff doublde or trippled their wages in tips, while he just had his take home pay, yet he was the one behind the great meal.
I just did not get this. as the entire experience in a restaurant is the excellence of the meal plus service.

I wonder how many in America realise that the chef and kitchen staff do not receive any tips. I suppose you cannot see them so they do not matter.

I find the tipping culture in the US to be ridiculous. Please pay your staff the proper wages they deserve. And stop throwing your cash around when you travel overseas. Most people find it quite vulgar. I know you are trying to help the menial workers but it really comes off in poor taste.

Life without buskers would suck, and buskers need tips. Some of them take credit cards, though!

Maybe because the IRS doesn't tax "presumed tips" for kitchen staff? I don't know, but it's a possible reason.

For those who say that tourists tipping in a country where it's not the custom doesn't change the culture. It definitely does.

I've been living in rural Le Marche for 25 years. When I first came here, tipping was absolutely unknown. I once saw a waitress chase a customer to his car to tell him he had left his change on the table. In Rome tipping was not unknown at that time, but was not expected.

Now in Rome, tips are expected; even Italians often tip. In Le Marche, we're beginning to see tip jars by the cash register.

There are so many underpaid people who perform services for us every day. Why do we tip the waiter, but not the checkout clerk at the supermarket? It's true that (in the US) the minimum wage for waiters is much lower than for other low-paid professions. However this is a vicious circle: I can pay you less because you get tips; tips are "mandatory" because you're paid less.

My Italian husband hates the whole idea of tips, even though intellectually he can see the reason in the US. He says it puts him in a master-servant relationship with the waiter, and he's a firm egalitarian.


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That's different. What you donate to a busker is just that: a donation, like a donation to your local orchestra.

That is too much of a generalization -- and a misconception even a lot of people in the States don't realize. Minimum wage differs state to state. In some states wait staff and hospitality workers can be paid less on the assumption the difference will be made up by tips. But in many states wait staff get the same minimum wage as every other industry so with tips they earn MUCH more.

​​​​​​​And in California fast food workers minimum wage is $4 per hour more than for any other industry. Fast food minimum wage has been $20/hr since Jan 1 whereas the general minimum wage is $16/ hr.

Yet no US CEOs want to work for tips. How odd. ;-)