There's a tax law difference between service charge and gratuity. We covered this one on another thread last month or the month before.

One option is to just ask the server if the gratuity counts as a tip. As a fairly new business traveler I often find myself confused over what and if to tip at full-service hotels and found that most hotel staff do not seem at all surprised to be asked and seem pretty honest in their answers. The first time I ordered room service and asked if gratuity meant tip or something else I was told it was the tip and the server actually indicated I wasn't to give more. I'm not saying this is always the case or arguing against giving an additional tip - just that if you aren't embarassed to ask this is an easy way to get an answer.

I also didn't know if the service charge was for the tip. But many times (not all) when I ordered room service and tried to give the waiter a cash tip, it was waved away. This has never happened in the US. In the US, more often that not, the waiter would linger for a bit waiting for the tip, which now that I'm well-traveled (and had previously asked the hotel), I knew was already included.

Sorry, meant to say, the tip was waved away when ordering in the UK.

Actually, I have to say I feel rather smart when I receive my room service without adding an additional tip.
The servers do seem to expect you to not know what to do,and in most cases,they probably get double tipped,but the price is inflated enough for me,thank you.
About the pooling issue,many restaurants also pool tips,so it's no different here.

vespertine - where are you from? Where I live, pizza places deliver pizza for free, and we give a tip to the driver.

I've never heard of paying a service charge to get a pizza! :)

Karen

Gratuity? Service charge? Tip? Holy moley, my head is spinning with all the dissections of meaning.

They're all the same thing. And if some hotel wants to use service-speak to hide something, that's their problem. When I see any of the above, it means the person bringing the food gets the money.