How much to tip??
 

Hubby and I are off to Vegas next summer.
Being from England we are not used to the whole 'tips' thing. Brits tend to tip after a meal, but after reading plenty of trip advisor reviews on vegas it seems that everybody tips for everything.
What is acceptable to tip for and how much?

Many thanks

Good question. The standard for full service restaurant is minimum 15%, usually max of 20%. I usually opt for about 18%. Some people say you don't tip on the total amount (including tax), while some say to use the total amount. That's why 18% seems to be a happy medium. If you have a discount such as a coupon for a free appetizer, it's customary to tip on what would have been the total amount.

If you're at a buffet, we usually leave at $1-2 per person, depending on amount of service. No tipping at fast food restaurants. Drinks at a bar are usually about $1 or $2 per drink. Sometimes you'll see a "tip jar" at a coffee shop or other small businesses. Just throw in your extra change or maybe a dollar.

While most people don't do it, it's desirable to leave a few dollars for every night you stay in a hotel. I usually leave $5 for a one-night stay, up to $20 for several nights.

Anyone carrying your luggage should get at least $1 per bag (skycaps, bellhops). Shuttle bus drivers get a couple of dollars; taxi drivers about 15%. BTW, you can download a tip app for your phone which makes it easier to calculate.

This chart might help: http://money.cnn.com/pf/features/lists/tipping/

Oh no, not another tipping thread ;) This is a subject that always seems to get contentious. This is what I do:

Restaurants - I use a baseline of 20% for good service and adjust up or down based on the service received

Bellman - $1-$2 per bag

Housekeeping - $2-3 per day left daily

Valet parking - $2-3 when picking up the car. Some people also tip when dropping off the car but I don't.

Concierge - I don't think this is much different from the UK. From no need to tip for one easy reservation or maps/directions to varies widely depending on the service provided.

Bartender - $1-2 per drink

Pool Attendants - $1-2 if they set up my chair with towels, etc. Nothing if they just hand me towels.

Shuttle drivers (I'm thinking of free shuttles) - $1-2 if they help with bags, otherwise nothing

Tip jars for counter service - nothing to just the change (coins)

I don't gamble so have no idea what the tipping etiquette is there. I'm sure I've forgotten something.

Restaurant tipping is the same as anywhere in the U.S., but I give a big-city style tip in LV, which means 20% as opposed to 15% (always on the pre-tax amount).

But here's a handy rule of thumb: If you are offered a "free" service, you are expected to tip, and usually $1 to $2 per person is appropriate. I do not, however, tip in casino men's rooms even if there is an attendant, unless I've won a big jackpot. Something you may not know: You are also expected to tip dealers if you win big at their table.

Also, you do need to tip servers at buffets, which I wouldn't ordinarily do anywhere else in the world.

Interesting link. I've never tipped a sommelier separately since the cost of the wine is part of my check and always assumed it was the server's responsibility to tip out just like they do to runners, etc.

I've never tipped a grocery loader either but it's been at least 20 years since anyone loaded groceries for me :)

just carry a big bag of money with you and let everyone reach in and help themselves... much easier

Kind of like trick or treat

What a lot of misinformation here.

Put "tipping" into the "search forum" field and read for days

It took longer than I thought this time :D

Agree with Happy Tourist and Patty. What you have to remember is that many of these people are making minimum wage or below. Wait staff can get as little as $2 per hour, when a student baby sitter gets at $15 per hour, and they have to pay taxes on estimated tips.

The other point is that prices do NOT include sale tax (VAT). Not sure what this is in NV - but it will be added to everything you buy except food in a market (prepared foods will also be taxed).

Other people will have all sorts of reasons why they don;t tip - but the truth is that they are just cheap. Anyone not wanting to tip should not eat in a sit down restaurant or take a cab.

And yes, if you're playing table games and win any substantial amount of money you should tip the dealer.

I don't gamble, but I am curious as to how much you tip the dealer? A percentage? A percentage with a limit?

James Bond always just slips them a pile of chips, but how many and what chips?

You can tip a dealer in a few different ways...

... some people choose to make a "dealer bet" where you can have the dealer play along with you on a hand... a bet of your choice, $1 and up, is placed near your bet and if you win, the dealer also wins... I have seen bets as high as $50 made in this manner on higher limit tables...

... some people choose to make "reward tips" based on what they win in that hand... if the bettor wins $50, he may send any portion of that winnings across the table as a tip... I have seen reward tips as small as $5 on a $50 win to $1000 on a $50,000 win...

... some people choose to make "leave behind" tips... even losers can leave a small amount of chips for the dealers as they depart the table... sometimes its as little as a few dollars or it can be a certain chip or set amount...

...most casinos now have a tip share where all tips enter a table well and are split and tracked for payroll..

Thanks, gary. I still can't quite get it, but if I ever should find myself in a Casino, I will have some idea of what is going on.

Sadly, some of us have never had an opportunity to worry about how much to tip a dealer after a big win! Maybe. . . some day.

Sylvia3, I'm curious what part of the thread you considered a lot of "misinformation". It seemed pretty straight forward to me (ignoring the couple of clearly 'fun' responses).

One point of interest, Doug. You mentioned you normally don't tip for buffets. This was recently discussed in our group at a fancy brunch buffet. My point was that I'm likely to tip as much at one of those as at any good restaurant. When the server removes dishes and replaces silverware up to four or five times during the meal, explains the layout of the buffet, fills water classes, coffee, and maybe mimosas half a dozen times, folds my napkin and resets the place every time I go to the buffet, etc. -- I feel that often a "buffet" server has given me more service than the average waiter in a normal ala carte setting!