Spas that automatically add a 20% tip to your total?
 

At the Diplomat Country Club and Spa (Hallandale Beach, FL) over this past weekend, a 20% gratuity was automatically added to my massage treatment. Since my massage was $175, the tip amounted to $35.

I've been to some very high-end resort spas and day spas all over the country (mostly in CA, AZ and NV), and this has never happened. Is this a new trend? I usually leave cash in those little envelopes for my massage therapist and feel confident that he or she will get it. When paying it into the giant resort computer system (I'll have to check my receipt to see if they also charged me tax on my gratuity), I'm not so sure that's the case.

BTW, The Diplomat's policy is disclosed in their Spa brochure, so that's not the problem. It just left me with an uneasy feeling. I'd be interested in hearing other experiences or opinions.

They do it at the not as great as people say Canyon Ranch at the Venetian but not at the fabulous Mandalay Bay Spa (Vegas). Honestly, I don't really care. If the service was so bad that I felt like no tip was deserved I would probably raise the issue and demand it be removed.

They added gratuity at the Hershey Hotel Spa - felt it wasn't justified given the curt service we rec'd. I wouldn't have tipped that much.

I've never been to a spa, but this is the sort of thing that would really irritate me. So long as the service was good, I'm make a point of handing out cash tips and asking (or rather demanding) that the 20% be removed from my bill.

At a spa with a lot of international guests, it makes sense to add the tip because the employee is compensated based on tip income. A few guests from Argentina or Japan who aren't familiar with tipping suddenly costs the staff $100 a day.

Yes, they added gratuity at the Canyon Ranch spa at the Gaylord Palms in Orlando. I found it extremely irritating! Especially since they couldn't - or wouldn't - tell me what percentage the tip was. Just that gratuity was included in the price. I wanted to make sure my esthetician got a good, solid 20%+, but had no way of knowing if she was getting 25% or 10% of my fee. I gave extra just in case, and she was very appreciative, but I was very annoyed.

"I gave extra just in case, and she was very appreciative, but I was very annoyed."

Ah, and there's their plan. Get the people who are conscientious about tipping to tip even extra because they want to make sure their attendant gets what he/she deserves. That's why it's so irritating.

The spa at the Gaylord Palms was the first one that I saw added the tip. A facial was $120 which I thought was expensive. I thought the treatment was OK and not really worth the money. I've had better and cheaoper facials.

Rip off.

The local day spa where I live "suggests" an 18 percent tip in their brochure, but leaves it totally up to the client. It's not a gratuity if it's automatic, IMO.