This is my last article from my trip to China. While having dinner in Shanghai recently at a fantastic restaurant called The Bund, we started talking to the table beside us.
This wonderful group of 10 turned out to be fellow commonwealth members, from Australia, vacationing through China. At some point someone asked “does anyone know when and who to tip in a hotel?”
The group at my table laughed and said, “Charles, do you want to answer that question?”
That’s such a great question I had to jump in. Now, first I think you might like to know that the word “tip” stands for, which is “to insure promptness.” Originally a tip used to be given before you asked for a service so that you could ensure good, quick and professional service. Today it is customary to give a tip after the service is performed.
So the short answer is you can give a tip to anyone who goes out of his or her way to help you, but below is a basic chart to help guide you. Now I have purposely left out how much to tip, because that is truly dependent on where you are in the world, what kind of hotel you are staying at and how generous a tipper you are.
People you should tip in a hotel
- Bellman who carries your luggage to and from your room.
- Housekeeper who cleans your room (most forgotten employee).
- Concierge who makes your reservations and/or advises you on local plans and information.
- Waiter/waitress in the restaurant.
- Room service. Although they generally already have a gratuity added to the invoice, most still give a little additional gratuity.
- Car jockey when they return your car.
• Got a question? Send an Email to askcharlesthebutler@metronews.ca
