Tipping is somewhat of a controversial topic, depending on who you ask.
Traditionally in the U.S., people tip when they are served food or drink at a restaurant or bar. It’s also typical to tip a valet who parks or retrieves your car for you, a ride-sharing driver or taxi driver who takes you somewhere, and a beauty professional who cuts or styles your hair.
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Go to a different country, however, and all the rules change. Asia often frowns on tipping, for instance, and it can be considered an insult in China or Japan if you try to do it.
One newer practice has also confused Americans in recent years: tipping when they pick up takeout. The option is there on digital screens, but many feel they are not obligated to tip if they pick up the food themselves.Â
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For others, however, it’s simply confusing. It’s not at all unusual these days to see a person peering at the screen as they pay for their takeout, unsure of whether to leave a tip.
Now a new type of tipping is starting to pop up in some hotels, and if you travel often, it’s good to be aware that you may encounter it. Whether you should go with the flow and tip in this situation, however, is an entirely different story.
A cash tip is often a server’s favorite thing to see.
Image source: Shutterstock
Pushing back on a newer tipping policy
At your next hotel check-in, you might just encounter a front desk employee who is expecting a tip, travel and points expert Gary Leff says in a new post on View From the Wing.
Leff, a frequent traveler, says he’s experienced this at several hotels, including Hyatt Centric Boston, Marriott’s Fairfield Inn New York Midtown Manhattan, and Marriott’s LeSalle Hotel.
While he says he’s seen QR codes pop up on cards to tip housekeeping staff at hotels before, the ask to tip the front desk for check-in is a fairly new thing — and one he doesn’t like one bit.
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“Staff are expensive, and shifting their cost onto the guest to pay is one way owners manage costs,” Leff says. “Another is automating the front desk entirely using kiosks and mobile check-in. Massive tip inflation, and spreading to new scenarios, is a good scam for businesses. But it is time to make it stop. If you see one of these signs soliciting tips for front desk staff, please do not do it.”
Leff also notes that some hotel employees report that “a front desk agent at a big, busy hotel can take home from $500 a week to $500 a night this way.”
Republicans campaigning for changes to tips
This news comes at an interesting time in the conversation around tipping, as the No Tax on Tips Act was passed by the Senate on May 20 and is now on its way to the House.
The act, if passed, would create a tax deduction worth up to $25,000 for tips, limited to cash tips that workers report to employers for withholding purposes on payroll taxes. This tax break would be specifically for employees who earn $160,000 or less per year.Â
Recent reports show more and more Americans are experiencing tipping fatigue, with the average tip at full-service restaurants in the U.S. hitting new lows, per research from Toast.
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