Las Vegas Tipping Guide

Tipping is an important part of life in Vegas. Be prepared to tip well and often. To do tipping properly, just read on...

Why Tipping is Important

Anyone who has ever worked as a waiter or bartender will tell you that it's a good thing to be a good tipper. They know because they have been on the receiving end. Personal service jobs like waitstaff, barstaff, concierge, bell hop, doorman, all are jobs that take a lot of energy, initiative and shoe leather. They are also hourly jobs with fairly low wages, since management assumes the workers will supplement their income with tips from the guests. Minimum wage laws either do not apply to such jobs or apply differently to them. Much of what these workers do goes unappreciated and unthanked. This is why tipping is important to the work force. For you, the recipient of the service, tipping is what brings the workers back to the workplace day after day and what gives them incentive to provide a pleasing service. The hourly wage alone is just not enough to justify the wear and tear of such a job.

Special Notice for Foreigners. In many countries other than the United States, the "service" is included in the charge for the food or drink or whatever, and so the tradition is to leave no tip or maybe just a symbolic something to say thank you, but never more than 5% or 10%. In the United States, the "service" is almost never included in the price or fee. Thus, leaving no tip or a small token tip is essentially an editorial on how bad the service was.

Whom to Tip

Always a Tippable Service. The following are considered the sorts of jobs that almost require a tip to the service provider unless some extremely unusual situation might indicate otherwise. In the case of food and beverage, the percentage tip applies. In the case of others, the tip will be a fixed amount, ranging from a couple of dollars to some larger amount (like $10 or even $20) depending upon the length of time engaged in the service, the cost of the event, and the value of their assistance. Sometimes, when paying for the service provided, the guest
might "round up" the charge in a generous way and then say, "keep the change."

• Waiter or Waitress
• Fast Food Counters: (tip jar)
• Bartender
• Hotel Room Housekeeper
• Valet Parking Attendant
• Doorman (when hailing a taxi or at the end of a stay)
• Taxi Driver
• Casino and Poker Dealers
• Golf Caddy (sometimes mandatory)
• Spa personnel
• Hairdresser or barber
• Bell hop, Baggage Handler or Sky cap (usually $1-$2 per bag)

Often a Tippable Service. The following are jobs that do not always receive
tips; however, when circumstances warrant, a guest may want to provide an "extra"
to the compensation for a job well done. People who work in some of these functions,
especially those dealing with tourists, do expect to receive a tip at the end
of an excursion or outing.

• Airport shuttle driver
• Bus Driver
• Hostess/Maitre D'Hotel
• Concierge (often at the end of a stay)
• Entertainer at a lounge (tip jar)
• Museum or tour guide
• Excursions (like a "sunset cruise")
• Divemaster
• Instructor (skiing, tennis, aerobics, etc.)
• Interpreter-Translator
• Banquet or Business Center hosts and hostesses (from the event promoter)

Never a Tippable Service. There are a few jobs that should not be tipped,
as it may be awkward for the person providing the service:

• Middle- or upper-management personnel (They are salaried, and paid directly by the company for doing their job.)
• Persons providing a service for a favor or because of a mutual friendship or other informal link.
• Government employees (You do not have to tip the fireman for coming to your rescue.)

How Much to Tip

The General Rule. If, as a guest somewhere, the service was up to the standard you expect, it is appropriate to leave a tip equal to 15% of the amount of the bill. If the service was unusually good, it is appropriate to tip around 20%. Some people are just plain appreciative of the fact that personal service providers knock themselves out to please, and so they always leave a 20% tip. This percentage is the same, regardless of the size of the bill - big or small -- except that very small bills may warrant a tip greater than 20% if it would mean leaving very small change. Many people leave larger tips for breakfast waitstaff, just because the total bills at breakfast are relatively low compared to the amount of work involved in serving the customer.

Exceptions to the General Rule

Bad Service: Tips are, in a sense, voluntary. At least, they're not a contract. So it is not required to tip a service person if the service was bad. Try to consider whether bad service resulted from the provider's side of the equation or from unreasonably high expectations from the customer. This is a consideration when hordes of people are trying to be served simultaneously. That is usually not the server's fault. Leaving no tip - i.e., "stiffing" the waitress or waiter - is a communication that there was a serious problem. Leaving a short tip, like 10% or less, is a communication that the service was faulty. It is usually considered unfair to penalize the server for the sins of the kitchen or higher management. When substandard service is provided, it is more helpful to the establishment to make a complaint to someone in authority, either verbally on the way out, or in writing afterwards.

Broke or out of Change: Occasionally a guest will not have enough money to pay a bill and the tip, or there may not be enough change to pay the tip properly. This is a potentially embarrassing situation for everybody. The best approach is to tell the person that you need to pay the tip later, and ask how you can be sure the money gets to him or her. Then comply. Even if this has not happened to you before, any experienced service provider will understand that this sometimes occurs. For so long as you are as good as your word, there's really no problem, other than the inconvenience of making a second trip to wherever it is to drop off the money.

Great Service: A tip for more than 25% or some amount much greater than usual is perfectly appropriate if the service person really went out of their way to help you. If there was some unusual aspect of the event, or if your demands were very heavy for some reason, a higher tip is probably the best way to express your appreciation. If there was no particular reason for recognizing service "above and beyond the call of duty," then probably it is best not to tip an extra amount. That would be "overtipping" and a sign of confusion or ignorance.

Preparing for Later: Some guests "overtip" upon their first encounter with a server in order to butter him or her up for great service throughout the course of a stay. For example, upon arriving at the pool at a resort for a week-long vacation, some people will pay the bartender an extra amount, in hopes of "buying" his attention for the rest of the time. Generally, this is a mistake. The implication is that if you did not overtip, the service would not be up to your requirements, and that is somewhat insulting. A much better investment in the future is to tip towards the high end of the range (say 20%) without exaggeration, and also to be pleasant, friendly and gracious. The bartender will give you great service for the whole week because you are a great customer, and a good many of the other people there probably are not.

How to Pay the Tip

When paying a bar tab or for a meal with a credit card, just add the tip to the charge. This is an expected way, and if a person does not fill in the "tip" line on the charge, the waiter or manager may remind the guest, to be sure it was not just an oversight. Almost all other tips are paid in currency. As prices have risen, coins have pretty much disappeared from the tipping scene. $1 or $2 is a respectable tip for most services of short duration (like hailing a cab) and $5-$20 is an appropriate tip for service of long duration, like a guided tour or a "sunset cruise." How much of a tip to give depends a good bit on the cost, elaborateness and quality of the service provided. Usually it is OK just to fold the bill and discretely place it in the hand of the person receiving the money. Odds are, the hand will be willing to take it.

A Tip on Tipping: When traveling, keep a stash of $1 bills separate from your other money, so it will be easy and quick to pay the tips. Fumbling for the right change is awkward, stressful, and may result in over-tipping.