I'm from the States where everyone is used to tipping.

Tipping waiter/waitress is a given.
Tipping barber/airport crew/valet/etc.

I'm curious about Asia because I've been to several Asian countries but do not really know "if" or "when" it is appropriate to TIP.
Most 5 star hotels have baggage boys who bring your luggage up to your room.  Do you tip them?
Do you tip after they bring you room service?

I remember macau where I tipped and got strange looks.  I'm just curious cause tipping is ok for the girl if she's good (or somewhat ok).
But I travel frequently and no one really tells you the "in and outs" of tipping...

I really do feel strange I don't tip when I get good/really impressive service..but that's just americans...

Tipping is not the rule in Asia; in fact usually the opposite.

The most obvious exception is the WG's - they always love a tip, but only tip for exceptional service.

Restaurants always add 10% to the bill here in HK, and people usually leave loose change for the staff. However, the 10% and all other tips ALWAYS go to management.

Cab drivers don't expect tips, but I always let them have any change under 10 HK.

Barbers aren't tipped. Airport crew? What airport crew?

I always give the guy who carries my baggage to my room a small tip, but I'm not sure if this is necessary. I don't tip for room service. Hotels are sort of strange places in-between worlds.

In Japan, for instance, never tip for anything. Taiwanese don't tip. Thais don't tip.

However there are people who know Westerners are in the habit of tipping, and so will sometimes try to wheedle a tip out of you.

Also, be wary of being over-charged because you are a foreigner. This is especially so in Thailand/China.

Americans are the biggest suckers.

Being an American, I agree. We'll tip everyone not matter how bad the service. At restaurants, they now expect 20% tip... Holy crap.

We are a country of entitlement...

Pertaining to the service provider tipping standard:

Do it American way.....I remember in your country tipping at least 10 to 11% .......

This gal does not make a lot......

Bad service......No tip or give peanut
Good/average service.......at your affordable
Excellent service......Tip above average

But we Asian do not pull a long face....if tip is not given....

Well as to the amount diff bros tips differently......

Just for your reference.....HK$100.....the gal will be happy.....so I say this is average.

I guess we all feel good after tipping at the end of the deal. Do all of you feel sort of Cheap if walk away givin nothin extra???? I do...........

[ Last edited by  hunter at 11-11-2007 05:53 ]

True. The ladies dont make much from the fees. Also remember to take a lot of change. There have been times that the fee is $800, I have ended up with parting with $1000 simply because i dont have any change.
Most I have tipped is a $1000 as two ladies were leaving. The gratitude of one lady is still being milked when I go to SZ. To be honest the relationship is not commercial now.....

Also generally I tip the HK taxi drivers. Yes they can be a bunch of painful people, both when you are in their taxi or when you are driving your car. But these painful people work more than 12 hours in a day. At the end of the month most of them are happy if they can collect $10,000. The government really squeeze these sorry lot a helleva lot. We were $50 USD for a barrel of gas, now it is very close $100, the reciprocal effect has been passed onto the gas price, does the Taxi trade get any flag fall change. NOT..

Thais don't tip? hmmmmm..................................................

I tipped whatever I go and of course it all depends on the service; okay maybe because I am not a Thai

I tipped my hair dresser 100 baht whenever she gets a chance to give me a haircut; (just in case that you think that I am generous, I'm not; she gets to see me once every 3 months)

hand 20 baht to each and every waiter or waitress that waits on my table when I dine; irrespectively of whether it is an air-con restaurant or not

no tips if I don't like the service; an extra 20 baht for my favorite waiter/waitress

and of course, in certain restaurants, I tipped up to a 100 baht per waiter/waitress who waits on my table

another 20 baht for the car jockey;

I always give the equalivent of US1.00 to bell hops for carrying my luggage when traveling though I give only 20 baht when I travel within Thailand.

When clubbing, 100 baht for every girl who sat down for a drink and 500-1000 baht for the mamasan. After finishing a massage with a bath, tip between 300-500 baht.

The only time when I don't tip is when I do not intend to return to the same place;
20 baht in Thailand goes a long long way

but I never tip excessively .......................

Yes, I agree about the working girls. I always tip between 100-200 HK; 200 for good service, 100 if it's adequate. I didn't mention that because of negative feedback I've gotten in previous posts when I said how much I tipped. But like Hunter, I feel cheap if I don't leave something extra for the girl I've just screwed.

Thais! Don't get me started on Thais. If you're a Westerner, the Thais will try to suck you dry - everything is inflated at least 100%. But they DO smile sweetly while they cheat you.

I've had experiences with Taxi drivers that were just bizarre. It used to be they refused to use the meter and insisted on bargaining all fares, but now most can be threatened into using the meter? I once gave the Hotel name card to a Taxi driver; he looked at it, handed it back to me, and then proceed to drive me thru the worst traffic I've ever experienced for an hour or so. Finally, he pulls to the side of the road, looks back at me, smiles, and makes a cushion motion with his hands to indicate he wants to go home to sleep!!! He never knew where the fuck he was going! So I get out of the Taxi without paying and start all over again.

Sulasno, if you give only $1 to bell hops in the US/Europe, be prepared for some very obvious sarcasm!

20 baht is 5 HK, does that qualify as a tip.

But in Thailand, I do tip the girls; and there is a wonderful traditional Thai massage place I visit where the masseuse always gets 100 baht.

The problem with Americans is that we over-tip and the locals think we're all idiots. When in Shenzhen, I gave what I consider insultingly small sums to taxi drivers, waiters, bell hops, etc., and the PRC girl I was with was constantly scolding me for being too generous.

[ Last edited by  Marsupial at 31-12-2007 11:02 ]

you are not alone; Thais do have double standards; "cheat" would be too harsh a word to use

Personally I have no problems when dealing with Thais; just got to get use to the culture;

I have never being to the US/EU; if those guys are not appreciative of a tip of US$1, that's too bad .......................................

20 baht is Thailand works wonders .................................

ehh,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

I often visit places where tourists go, without paying

and of course I can get into the Emerald Palace without paying

Mars,

dun talk bout US, I feel u......they just want more........I remember once I was scold by the bloody taxi driver for givin him US$5 as tips......out of the total fare of US$90.......he said at least 10%. I said, $5  that's it for your bad manner and he cursed at me....then I asked for the $5 back....he just drove away.....
I hate this sonawabitch!!! WTF, he make me feel like shit!!!!!! ....so tell me about it

In most Asian country, nobody will show you black face or giving negative remark if u tip lousy........]

As per suls, tipping system in Thai, I find that acceptable.


I remember during the golden age in HK, everything is about tipping.........but when the economic downturn hit with the high unemployment & SARS epidemic..........I remember nobody says anything if u dun tip.

Basically, it all depends on the norm of each countries and level of acceptance.......

Yes, tipping in the States has become ridiculous! The original idea was to tip to reward excellent service. Now, it's give 10-20% if the service isn't bad. Restaurant waiters all expect 20+%! (But keep in mind that waiters in the States are paid minimum wage (50 HK/hour) and rely on tips to make a living; and tips all go to the staff, not management like in HK.)

Taxi drivers in the States are famous for being rude if under tipped, so don't feel bad, you're not alone. I have no idea why one should even have to tip a taxi driver.

Bell hops in better hotels expect 10-20 dollars!

The thing is that greedy companies have used the excuse of tips to underpay staff in certain professions

If they serve me well, i tip them big, if they serve me bad, i tip them nothing. Anyways I were in NYC like 5-6 years ago, i was treated very badly in a restaurant, so i gave the waitress no tip (as i know u must add 15%(?) tips). So I went out of the restaurant and she scolded me: "Next time you eat on the street!". According to my american friends: those people live on those tips, well i think they need to earn their tips. If they work so bad why even bother to tip them...

Anyways, I once were in Tokyo, in a restaurant i tip the waitress, while i were outside, the waitress chased me down, and say: No TiPPu!!, well, ok, then she gave me all those annoying 1 yen cents back to me.
So after that i asked my japanese friends, what the deal is with tipping in Japan. They say its very impolite to tip in this country, if you tip someone, that means you look down on him/ her, you think he or she is poor, so its very disrespectful.

And I usually tip 141 girls, If they are very good 100+, mediocore 50, bad nothing

[ Last edited by  Jiraiya-sama at 11-11-2007 22:52 ]

Thais only make 20-25 Baht an hour.........................

go figure

Actually, I find the Thais very pleasant. Even the thing with the Taxi driver didn't upset me - two minutes later we were laughing about it. You just have to make certain adjustments when in Thailand; for example, get them to quote the price before you begin the transaction. I once bought a piece of fruit from a street vender, and I made the mistake of not asking the price beforehand. She handed me the fruit in a plastic bag, I handed her a 20 baht note, she kept all 20 baht I stood there and watched the next two Thais pay 5 baht for the same piece of fruit.

And being American, leaving 20 baht as a tip is no problem for me at all.

Sulasno, I got the impression that a lot of the taxi drivers are unable to read Thai, is this true? Giving them a name cord with the address written in Thai sometimes did not help.

Taxi drivers don't read Thai ?

some can speak English ........................................

if you give them a card with the written address and they don't know where it is; get out of the cab and get another one

if you stop a cab and see a young man driving; speak German
prefer those cabs in green and yellow
as for all other colours, avoid them if you can

I meant that some of the taxi drivers seem to be illiterate - cannot read their own language. At least that was how I interpreted the fact that the a couple of the drivers couldn't read the address written in Thai on a hotel name card. But that was some years ago.

Really? Avoid all cabs but those in green and yellow? You toying with the farang here, Sulasno?

And what is this about German?!

most of the taxi drivers who are young are from the North, except for a very few that I met who drives a taxi part time to supplement the income;
Personally I have met a few from the North, and have been disappointed many times;
Speak German? so that they don't understand you and won't pick you up a fare; it's better ..........................................

Cabs that are in green and yellow are generally more trustworthy in general;

I used to take cabs very often in the past; spending 15K a month

Out of 100 green/yellow cabs, I find only one bad egg or two; for the blue/red, there are only about 60% of those I like; for the solid colours, you get a good 10 out of a 100

Instead of looking for a cab on the road, I use the taxi calling service; an extra of 20 baht but will give you peace of mind .............................................
(The service will sucks when the weather is bad; but it happens everywhere)

Thanks for the tip on the green-yellow cabs.

15K baht a month on cabs in BKK??!! You could take a cab to Beijing and back for that sum! That must have been in your brothel-hopping days.

I've noticed when I used credit cards in some places such as restaurants all over has a section to write out how much Tip to give. I always write a zero with a line through it.
No one I know personally tips restaurants in Asia.

I can see how this may be confusing (as I also come from the US) and am used to calculating a 15% tip for the dining bill.

I wonder how many foreigners actually fill out the tip section without knowing better.

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As for credit card use, I notice extra charge for using credit cards which I don't mind.

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As for tipping, I never do while I'm in Asia with the exception of the airport in the South East to people who handle baggage or people checking passports and paper work (Though I consider these more of bribes than tips)


For taxis in HK, I just round off to the nearest HKD or nearest 10 HKD (when it's close to that amount) over the amount due. Saving the taxi driver time and they don't expect more.
If I have exact change ready, I give them that instead.

For transportation in other parts of Asia such as trikes, I leave a little extra but in those parts you especially don't want to let people know that you are loaded or foolish/frivolous because they know you are main targets for scamming or robbery.

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I had a similar experience in Japan as above where a waitress ran out to give my money back. But it wasn't just a few yen coins (It was my American size tip in relation to Japanese dining prices, do the math)

I was glad to learn that all over Asia (from south east asia, Japan, Hong Kong, and more), Tipping is not expected versus America where it's seems mandatory (even though by law it isn't).

Good Post, Kin


I've always wondered about the "Amount" and under it the "Tip" amount....
Usually people just get the slip and sign.
What if a shady business has someone (forger) write in the Tip amount and then the Total amount.
Would we the customer be obliged to pay that "forged" amount?

just wondering...and worrying!!