Tipping can trip up any globe trotter
The 2008 Beijing Olympics may benefit from an American export -- tipping.
— -- Against the flood of Chinese imports, the USA may have a new export when the 2008 Beijing Olympics gets underway: the American way of tipping.
In China, some tipping already occurs at big-city hotels, but it "will still be a novelty" when the Olympics begin next August, says P.M. Forni, author of the 2002 book Choosing Civility: The 25 Rules of Considerate Conduct.
China is just one of several countries where tips had been uncommon but where an increasing number of service workers are expecting them.
Americans routinely tip while abroad, and that, according to Forni and other experts, is driving the trend. And, as practices change, many business travelers are finding it all very baffling. Forni calls tipping abroad "a territory fraught with awkward moments."
Business travelers' confusion is understandable, says Lynn Staneff who compiled a tipping guide for 70 countries for Magellan's, which sells travel supplies from two California stores and a website. Tipping is common in some countries, not done in others, or only done in some cities, she says. Whom to tip varies by country.
"I have absolutely no idea what to tip outside the USA," says professional speaker Sue Hershkowitz-Coore, of Scottsdale, Ariz.
Tipping practices are "in a constant state of change, so what was appropriate the last time you visited a foreign destination may be inappropriate the next time you go," Staneff says.
According to her guide, tipping is not practiced in 11 countries — Brunei, Malaysia, Japan, Oman, New Zealand, Samoa, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, United Arab Emirates and Vietnam. In most countries, travelers are expected to tip to a waiter or waitress 10%, pay the equivalent of $1 per bag to a porter and round the taxi fare to the next unit of the local currency.
Many countries in Asia and Western Europe add a service charge to a restaurant check, exempting diners from tipping, Forni, the author, says. In Japan, Staneff says, tipping is perceived as insulting.
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