The Insider's Guide to Tipping

Restaurants and hotels in Bermuda generally follow the European practice of automatically adding tips to your bill. Americans, who are used to calculating the tip amount themselves, should note that restaurants typically add 15% of the cost of food and drink to the bill to give to the waitstaff, and hotels generally itemize a 10% service charge to cover staff gratuities.

There are, however, other occasions when discretionary tips may be welcome. The driver of your taxi or limousine generally receives 15%-20% of the fare with a minimum of $1; considerably more for extraordinary service, such as guided tours. Skycaps generally receive $1 per bag. And if you visit a spa or beauty center, note that barbers generally receive 15% of the cost of the services, with a minimum of $1; hairdressers receive 15% of bill for one operator, or if you received services from several people, give 10% of bill to each haircutter/colorist/stylist, with another 10% divided among others. A manicurist generally receives $1-$2 (more if manicure runs more than about $15).

Whenever you have a choice, remember that tipping is an expression of satisfaction with the service rendered. Naturally you will want to leave more than the standard amount when you receive extraordinarily good service and less when the service is below par. You should consider how often you will return to a particular place because a nice tip is likely to be remembered and therefore can also be an assurance of excellent service in the future.

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