Tipping, demystified

How much, and whom, you should tip at hotels.

To tip or not to tip: That is the question. Well, it’s one of them.

You may be confused about if – and how much – you need to be tipping hotel staff, from the valet to housekeeping to the concierge.

“No one really has a clear picture,” Ann Sadie Osten, a travel adviser and president of Sadie’s Global Travel, which specializes in luxury travel, tells USA TODAY.

When in doubt, tipping is better than not, though how much you tip depends on what type of accommodation you’re staying in ( hotel luxury and amenities factor into how much you need to shell out, for example). The consistent rule across hotels: Bring cash.

The valet

For a mid-level hotel with valet service, you should tip anywhere from $2 to $5, Osten says. The American Hotel & Lodging Association recommends $1 to $5 when someone delivers your car.

You also may not always get the same valet, so it’s nice to give something extra to different people moving your car back and forth. If there’s bad weather, and valets are working in an uncovered area, Osten recommends tipping even more.

If you stay at a luxury hotel, a valet or bellman may help transport your bags for you, in which case you’ll want to tip bigger (think $5 or more, especially if you have multiple bags).

The concierge

Tipping a concierge, or member of a hotel staff providing you with detailed information about what to explore during your stay, remains a vague prospect. It depends on what service they’re providing and how much you use them.

If you go to the concierge and ask for advice on what tours to take and receive specific recommendations, you could shell out between $5 and $50, Osten says. The higher end of that would likely be something you consider at a luxury hotel. The American Hotel & Lodging Association recommends $5 or $10 depending on what service they provide, like booking a restaurant or snagging you hard-to-get tickets, or a lump sum when you leave.

You may want to tip up front if you know you’re going to use them frequently during your trip. “That way each time you go to them they will be very attentive,” Osten says.

Room service and housekeeping

A hotel may automatically add gratuity to room service (but it’s best to double-check). Otherwise, 18% to 20% should suffice.

Tipping housekeeping may not be the norm, but it is nice to leave a small gratuity, especially if you leave a big mess or call for extra towels. Anywhere from $3 to $7 daily works, Osten says. The American Hotel & Lodging Association suggests $1 to $5 each night. You should leave a note making it clear the money is for housekeeping.

Other hotel tipping tips

Shuttle service to and from the hotel should run you between $1 to $2 per person in tips or $4 to $5 per party, according to the American Hotel & Lodging Association. Osten recommends $5 to $15, and $10 to $20 for two people.

You don’t see tipping as much at hotels that don’t have concierge service. If a front desk attendant helps you out a lot, of course, tipping is a nice gesture.

Make sure you know the typical tipping procedure wherever you’re traveling to, since standard rules don’t exist around the world – or even from hotel to hotel.