Tipping Trivia
Atlanta, GA -
Group Rates
Americans dining alone generously tip an average 20% of the bill. The same Americans eating with a friend tip... 17%. In a group of five or more, sadly, the average drops to... 13.2%*
Rainy Days
When receiving their breakfast trays, half of the guests at an Atlantic City hotel with no outside views were told it was sunny outside - they tipped an average 29%.
The other half, when told it was raining tipped... 19%.**
Foreign Tipping Facts
1. Cabbies in Australia sometimes round fares DOWN.
2. There is no tipping in restaurants or bars in Japan - 10-20% is added as a "service charge."
3. Tipping in Singapore's airport, restaurants, and hotels is strictly prohibited - a 10% service charge is added to the bill instead... we don't recommend violating this law. Remember the caning incident?
4. Thinking of tipping at a restaurant in Iceland? Think again - it's an insult!
Tipping History
1. Well, sure you know what "tipping" is, but do you know where the word came from? The theory goes that in jolly ole England a couple hundred years ago, patrons in Tea Houses (the Starbucks of the 18th Century) were prompted to leave coins in a box labeled "To Insure Prompt Service" - hence, TIPS. Of course, that's an awful stretch, since signs at that time used pictures instead of words because so many were illiterate...
2. Did you know that before 1870 tipping was almost unheard of in America? It was considered undemocratic and un-American - it smelled of aristocrats and class snobbery... today, however, Americans are among the most generous tippers in the world.*
Sources
*Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration researcher Michael Lynn
**Market Facts, Inc.
***Temple University psychology professor Bruce Rind 
