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How t o U nd e r st and Sp ani sh T i p p i ng & Gr at ui t i e sHow t o U nd e r st and Sp ani sh T i p p i ng & Gr at ui t i e s– Just Whe n Do You T i p i n Sp ai n?– Just Whe n Do You T i p i n Sp ai n?Posted on April 28, 2014 by T otally Spain

How to Understand Spanish Tipping & Gratuities – JustWhen Do You Tip in Spain?

www.totallyspaintravel.com /2014/04/28/tipping-in-spain/

by Totally Spain

Along with mealtimes in Spain, the topic of tipping and gratuities often crops up. It’s a tricky subject. While theSpanish are not big tippers per se, it is true that the tipping culture has come to Spain. That said, gratuities are notexpected. It is certainly not a legal requirement to tip. People working in the Spanish hospitality sector are usuallyfull-time employees and are paid a salary for the work they do. But if you come from a country where tipping iscustomary and you are travelling in the more touristic areas of Spain, you certainly won’t be insulting anybody byleaving a tip.

We’ve put together some concrete examples of when you should or shouldn’t tip in Spain below – but the norm here(if you want to follow local tipping etiquette), is small change for bars and taxis, single euros for othertransactions including everyday restaurants and anywhere between 5 and 10 percent for more elaborate meals.

Coffees

If you order a coffee at a bar – you don’t need to tip – although we do sometimes if we’ve made full use of thefacilities such as reading a few magazines and newspapers or a few toilet runs with the kids. (You’ll never have topay to use a toilet in Spain and standards vary significantly). If you order a coffee whilst seated at a table, you don’tneed to leave a gratuity but if the service is good or helpful, you could leave small change.

You can leave some small change as a tip for a few coffees but it’s not necessary. Photo credit: marfis75 via photopin cc

Wines, Beers & Tapas

As per coffees, we might leave small change especially if given free olives, cheese or jamon etc or if given helpselecting a wine etc. If the tapas experience is more of a sit-down affair, we would always tip.

Simple sit-down meals

If you have a simple meal such as a set-price ‘menu del dia’, you can tip the small change. For example, if a lunchfortwo

people plus coffees comes to 21 euro, leave a 1 or 2 euro coin if you were happy with the experience. Tippingmore than 1 euro per person for a simple meal would be unusual. Unless you were given a lot of extras…

Eating Alone, Special Dietary Requirements & Large Groups and Evening Meals

We recommend tipping a bit more when you are eating alone and the place is really busy. We would usually leavean extra euro or even two – although of course this is not expected. We would also leave a gratuity if you are givenfree drinks at the end of a meal or if your coffees were on the house. When somebody goes to great lengths totranslate a menu, play with your child, or provides extra special attention by preparing a decent kosher-style,vegan, vegetarian or celiac meal etc we would tip a percentage of the meal rather than a single euro coin. And ifyou are out with a large family group and the staff are very accommodating, you should pay a percentage between 5and 10 percent. And for some reason, probably because the meals are more elaborate – we usually tip more forevening meals.

High Dining

Tips for top class restaurants or Michelin-star restaurants would follow more international lines as you really aregetting high levels of service here. We would tip around 10 percent if happy and more if you felt you were givengood value for money – which is almost always the case, in our experience.

How to Read the Restaurant Bill in Spain

On the receipt, you may see something that looks like a service charge per person. It may be labelled ‘pan’ which isbread and can be anything up to 2.50 per person. It’s a cover charge that is applied by many restaurants toguarantee a certain amount per diner – which in a country such as Spain where many dishes are shared – is not tobe applauded but can be understood. It is exactly that – a cover charge and should not be interpreted as a gratuity.

Another line on the bill (often towards the end) you will come across is IVA – this is VAT and should not be confusedwith a service charge.

Paying the Tip with the Bill

As with anywhere else, if you want the tip to go to the person who gave the good service – seek them out or referto them when leaving the tip. Never ask for the gratuity to be added to the meal total and charged on your creditcard. This may be commonplace in many countries but is not in Spain. Cash is king when it comes to tipping.

Bars/Late night drinking

If you are ordering a few beersor wines at a bar in theevening, you don’t need to tip.If you are getting table serviceand are happy with it, youcould leave small change or afew euro coins especially ifyou are ordering the moreexpensive drinks such ascocktails and spirits which canbe beautifully prepared andare very labour-intensive. Ifyou are having a wine in asmall neighbourhood bar andare grateful for a friendly smile,you could leave a small tip atthe end when paying. If you’rein a late night bar without tableservice, you would neverleave a tip.

Hotel Tipping

Porterage doesn’t really existin Spain in the way it does inAnglo-Saxon countries. Unlessyou are in a five-star hotel youusually won’t find anybodydesignated to help with yourbags. If somebody does takeyour bags from your car orlobby to your room – they

If you get great service, free coffees or liqueurs, help with translating the menu or special meals prepared, wewould recommend a 5-10 percent tip. Photo credit: McPrior via photopin cc

You won’t find a tip included on one of these in Spain. It’s an optional extra. photo credit: hollywoodsmile310via photopin cc

should be tipped – usually aeuro per bag up to a total of 5euro. For room service – youcan tip the person whodelivers your meal or drinks –1 euro for drinks is plentyand 2 euro for somethingmore elaborate. Forchambermaids – we oftenleave a few euro coins at theend of our stay – but it isn’texpected.

Transport

For taxis, you could round upthe loose change. Forexample if your journeycomes to 9 euro – you couldleave the euro if the journeywas comfortable and thedriver was pleasant. If itwasn’t, just take the eurochange. If it was 9.75 – andthe experience was good,leave the change. Wesometimes find that when youleave a gratuity, the driver willwait to see you get into thehotel or apartment safely –which is nice when it’s late atnight in a city you are notfamiliar with.

If you contract a service forassistance at a train station– you could tip but it won’t beexpected. You will not findassistance at bus stations ortrain stations unlessrequested inadvance. Airports are similar.You will not find anybody to assist with bags. If you need assistance such as a wheelchair, you need to arrange thisin advance – and we would recommend a tip if the driver goes beyond the call of duty – again it won’t be expected.

For private drivers, we would recommend tipping at the end of the journey/day/period of contract for extra servicesprovided. For example, if they carry your bags, translate for you, organise any additional services such as tickets fora train or theatre or meal. Remember that knowledge is time. And unless you have researched the area (and evenwhen you have) it’s hard to beat the personal recommendations of a local.

Hairdressers and other Service Industries

You’re better off with a wheelie case in Spain as porterage often isn’t available. Photo credit: BenHusmann via photopin cc

Hairdressers. You are getting a trim or blow-dry and it comes to 9 or 14 euro. If you wanted you could leave 1 euro– that’s what we do. You could leave 2 euro if you were given an amazing level of service that went beyond the callof duty – for example if you don’t speak Spanish and the hairdresser really made an effort to understand you andwhat you needed done. It’s similar for beauticians and spas for treatments. You would leave one or two euro if youwish but it is not expected.

We can’t think of many reasons for tipping in a shop. We think it’s safe to say that in a shop, you don’t need to leavea gratuity.

For deliveries – you could tip a euro or two if you have you shopping delivered to your hotel or self-cateringapartment – especially if you are in a particularly awkward location or if the building doesn’t have a lift. If you arestaying in a self-catering apartmentand need to get somebody to call outfor example a locksmith or plumber,you could tip 5 euro for the callout.

Guides/Drivers

We do tip when we know we areworking with self-employed peoplewhen they go beyond the call ofduty. Take the example of aguide. Beyond the call of duty variesdepending upon the situation and placebut it can be anything from a trulygenuine welcoming smile and theirknowledge of where you have comefrom and what you have already seen.It can be practical such as when theytake a few photos for you of yourgroup and point out good locations forphotos. We especially love whenguides take us off the beaten track andshow us places that are verypersonal to them – and we believethese reasons and a few others arewell worth a nice tip because noamount of guidebook reading wouldbring you there.

For half-day tours with a privateguide, it is entirely at your discretion,but we would suggest a minimum of10 – 15 euros per couple would bewelcome and more if you are extremelypleased. We would only suggest thisfor the private sector eg we wouldn’t tipa state employee at the Prado museumbut we would tip a privately contractedguide for a tour of the Prado. If you have a guide for the day you are pleased with, we would suggest aminimum of 15 – 25 euros per couple. For private drivers we would suggest 15 – 20 euro per day . Of course,

This euro coin is your best friend when unsure about tipping in Spain. Photo credit: alf.melin via photopin cc

no gratuity is ever expected and you won’t ever be put under pressure to tip, so please make your decision based onthe quality of service you receive rather than feeling you have to.

Whether you do or don’t tip, remember that when a guide or driver gives you personal recommendations for placestovisitor

suggest places to eat, you should advise the owner (especially if it is off the beaten track) that you were sent by yourguide. It won’t do you or them any harm. And while we are on this topic, if you are particularly happy with your guideor any other self-employed services, you should always let your tour operator know. Spain isn’t the easiest orcheapest country to be self-employed – and we believe an entrepreneurial spirit is to be praised.

Tipping & Gratuities In Spain – The Summary

Compared to the US and the UK, tips in Spain are often small change – literally. If you like to tip for goodservice – something between 5 and 10 percent is more than enough.

Useful Phrases for Tipping in Spain

Propina=tip

Asi esta bien=that’s fine (keep the change)

Quiero dejar una propina para nuestro camarero/conductor/guia =I want to leave a tip for ourwaiter/driver/guide

Esto es para la chica que me lavo el pelo = This is for the girl who washed my hair

Muchas gracias por la ayuda = Thanks for your help (use it when handing over a tip)

Muchas gracias por traducir = Thanks for translating (doesn’t make sense I suppose but it’s nice to use a bitof Spanish)

Tipping at hairdressing, beauticians and spa treatments – one or two euro – again small change is fine but tips aren’t expected. Photo credit:estelabelleza via photopin cc

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Whether they carry an umbrella or not, we think guides should be tipped if they go beyond the callof duty. Photo credit: garryknight via photopin cc

Just as currencies vary from place to place – so too do the tipping customs. Photo credit: pfala via photopin cc