TALKING POINT | Tipping is a way of life in the United States, and while most people understand the need to tip in bars and restaurants, should you also be tipping the staff in airport lounges who do practically the same thing – even if what you’re eating or drinking is provided for ‘free’?
Whether or not to leave a gratuity – as well as how much to give – is always a controversial topic, especially for Australians. We're used to workers being paid a fair wage, unlike the very low hourly rates of the US hospitality industry – which in turn means that tipping simply isn't part of our culture.
But there's something to be said for the "When in Rome" approach, so here’s the approach I take.
Let's start with a drink at walk-up airport lounge bars as found in American Airlines Admirals Clubs, American Express Centurion Lounges, Delta Sky Clubs and United Clubs.
For something complimentary like a glass of house wine or a spirit drink, I’ll typically leave a US$1 note (a ‘single’) on the counter after the drink is served – while for a more complicated cocktail such as an appropriately-named Big Apple at the AMEX Centurion Lounge in New York, I’ll leave US$2.
However, if I’m only ordering a soft drink, juice or water, I don’t tip. Most lounges offer these via self-serve facilities anyway, so on the rare occasion I’m in a lounge where these are hidden behind the counter, I don’t feel obligated to open my wallet for something that comes at no cost everywhere else.
When paying for a 'premium' drink or dining at a paid airport lounge restaurant where table service is provided I’ll generally tip 15-20% of the bill amount, just as I would at a normal restaurant in the US, plus $1 for every drink on the bill that was ‘free’ (the same as when ordering directly at the bar).
(I’ll normally make that tip through a credit card instead of cash, as the option to add a tip to the purchase is always offered on the signature slip when it comes time to pay: boosting my points tally even further, while also reducing the need to carry US cash.)
I take a different approach in the Qantas First Lounge at LAX where everything is complimentary: my understanding is that the staff here are better-paid than their colleagues in other US airport lounges, and as such I don’t feel the need to tip on a per-drink basis.
However, if I’ve enjoyed a nice meal where the same waiter served me for the entire visit and the service was excellent, I’ll generally tip them $10-20 when leaving the dining area by way of a subtle handshake to ensure the tip reaches the right person.
The way I see it, a multi-course meal with cocktails, Champagne and matching wines would easily cost US$150 or more in a nice restaurant – on which an absolute minimum 15% tip would be US$22.50 – so giving even a portion of that amount in recognition of great service when the meal itself cost me nothing doesn’t seem unreasonable.
How do you deal with tipping at airport lounges in the United States, and do you ever tip in the Qantas LAX lounges? Share your thoughts in the comment box below!
Chris is a a former contributor to Executive Traveller.
30 Aug 2013
Total posts 442
The tipping culture symbolises everything that is broken in the USA.
24 Oct 2010
Total posts 2551
So I take it that you don’t tip staff at airport lounges..? (Let’s try to keep these comments on-topic rather than make this a social or cultural judgement on the USA.)
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
21 Aug 2013
Total posts 139
Oh seriously David, come on; @smit0847's comment ultimately derives from the topic that you instigated in this article! You write a piece entitled, "Should you tip the staff in US airport lounges" and then get all narky when someone follows through by making (what you feel is a judgmental) comment about the fact that the gap between rich and poor in the US is gargantuan, and wait staff are simply not paid appropriately compared to here? If you can't handle somebody making a perfectly valid comment that doesn't personally insult any individual in the slightest, regardless of whether you agree or not, then don't write articles that incite them in the first place.
24 Oct 2010
Total posts 2551
Nathan, all we're asking is that people comment on how they deal with tipping in US airport lounges (which is, after all, the subject here) rather than risk seeing the thread hijacked with back-and-forth on "what's wrong with the USA".
QantasFF
16 Nov 2012
Total posts 57
Last time I was in the Admiral's Club at JFK (some years ago) I ended up with a large quantity of NY subway tokens so I asked the barman if he'd be happy to be tipped in tokens (he was).
10 Jan 2018
Total posts 9
Are they that desperate?
Air New Zealand - Airpoints
10 Aug 2015
Total posts 79
Completely forgot about it at LAX NZ/*A lounge! Cocktail and wine ordered at the bar. (Was confused at hotel lounge so tipped to avoid embarrassment) Airports are an environment where I forget these things due to other airport experiences.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
23 Oct 2013
Total posts 703
This has been a talking point on Australian Frequent Flyer for many years....
07 Mar 2017
Total posts 54
If that's the case shouldn't they put signage up to that effect? e.g. "Tipping is not required in this establishment" or similar.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
18 Jun 2015
Total posts 105
Who do you think is responsible for putting up said signs?
04 May 2016
Total posts 34
When an independent, employee representative confirms that Qantas pays their lounge staff sufficiently to avoid the need for tipping (that is present everywhere else in the USA), then I will believe that tipping is not necessary in the LAX lounge.
I wouldn't accept an employer as the sole arbiter of 'fair pay' in this country. Doing so in another country, where I am a visitor, and the customer, would only be self-serving.
10 Jan 2018
Total posts 9
Yes. I remember Qantas mentioning this on their website some time back. They said do not tip as staff were paid at higher rates. If you are asked for a tip then you need to report it. I don't tip in Qantas US Lounges.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
18 Jun 2015
Total posts 105
Then there was the whole tipping in the showers scam that happened in LAX.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
23 Sep 2017
Total posts 162
Whilst there are economic system differences bewteeen the US and here (Perhaps broken or otherwise), Chris’ pretext, “When in Rome...” is a valid one.
10 Jan 2018
Total posts 9
We are talking about the lounge not the country. To be in the lounge costs a lot anyway with airfares types - business etc,. So why should you pay extra for something that is a privilege anyway.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
20 Sep 2013
Total posts 466
Yes or stay away
11 Dec 2015
Total posts 85
If the average bartender is pouring 30 drinks per hour for a 6 hour shift, that $180/day or around $40k per year on top of base salary assuming a fairly standard number of days worked per year.
There's a reason many people in the US don't want the "tipping culture" to change.
07 Mar 2017
Total posts 54
I doubt they'd be consistently running at that rate, i.e. there'd be quiet periods in that shift. Further, the 'base salary' is likely negligible with that amount of tips, since any base is mostly deducted by expected tips.
Hence that 30-40k is their likely income for the year, which isn't a lucrative income, even in the US.
06 Sep 2017
Total posts 1
, in the US, most waiters and service staff are required to shared their tips with the rest of their crew (those cleaning tables, etc). So a 15-20% tip almost never goes to the person collecting it. Worse, the US allows employers to pay UNDER minimum wage - $2.13 per hour IF they receive at least $30 per month in tips. At the end of the day, most servers make about $11 per hour, or $22,000 per year. So no, it is not about them not wanting the tipping culture to change - it is about them relying on it to survive. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tipped_wage_in_the_United_States
12 Dec 2012
Total posts 1025
The IRS has a list of defined "tipped positions" and only those jobs are allowed to be paid the lower "tipped employee" rate.
Additionally, if tips to not increase that lower paid amount to at least normal min wage, the employer is required to pay the difference.
Also, the IRS expects tipped employees to make 8% tips and will tax based on that 8%. Thus, there is no reason at all to tip more then 8%.
16 Nov 2011
Total posts 596
Except as someone mentioned above often tips get pooled so need 16% if that tip is shared with say the kitchen hand.
13 Sep 2016
Total posts 178
I can't abide tipping, so even "When in Rome" or rather "When in the USA" I tip only for those "must do" times such as a meal at a decent restaurant, but not at an airport lounge! No way am I going to start handing out $1 for every drink or $10-$20 for a meal at an airport lounge.
04 May 2015
Total posts 268
When you consider that these staff usually make minimum wage which can be in the region of $2-5 an hour with the rest being made up by tips (and some even less than minimum wage on the expectation that they'll receive tips), refusing to part with $1 for a drink you're sipping for free is a bit sad, IMO!
24 Dec 2013
Total posts 97
Using that logic you would then have to tip at all worldwide lounges where the wages are low. I am sure there are plenty of lounges out in the world where the staff get paid less than $2-$5 per hour.
04 May 2015
Total posts 268
The difference being that in those countries, the cost of living is proportionately lower (such as in Vietnam) which reflects the salary paid (which is low by Western standards but normal by local standards), unlike in the USA where the base wage of most servers buys very little.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer Platinum
07 Feb 2013
Total posts 550
Well said spot on
22 Dec 2017
Total posts 26
As an Australian who grew up in the US, and worked in the service industry there, I take a mixed approach. I don't tip for the first drink (unless it's a cocktail) but do tip for subsequent drinks.
19 Sep 2017
Total posts 4
I know in most restaurants the staff my earn around $6-8 an hour, as they are expected to earn tips by providing great service, it's simply their system, so if no one tips they earn very little. Also it's not unusual for them to share with the kitchen staff, and they also are supposed to declare and pay tax on their tips. I'm sure a lot don't. But it does tend to ensure a better service... Sometimes..... I actually love it from that point of view, there's a few industries in Australia that could benefit from a customer satisfaction driven payroll.
12 Dec 2012
Total posts 1025
I find their idea of "better service" to be annoying and intrusive and makes me less likely to tip.
23 Feb 2015
Total posts 263
I’m glad it isn’t our system, but it is theirs and so while there I feel like we should participate.
29 Feb 2016
Total posts 11
I think this would be a more interesting article if it included some hard research on what the employees in question are being paid (I note the author says they "understand" QF staff are paid differently to other lounges but otherwise it seems assumed or ignored). If we knew for certain that staff were paid the same as regular hospo staff in the same city, then the When In Rome principle, it seems to me, has a stronger basis. If they're paid a normal living wage, akin to an AUS server, then I'd feel no need to tip.
24 Apr 2012
Total posts 2472
The word "understand" is used when a media outlet receives information from a reliable source, but isn't in a position to quote that source for one reason or another (such as when the information was provided 'off the record').
29 Feb 2016
Total posts 11
Fair enough. The thrust of my comment still stands.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
10 May 2012
Total posts 136
I never tip anyone in America. If they want high wages, they should move to North Dakota, Ohio or Texas and get a job Fracking for oil where the wages are huge for people with basic secondary education. Life is all about choices. It's not my fault people decide to get a cushy warm job in an airport bar rather than work 12 hour days in -20F on a rig in ND for $150,000 per year.
04 May 2015
Total posts 268
You'll find that in a country of 323 million people, people need to live and work across the land, not just for one employer in one or a handful of locations. If everybody did that, there'd be nobody around to fly your plane, serve as cabin crew or staff the airport lounges.
03 Mar 2012
Total posts 15
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
09 May 2013
Total posts 136
I make sure i get $1 bills (and plenty of them) before i enter US. Accessing AA lounges, get me 3 drink passes if i'm not wrong. Even if i use them, i give them a $1 tip for every drink i get (usually GT or any spirit). the last time, i was the one of the very few tipping the bartender, so he was happy for me to keep the "vouchers" so i got few more drinks than normal.
24 Dec 2013
Total posts 97
I think it's sad that a wealthier person (who can afford to tip) gets preferential treatment over a non wealthy person when receiving the exact same service. I get that it's a fact of life but still sad.
04 May 2015
Total posts 268
Well, when you think about it, a non wealthy person isn't as likely to be in the lounge in the first place, because they probably wouldn't be flying in business/first class (on routes that provide lounge access in the US), wouldn't have a platinum credit card (as also sometimes gives lounge access over there) or wouldn't likely be able to afford the cost of a lounge membership, in the context of a $1 tip being unaffordable.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
11 Oct 2014
Total posts 685
Assumptions can sometimes be a little dangerous.
I'm sure that there are more than a few pensioner Nans / Aunties / Uncles or parents who have ended up gracing the dubious luxury of a few airline lounges simply because they or their family have gifted / redeemed award flights in J for the odd trip.
It's also wise to consider that the majority of lounge lizards (not all) tend to be flying J class at the behest of their employer-paid fare. It can sometimes be a bit disingenuous to assume that someone is 'wealthy' based on flying J or being present in a lounge. That individual's personal circumstances might be the entire opposite of what you presume - due to mortgages, car loans or leases, dud investments etc. In reality, lounge life can be interesting and certainly variable. Seen it quite a few times ..
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
28 Oct 2014
Total posts 18
It's wrong to suggest that the wealthier person is more likely to tip than the "non-wealthy person". Just because someone can afford to tip, doesn't mean they do! And on the same note, many of those that can barely afford to do tip, will do so generously.
09 May 2011
Total posts 23
Well, if tipping does not occur in the airport lounges of say, Manila, Kolkata, Bangkok, Jakarta, (or anywhere else in the developing world where tips are expected), then why should you tip in the confines of an airport lounge in the USA? I think airport lounges by nature are somewhat of an exception when it comes to the rules of tipping in the USA.
I don't think for one moment anyone would tip a bartender at , say, the Cloud Nine Lounge at Addis Ababa airport.
04 May 2016
Total posts 34
Why do you thinking tipping is expected in those countries ? It's not part of their culture at all. The locals certainly don't tip in those countries (unlike in the USA),. The main people who do are Americans, who think the whole world is like the USA. ;)
QF
04 Apr 2014
Total posts 208
Minimum wage varies considerably state to state. In California it's $11/hr, increasing to $15/hr by 2022. But in states without their own minimum wage the federal numbers apply. Which is....drum roll..... $2.13/hr plus a minimum tip of $5.12/hr. Giving a true minimum of $7.25/hr. Now I don't know what the average income is on this site but I bet it's more than that. And I bet the person who serves you in your local cafe is getting much more as well.
09 Mar 2017
Total posts 7
Never tipped at any airline lounges (inc the Delta ones), never will. I am fairly certain the staff working at airline lounges are not being paid $2 per hour.
24 Apr 2013
Total posts 18
I loathe the tipping culture in the USA. I would not tip in an airport lounge.
In restaurants I go with the flow in the USA, but loathe it. You are tipping for service. I have had americans say after the food is mediocre you still need a tip for the waiters. Next time I experience that, maybe I write on the receipt the tip is for the waiter not the kitchen staff. The tip does not create better service, In general its what we expect as normal here.
For the USA I dont think it helps them have a healthy cost structure. In good places people make enormous amounts from tipping. One person in a blog in Washington state said his neice earnt $700 tips for 2 nights work at an upmarket restuarant. Thats about $40/hr for tips.
I reckon there are some baggage handlers where you check-in the bag where the bus drops you off at a major SE USA airport, making a fortune from tips, to let a few pounds go by.
This would not only be happening at that airport.
The tipping cutlure opens many places up for rorts.
QF
21 Jul 2016
Total posts 32
When you go to an airport lounge, whether because you paid to join, have accumulated enough staus to have it free, or it comes with the ticket, then you expect everything to be free. Giving a tip is a payment, which you would not expect. Nevetheless it may be prudent, espetially with some airline which can be parsimonious wityh their drink voucher. A $1 tip seems reasonable for sa drink, especially if the barkeep forgets to pickup the voucher. I was in LAX QF first class after spending a month in Texas where tipping seemed mandatory, but it never occured to me to leave a tip.
PS Do they give receipts!
24 Apr 2012
Total posts 2472
"Do they give receipts?"
Never for cash tips of course, but if you tip via credit card when paying for something else, you're normally given a duplicate receipt on which you can write your tip amount, which you can keep. (That also helps with credit card reconciliation, as the amount you've written on the receipt will match the total amount charged to your credit card.)
QF
21 Jul 2016
Total posts 32
Sorry, the receipt comment was a but cheeky on my part.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer - Chairmans Lounge
01 Sep 2011
Total posts 414
No! Bloody nonsense to be tipping in an airline lounge.
03 May 2013
Total posts 668
The whole tipping phenomenon is a scam. It’s a scam by employers who laugh all the way to the bank witu the customer paying for goods and services AND their empoyees salary. I never tip never will. I detest the fact it’s added on to bills in the USA. Airlines lounges are a definite no tip zone. Why should you you have paid for that premium level of service already...if the employer is not passing that premium you have paid on and picketing it him/herself well I’m not foolish enough to fall for that scam.
08 Nov 2014
Total posts 19
lol didn't take long to blow up.
09 Jan 2016
Total posts 44
Not in a million years would I have even thought of tipping in that lounge. And considering I actively try and arrive at the airport with no local currency left on me, it is not likely to ever happen.
19 Oct 2017
Total posts 4
If it’s a US airline lounge (eg AA) - yes. I don’t tip in QF or BA lounges.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
20 Dec 2017
Total posts 18
"When in Rome" is exactly the course of action here. It gets very busy in Admirals Clubs as you will no doubt be aware. I always do the $1 tip per drink as many above have also indicated. No matter how busy the bar is, I am always served within seconds of returning for my next drink :)
23 May 2017
Total posts 10
I find tipping shows just how different Aus culture differs from the US. I really hate doing the maths to work out what the bill really costs after every single social outing. If your own employer wont respect you enough to pay you a fair wage then why should the customer? (Other than a fake smile)... Rant over.
British Airways - Executive Club
28 Mar 2014
Total posts 72
The easiest thing when tippong in US restaurants etc is to double 8ke the tax. That equates (I am assured) to the correct tip.
15 Feb 2013
Total posts 163
Unfortunately that doesn't really work - tax rates vary significantly between different states in the US. Anywhere from zero in Montana, New Hampshire, Oregon and Delaware up to 9.98% in Louisiana. If you double the Louisiana tax, then you're pretty much at a 20% tip, but in say Hawaii you'd have to multiply by 4 as the tax rate is just over 4%. There are also local taxes that apply, and so depending where you are, applying a simple formula may still not work.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
20 Sep 2013
Total posts 466
Do you really think any one working the Australian lounges is getting living wage.give me a break and them a tip to.
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
28 Feb 2017
Total posts 14
Happy to do so. In the Delta Sky Lounge T2 at LAX in October. People sitting at the bar & walking up to the bar were all tipping the staff. Felt more embarrassed not to tip. Cannot believe people here on ausbt crowing about flying J & F & yet are miserly when it comes to shelling out a few bucks. Each to their own I guess.
07 Mar 2014
Total posts 11
Generally, tipping airline staff in the US is not required. However in lounge bars Americans usually tip the bar servers like they do in any other bar so what can you do but follow their lead? I don't know if the bar servers are airline employees, contractors or whatever. You also have to tip the baggage porters and again I don't know if they are airline employees or whatever.
British Airways - Executive Club
28 Mar 2014
Total posts 72
Tippong porters is pretty much world-wide. Tipping lounge staff? Not so. I hadn't even thought about it until reading this thread yesterday.
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