Advice for tipping/service at Swiss hotel with half board
A traveler is curious about the tipping etiquette while staying at a hotel in Switzerland that offers half board. They want to know how much to tip, especially for outstanding service during dinner and breakfast throughout their week-long stay.
- Tipping is not obligatory in Switzerland; rounding your bill to a whole number suffices.
- Feel free to leave a tip for exceptional service, but it's not expected as service fees are typically included.
- Hotel staff are generally well-paid, so they appreciate feedback over tips, especially if you mention them by name online.
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Hello,
We are staying somewhere that offers half board and when I asked the hotel owner what the usual protocol is for service/tipping she said usually folks just leave something at the end of their visit.
We are having a week’s worth of dinners here, and then there is the service at breakfast, and of course housekeeping.
If the service has been excellent and I’m supposed to be tipping when I leave, how much should I be leaving? What would be appropriate??
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Tipping isn’t a thing in Switzerland.
Hi violet222,
Yes, per pkerr, tipping is not obligatory in Switzerland. It’s often customary to just round your bill to a round amount. If you feel the service has been exemplary, feel free to tip but it really is not expected as the fees are already included in the bill.
More on this topic here:
Kind regards,
Yolanda
I regularly visit Switzerland. Hotel and restaurant staff are generally quite well paid. Unlike in many other countries, they are not dependent on tips to make a decent income. And the excellent public transport with frequent services in the evening means that they have no need to run a car, let alone get a taxi if working late.
In restaurants (including those on ships and trains) I might tip if the service is exceptional. On my most recent trip, (late April) I was on an IC train from Geneva to Lausanne, a journey which takes 35 minutes. The Restaurant Car crew rushed me a light meal which I finished just as we came into Lausanne. Two years ago the first class restaurant on a Lake Lucerne ship served me a delicious lunch at 16 00 in the afternoon! Those are the only two recent occasions I have left a small tip.I have never tipped hotel staff. What they do appreciate is being mentioned BY NAME in the feedback you give on line to the hotel management.
Regards
Roger
I’m glad that this has been posted, because I assumed that tipping wasn’t a “thing” in Switzerland, except of course as in the sort of situation that Roger Sexton mentioned.
I certainly wouldn’t have considered tipping hotel room maids, I have only ever done that when travelling to Asia or the US.
A few years back when we were staying in Zermatt for a few days, we had the same server for all our dinners. We got to chatting and talked about our hiking plan the next day and she answered several questions about hikes and where we might enjoy going. She was spot on with her advice. The next evening (our last) we gave her a nice tip that encompassed everything she had done for us during our stay. (She seemed to be very pleased and surprised)
On a side note, if anyone is familiar with the “little white house” up on the mountain side above Zermatt (https://www.edelweiss-zermatt.com/), we asked her about it and she told us how to get there and that it was an “easy” hike. We did it. For a fit Swiss resident, easy, but for us tourists, it was “interesting”. But fun never the less. 🙂
There is almost always an exception to every rule. In the situation described by pKerr I would have given the waitress a nice tip.
Good feedback here already! I rarely tip either. A small tip in case of an exceptional meal and service, but it is the exception. Prices are not exactly low, and I like the no-tipping culture. It’s easy and everyone gets what they are entitled to. I rather show my appreciation by telling the staff, coming back a next time, or ordering an extra coffee or dessert.
@pkerr: I know exactly what you mean; if no ropes are involved it’s an “easy” hike 😉
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