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Restaurant tipping in Europe : a comparative assessment

Gössling, Stefan LU ; Fernandez, Sébastien ; Martin-Rios, Carlos ; Reyes, Susana Pasamar ; Fointiat, Valérie ; Isaac, Rami K. and Lunde, Merete (2021) In Current Issues in Tourism 24(6). p.811-823
Abstract

Tipping is a social norm in many countries and has important functions as a source of income, with significant social welfare effects. Tipping can also represent a form of lost tax revenue, as service workers and restaurants may not declare all cash tips. These interrelationships remain generally insufficiently understood. This paper presents the results of a comparative survey of resident tipping patterns in restaurants in Spain, France, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, and the Netherlands. ANOVA and ANCOVA analyses confirm significant variation in tipping norms between countries, for instance with regard to the frequency of tipping and the proportion of tips in relation to bill size. The paper discusses these findings in the... (More)

Tipping is a social norm in many countries and has important functions as a source of income, with significant social welfare effects. Tipping can also represent a form of lost tax revenue, as service workers and restaurants may not declare all cash tips. These interrelationships remain generally insufficiently understood. This paper presents the results of a comparative survey of resident tipping patterns in restaurants in Spain, France, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, and the Netherlands. ANOVA and ANCOVA analyses confirm significant variation in tipping norms between countries, for instance with regard to the frequency of tipping and the proportion of tips in relation to bill size. The paper discusses these findings in the context of employment conditions and social welfare effects, comparing the European Union minimum wage model to gratuity-depending income approaches in the USA. Results have importance for the hospitality sector and policymakers concerned with social welfare.

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author
; ; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Economic value, minimum wage, restaurants, service gratuity, social welfare, tipping
in
Current Issues in Tourism
volume
24
issue
6
pages
811 - 823
publisher
Taylor & Francis
external identifiers
  • scopus:85083593523
ISSN
1368-3500
DOI
10.1080/13683500.2020.1749244
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
37d0508e-bc34-464d-aefd-1250595a87fd
date added to LUP
2021-01-15 09:29:07
date last changed
2025-04-04 14:36:35
@article{37d0508e-bc34-464d-aefd-1250595a87fd,
  abstract     = {{<p>Tipping is a social norm in many countries and has important functions as a source of income, with significant social welfare effects. Tipping can also represent a form of lost tax revenue, as service workers and restaurants may not declare all cash tips. These interrelationships remain generally insufficiently understood. This paper presents the results of a comparative survey of resident tipping patterns in restaurants in Spain, France, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, and the Netherlands. ANOVA and ANCOVA analyses confirm significant variation in tipping norms between countries, for instance with regard to the frequency of tipping and the proportion of tips in relation to bill size. The paper discusses these findings in the context of employment conditions and social welfare effects, comparing the European Union minimum wage model to gratuity-depending income approaches in the USA. Results have importance for the hospitality sector and policymakers concerned with social welfare.</p>}},
  author       = {{Gössling, Stefan and Fernandez, Sébastien and Martin-Rios, Carlos and Reyes, Susana Pasamar and Fointiat, Valérie and Isaac, Rami K. and Lunde, Merete}},
  issn         = {{1368-3500}},
  keywords     = {{Economic value; minimum wage; restaurants; service gratuity; social welfare; tipping}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{6}},
  pages        = {{811--823}},
  publisher    = {{Taylor & Francis}},
  series       = {{Current Issues in Tourism}},
  title        = {{Restaurant tipping in Europe : a comparative assessment}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2020.1749244}},
  doi          = {{10.1080/13683500.2020.1749244}},
  volume       = {{24}},
  year         = {{2021}},
}