U.S. tipping guide · 2026
Hotel & travel tipping guide
Travel tipping in the U.S. is mostly flat dollars per service — about $2–$5 per bag, per night or per car — rather than a percentage of anything.
Based on: The Emily Post Institute, NerdWallet
What's normal in this category
Hotels are where tipping gets confusing fastest: several people help you across a single stay, most of them are gone before you can ask, and almost none of it runs through a card reader with a tip screen. These are the situations that come up on a normal trip, with the range people actually use for each.
Commonly tipped services, at a glance
- $2–$5 per room per dayMost common: $5 per night
Goes higher for: Longer stays, extra occupants, a room that needed unusual cleanup, or a luxury property where nightly service is more involved.
Calculate a tip - 15%–20% of the fareMost common: 20% of the fare
Goes higher for: Help with luggage, a long or late-night ride, bad weather, extra stops or waiting, or a driver who got you somewhere on time when it looked unlikely.
Calculate a tip - $2–$5 per retrievalMost common: $5 per car
Goes higher for: Bad weather, a car returned unusually fast, help with luggage, or an upscale or event setting.
Calculate a tip - $2–$5 per pickupMost common: $2 per pickup
Goes higher for: A stacked or tandem garage where other cars had to move, a fast retrieval during a rush, bad weather, help loading bags, or an attendant who looks after your car all year.
Calculate a tip - $1–$3 when full service was your choice, or for extra helpMost common: $2 for extra help
Goes higher for: Bad weather, an oil, tire or windshield check, directions or a jump-start, or an attendant who handled a queue of cars without cutting corners.
Calculate a tip - $2–$5 per bagMost common: $2 per bag starting reference
Goes higher for: Heavy or awkward bags, several flights or long corridors, bad weather at the curb, or a late-night arrival.
Calculate a tip - 20%–30% of the caddie feeMost common: 20% of the caddie fee
Goes higher for: A caddie who read greens well, carried double, or worked through difficult weather or a long round.
Calculate a tip - $5–$20 per person, depending on tour lengthMost common: $10 per person
Goes higher for: Full-day or private tours, a guide who handled a group problem well, or unusually deep local knowledge.
Calculate a tip - $5–$50, depending on how involved the request isMost common: $10 for a simple request
Goes higher for: Hard-to-get reservations or tickets, last-minute changes, peak season, or help spread across a multi-day stay.
Calculate a tip - $1–$2 per bag, or $2–$5 per person with no luggageMost common: $2 per bag
Goes higher for: Several bags, a long route, late-night or early-morning pickups, or a driver who helped beyond loading.
Calculate a tip - $1–$5 per performance, more for a photo or requestMost common: $5 for a full performance
Goes higher for: A full set you stayed for, a photo or interaction, a specific request, or an act that drew a crowd you were part of.
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Frequently asked
How much should you tip hotel housekeeping?+
In the U.S., $2–$5 per room per day is a common tipping range for hotel housekeeping, with $5 per night a useful reference point.
How much should you tip a taxi or rideshare driver?+
In the U.S., 15%–20% of the fare is a common tipping range for taxi and rideshare drivers, with 20% a common reference point for a smooth ride.
How much should you tip valet parking?+
In the U.S., $2–$5 per retrieval is a common tipping range for valet parking, with $5 per car a useful reference point.
How much should you tip a parking garage attendant?+
In the U.S., $2–$5 per pickup is a common tipping range at attended garages, with $2 a useful reference point; monthly parkers usually add a year-end thank-you of $10–$30 or more per attendant.
How much should you tip a gas station attendant?+
In the U.S., tipping a gas station attendant is optional — $2–$3 where you chose full service over pumping yourself, or a dollar or two when they checked the oil, cleaned the windshield or helped in bad weather.
How much should you tip a bellhop?+
In the U.S., $2–$5 per bag is a common tipping range for bellhops, with $2 per bag a useful starting reference.
How much should you tip a golf caddie?+
In the U.S., golf caddies are commonly tipped a minimum of 20% of the caddie fee, with private clubs and resorts often running higher.
How much should you tip a tour guide?+
In the U.S., tour guide tips are typically figured per person — about $5–$10 per person for short tours and $10–$20 per person for full-day tours.
How much should you tip a hotel concierge?+
In the U.S., hotel concierge tips scale with effort — $5–$10 for a simple request, up to $20–$50 for a complex or hard-to-get one.
How much should you tip a hotel or airport shuttle driver?+
In the U.S., $1–$2 per bag is a common tipping range for a shuttle driver who handles your luggage, with $2 per bag a useful reference point.
How much should you tip a street artist or performer?+
In the U.S., $1–$5 is the common tipping range for a street performer or artist, with more expected if you take a photo with them or request a song.
Go deeper
- Do you tip hotel housekeeping?Sourced answer
- Do you tip a taxi or rideshare driver?Sourced answer
- Do you tip a valet?Sourced answer
- Do you tip a parking garage attendant?Sourced answer
- Do you tip a gas station attendant?Sourced answer
- Do you tip a bellhop?Sourced answer
- Do you tip a golf caddie?Sourced answer
- Do you tip a tour guide?Sourced answer
- Do you tip a hotel concierge?Sourced answer
- Do you tip a shuttle driver?Sourced answer
- Do you tip a street performer?Sourced answer
Sources
Every range in this guide comes from these published references. Each calculator page cites its own.
Sources reviewed:
- The Emily Post Institute — General Tipping Guide — Supports a per-bag starting point for bellhop service.
- NerdWallet — How Much to Tip Hotel Housekeeping — Covers daily housekeeping tipping and typical per-room amounts.
- Travel + Leisure — How to Be a Better Hotel Guest — Provides current travel context for higher-service and luxury hotel stays.
- NerdWallet — How Much to Tip Just About Everyone — Service-by-service U.S. guidance, including rideshare drivers, built around a 15%–20% range.
- Kiplinger — A Practical Guide to Tipping — Provides current U.S. context for valet and other service tips.
- Brick Underground — Holiday Tipping Guide: How much to tip your doorman, super, porter, and other staff — Brick Underground's annual New York guide puts garage attendants at $25–$75 for the holidays, within a broad $25–$100 range that depends on the building and the service (December 2025).
- The Emily Post Institute — Holiday Tipping Guide — Lists garage attendants at $10–$30 or a small gift for the holidays, scaled to your budget and how often you use the service.
- Consumer Reports — How Much of a Tip Should You Leave? — $2–$3 for a full-service attendant, only where there is a choice between self- and full-service (December 2018).
- New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development — Retail Gasoline Dispensing Safety Act and Regulations (N.J.S.A. 34:3A) — New Jersey's statute and regulations: only an attendant may dispense fuel at a retail gas station.
- Oregon State Fire Marshal — Self-Serve Fueling (House Bill 2426) — The state fire marshal's current rules: under HB 2426 stations may offer self-serve at up to half their pumps, and 20 rural counties are fully self-serve.
- OPB — Self-serve gas is officially coming to Oregon (Gov. Kotek signs HB 2426) — Oregon's HB 2426, signed in 2023, allowed self-service statewide and ended the other long-standing attendant requirement (July 2023).
- AFAR — How Much to Tip Hotel Housekeeping, Valets, and More — Supports $10 for a straightforward booking and $20–$50 for an extensive concierge itinerary.
- GOLF.com — A complete guide to tipping (and how much) at the golf course — Puts the caddie tip at a minimum of 20% of the base fee and, at private clubs, says to ask your host or the caddie master about local custom (May 2023).
- The Caddie Network — The definitive guide for tipping a caddie — A caddie-industry guide: about 30% of the fee for solid basic service, 40%–50% for a caddie who read putts and helped with club selection (July 2019).
- ExperienceFirst — How Much to Tip a Tour Guide — Supports $5–$10 per person for short tours and $10–$20 per person for full-day tours.
- TourScoop — How Much Should You Tip on a Guided Tour? — Supports $10 per person as the most widely recommended single reference amount.
- One Mile at a Time — Tipping Hotel Concierges — Cites the American Hotel & Lodging Association's $5–$10 per service guideline, more for difficult requests.
- The Emily Post Institute — Etiquette Today: Travel Tipping — Supports $1–$2 per bag for airport and hotel shuttle drivers who help with luggage.
- Signature Transportations — How Much to Tip a Shuttle Driver — Supports $2–$5 for a short ride and $5–$10 for a longer one, more when bags pile up.
- FeelingVegas — How Much to Tip Vegas Street Performers? — Supports a $1–$5 average tip for street performers, tipping more for a photo, and no upper limit.
- NPR — The Good Listener: How Much Should I Tip a Street Musician? — Supports a splash of change when walking by, a couple of dollars if you stop and watch, and $5 when a band passes a tip jar (2015).