20% service charge at dining ....tip?

Question

The hotel/club we are staying at in LA has a 20% service charge in the restaurant. Does this take the place of tip..... I would think tipping on top of that would be too much ...am i right

Answer

When a restaurant or hotel adds a 20% service charge to your bill, this is generally intended to cover gratuity for the staff, so you do not need to tip extra unless you feel the service was exceptional. In many high-end or resort settings, the service charge is distributed among the servers, bussers, and other staff, replacing the traditional tipping practice.

Here are some important considerations:

Check your bill to see if it explicitly states “gratuity included” or “service charge.” If it does, no additional tip is expected.
If service is particularly outstanding, some guests choose to leave a small additional tip (5–10%), but this is optional.
In casual restaurants without a service charge, a 15–20% tip is customary in the U.S., but the service charge replaces this in the scenario you described.

In summary, the 20% service charge at your LA hotel restaurant is designed to cover tipping, and tipping on top of it is not required. Only add more if you want to reward exceptional service.

20% service charge at dining ....tip?

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