holidays

Who Should You Tip Over the Holidays, and How Much?

When tipping keep your budget and mind, and if you can’t afford to tip everyone that you would like to, pick out the two or three people who really stood out this year

NBC Universal, Inc.

The mail carrier, landscaper, babysitter – with many to consider, who are you tipping this holiday season, and how much?

Holiday tipping trends are changing this year, according to a national survey. Bankrate.com is out with its annual report on tipping and it looks like people are making some changes this year.

Despite a tough year with inflation through the roof, consumer generosity is still going strong this holiday season. Bankrate recently surveyed more than 2,400 adults and most of them say they’re remembering the people who have been there for them all year.

“People seem to be tipping more frequently, but giving lower amounts. And I think a lot of that has to do with inflation being so high and people having less money to go around. I also think some of this tendency to tip more during the pandemic because we felt bad about protocols and service industry struggles. I think a lot of that is faded at this point,” Ted Rossman of Bankrate said.

According to the survey, housekeepers are the highest tipped service provider this year, with most people giving them around $40.

Child care providers and landscapers are bringing in $25 tips. Teachers, mail carriers and trash collectors are seeing an average of $20.

In the survey 54% of adults said they’re likely to give higher than normal tips to service workers who they see frequently, like waitstaff, baristas, food delivery people and hair stylists. And 62% of millennials (ages 26-41) are more likely than Gen Z, Gen X and boomers to give higher tips around the holidays to those service employees.

“Interestingly, we found that young adults are better holiday tippers. We found from this and other research that millennials and men, for that matter, tend to be boom or bust tippers. In other words, they're more likely to leave nothing. But when they do tip, they tend to be more generous. I think another thing at play with millennials and Gen Zers too, is that if you have service industry experience, you tend to be a better tipper. And a lot of today's service industry workers are millennials and Gen Zers, so they may be a little more up to date on current tipping trends and kind of rewarding their own, if you will.”

Still have some tips to give? Keep your budget and mind, and if you can’t afford to tip everyone that you would like to, pick out the two or three people who really stood out this year.

When it comes to tipping in general, it seems like more places are prompting you to tip automatically if you pay electronically. There’s a term for it – “tip creep” and it’s showing up at businesses that don’t typically require a gratuity, like food trucks, bakeries, farmer’s markets, and some stores.

Contact Us