How we set ranges

Defaults on this site are compiled custom, not a wage survey and not folklore we invented in a vacuum. Formula version 1. Last sitewide review: 14 August 2026.

What a default is

Each service record carries a typical band (dollars or percent), a generous band, and a skip / $0 case. The calculator opens on that typical case unless you change the inputs — movers start as a half day (4 hours) so the reprint sits in the posted $20–$40 band; hours past 4 use the full-day rate. Movers can switch to 5% of a billed total, split by crew. Restaurants use a percent of the check.

Movers, version 1

• Half day (≤ 4 hours): $30 per mover.
• Full day: $50 per mover.
• Or 5% of a billed lump, split by crew.
• Stairs: +$8 per mover per flight.
• Heavy items: +$10 per mover.
• Heat, rain, or snow: +$8 per mover.
• Gratuity included or forbidden: $0.

Those numbers sit inside the public bands ($20–$40 half day, $40–$60 full day). Editorial can change a rate without changing the engine. Sources for the bands are industry association etiquette pages and large publisher guides, compiled and dated — not original survey science.

Restaurant, version 1

• Default rate: 20% of the tippable check (pre-tax if they enter it).
• Posted choices: 15%, 18%, 20%, 25%.
• Wine or bottle service can be set aside and is not tipped unless they leave it in the check.
• Auto-gratuity or service charge on the bill: $0 extra.
• Exceptional extra on top of auto-gratuity: 5% of the tippable check.
• Party size splits the cash so the table can divide it.

Those numbers sit inside the public band (15–20% typical, 25% generous). A waitress, waiter, or server is the same job on this page — one table tip, not a second formula.

Other services, version 1

• Valet: $5 at a hotel handoff, $4 at a restaurant, +$3 in a high-cost city, times nights or handoffs.
• Housekeeping: $4 per night standard, $10 suite, +$2 per night when more than two people are in the room.
• Massage: 20% of the session (15/18/20 posted). Spa included or pooled: $0.
• Uber: 20% of the fare (15/20/25 posted), +$5 airport, +$3 if they waited 10 minutes or more.
• Bartender: 20% of a tab, or $1 a beer and $2 a cocktail drink-by-drink.

Rounding

Cash under $20 rounds to the nearest dollar. Cash from $20 to $100 rounds to the nearest $5. We never suggest half-dollars for a crew.

What this is not

Not legal advice. Not a claim that every crew expects these amounts. Not a certified etiquette authority. If a company posts a no-tip policy, that policy wins.