No — tipping isn’t legally required or automatically expected in London the way it is in the US. It’s discretionary, generally modest (10–12.5% at most, and often less), and varies a lot by setting. Our local etiquette guide covers the everyday basics — restaurants, taxis and pubs — in detail. This post goes deeper into the situations that guide doesn’t cover: hotels, tour guides, salons, cafés, and a real 2024 law that changes where your tip actually ends up.

Quick Answer, by Setting

Setting	Expected?	Typical amount
Restaurants, taxis, pubs	Modest, common	See our etiquette guide
Hotel porters	Optional, common	£1–£2 per bag
Hotel housekeeping	Optional	£1–£2 per night, left in the room
Hotel concierge	Optional, for real help	£5–£10
Free walking tours	Effectively expected	£5–£10 per person
Paid guided tours	Optional but appreciated	A few pounds, or 10% of cost
Hairdressers & spa treatments	Optional	Around 10%
Cafés and coffee shops	Not expected	Spare change in the jar, if anything
Food delivery apps	Optional	Rounding up, or a small cash tip

Hotels: Porters, Housekeeping, Concierge and Room Service

Hotel tipping in London is entirely optional, but a few small gestures are common practice, particularly at mid-range and upscale hotels. Porters who help with luggage are typically tipped £1–£2 per bag. Housekeeping isn’t obligatory, but leaving £1–£2 per night in the room (an envelope or a visible note helps make sure it reaches the right person) is a common courtesy, especially for a longer stay. A concierge who goes out of their way — securing a hard-to-get restaurant booking, sourcing last-minute tickets — is often tipped £5–£10 for the effort, though a simple query doesn’t call for one. For room service, always check the bill first: many hotels already add a service charge (commonly 10–12.5%), in which case a further tip isn’t expected.

Tour Guides: Free Walking Tours vs Paid Tours

This is the one category where tipping in London is closer to genuinely expected than optional. London’s “free” walking tours — a well-established format in areas like the City of London, the South Bank and Shoreditch — aren’t actually free for the guide; they work entirely on tips, and £5–£10 per person is the standard range guides rely on to make the format financially viable. For a paid guided tour, coach tour or boat trip, tipping is more genuinely optional — a couple of pounds per person, or around 10% of the tour cost, is a reasonable gesture for a guide who’s added real value, but nobody will comment if you don’t.

Hairdressers, Salons and Spa Treatments

Around 10% is the informal going rate for hairdressers and spa or salon treatments, similar to restaurant tipping. It’s discretionary rather than expected, and entirely reasonable to skip if you’re not satisfied with the service.

Cafés, Coffee Shops and Food Delivery

At large chains — Pret A Manger, Costa, Starbucks and similar — nobody expects a tip. At independent neighbourhood cafés, dropping spare change in a tip jar when you order at the counter is a nice gesture, but keeping the change is just as normal and won’t raise an eyebrow. For food delivery apps like Deliveroo and Uber Eats, tipping is optional; rounding up or leaving a small cash tip is appreciated but not the norm, particularly compared with US delivery culture.

Does Your Tip Actually Reach the Staff? The 2024 Law

This is worth knowing and rarely mentioned in tipping guides: since 1 October 2024, the Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023 has made it unlawful for UK employers to withhold tips, gratuities or service charges from staff. Businesses must now pass on 100% of qualifying tips, minus only standard tax deductions, and distribute them fairly and transparently under a statutory Code of Practice — a worker who’s shortchanged can bring a claim to an employment tribunal. Before this law, service charges added to a bill weren’t always guaranteed to reach the person who served you; that loophole is now closed for tips employers control or have significant influence over.

One practical nuance: cash left directly in someone’s hand is the most certain way to tip a specific individual, since it bypasses any pooling system entirely. A card tip or an added service charge still legally has to reach staff under the 2024 law, but it may be shared across a team (a “tronc” system) rather than going to the one person who served you.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do hotel staff expect a tip in London?

No, it’s optional rather than expected, though common practice at mid-range and upscale hotels. Porters are typically tipped £1–£2 per bag, housekeeping £1–£2 per night, and a concierge £5–£10 for going out of their way. Budget hotels and B&Bs see far less of this custom, and skipping it entirely is not considered rude.

How much should you tip a tour guide in London?

It depends on the tour type. Free walking tours genuinely rely on tips as the guide’s income — £5–£10 per person is the standard range. For a paid guided tour, a couple of pounds per person or around 10% of the tour cost is a reasonable, optional gesture rather than an expectation.

Do you have to tip if a service charge is already included?

No. If a bill already includes a service charge — commonly 10–12.5% at restaurants, sometimes lower at hotels — an additional tip isn’t expected. Since October 2024, UK law also requires that service charge to be passed on to staff in full, so you can be confident it isn’t simply being retained by the business.

Is it true that all tips now go to staff by law in the UK?

Yes, for tips an employer controls or has significant influence over. The Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023 came into force on 1 October 2024 and makes it unlawful for businesses to withhold tips, gratuities or service charges from workers, who must now receive 100% minus standard tax deductions, distributed fairly under a statutory Code of Practice.

Do you tip in cafés and coffee shops in London?

Not really. At chain coffee shops nobody expects a tip. At independent cafés, leaving spare change in a tip jar at the counter is a nice gesture, but keeping the change is just as normal and won’t be seen as impolite.

Is it rude not to tip in London?

No — this is one of the biggest differences from US tipping culture. Tipping in London is discretionary almost everywhere, and choosing not to tip, particularly for average or below-average service, isn’t considered rude the way it can be perceived in the US. Where a service charge is already added to your bill, an extra tip is genuinely not expected at all.

For the everyday basics — restaurants, taxis and pub etiquette — see our full Local Etiquette Rules guide, or browse more of the Blog for trip-planning advice.