Do You Tip in Dubai?

UAE is the country of tradition, tolerance, and acceptance no matter your culture, religion, or nationality. If you live in the UAE, you must be familiar with “tipping” which is an act of giving a sum of money customarily given by a client or customer to certain service sector workers for the service they have performed, in addition to the basic price of the service. Whether you’re a tourist visiting Dubai and the UAE, or a resident living here – knowing how much to tip, when it is appropriate, and who you should tip are useful things to know when out and about. 

Tipping is a positive way to express delight at good service, and today many UAE residents will not tip if they have received a bad service. Here is your tipping guide!

Restaurants: 10 – 15% of the bill

The service charges included in the overall bill are usually kept by the restaurants, and not distributed among the staff. So be sure to tip the waiters, even if there are service charges.

Delivery drivers: AED 5 or AED 10, or let them keep the change

A lot of apps like Talabat and Zomato will include a delivery fee for their drivers; but if you don’t want the drivers to fumble through their pockets looking for a change and you want to show appreciation for their service, you can round it up to the nearest currency note and let them keep the change.

Home service staff

This includes cleaners, maintenance, movers, and painters. The standard to tip is between AED 10 and AED 30, but you might be inclined to increase that to AED 40 or AED 50 if you have a significantly large task at hand. This may also vary depending on the number of staff you have hired.

Who not to tip!

Don’t ever try to tip civil servants, government workers, or police officials – no matter what country you’re in. Anything that can be taken as a bribe can land you in jail.

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