SOME WORLD CUP FANS SKIPPED TIPS, SO RESTAURANTS ADDED 20%
World Cup tipping confusion had restaurants in three host cities adding automatic 20% gratuities, and New York servers said some visitors skipped tips.
An estimated 1.2 million soccer fans were visiting the region for matches at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, the New York Post reported on June 20, 2026. The paper said restaurants in Kansas City, Atlanta and Philadelphia had begun adding the automatic gratuities during the tournament.
Local bars and restaurants were busy from morning kickoffs through late-night celebrations.
“It’s very different. And a lot of people haven’t been leaving tips,” said Louise Daggett, a waitress at McCarthy’s Pub.
Tabs near $700, tips missing
“There’s been a lot of tables that have come in and had a tab of almost $700,” Daggett said.
She said some visitors seemed unsure how to sign receipts and calculate tips. She put at least some of the missed tips down to visitors not understanding local tipping practices, not deliberate rudeness.
FootballTransfers quoted her as saying, “Everyone has been really sweet . . . they’re loud and happy, very nice.”
Anne Calimano, co-owner of Hurley’s Saloon, said her staff saw it coming. “I mean, obviously they don’t tip like normal,” she said.
“They know they’re not going to get the 20% or whatever,” Calimano said. She added that the staff were busy and making money.
Cathal Reynolds, a bartender at Garvey’s Irish Pub, said he understood why some visitors might not leave U.S.-sized gratuities, given what they spent to travel. “They’ve already spent a lot of money to be here in the first place,” he said.
Elsewhere in World Cup money news, the IRS will take a cut of Spain’s FIFA World Cup prize.
Why restaurants added the 20%
Industry groups and restaurant operators described the automatic gratuities as a way to protect workers who rely heavily on tips and to cut confusion for visitors unfamiliar with U.S. customs, the Post reported.
Axios reported that Teneshia Murray Butler, owner of Atlanta-based T’s Brunch Bar, raised her restaurant’s automatic gratuity from 18% to 20% for the World Cup. “My servers are everything,” she said.
Axios also reported on a large group of foreign fans who ran up a bill of about $300 and left a $4 tip during an Argentina versus Algeria match.
New York City bartender Jessica Ordeñana said her restaurant applied automatic gratuity for tourists, though it could occasionally be missed on busy game days.
“They left like a $4 tip, and that was really, really disgusting. We depend on [tips], but unfortunately we cannot depend on them, because of how low they are,” Ordeñana said.
Not every operator went along. Fox News reported that some restaurant owners backed automatic gratuities while others opposed them, and that some planned to post notices telling customers about the charges.
“At Mahon Hospitality, we will not be changing our gratuity policies during the World Cup,” Robert Mahon said.
Fox News said some operators saw mandatory gratuities as a fix for visitors’ unfamiliarity with U.S. tipping customs, while others worried about customers getting frustrated with fees.
NDTV Profit reported that some fans pushed back on social media against the automatic charges. Their concerns included that the money could benefit employers rather than workers, or impose unfair costs on diners.
NDTV Profit described the fight as a clash between U.S. tipping practices and places where service may be included in menu prices.
