WORLD CUP FANS SKIPPED TIPS, SO RESTAURANTS ADDED 20% FEES
World Cup tipping confusion left some New York servers short during the tournament, because many international fans did not leave American-style gratuities, and restaurants in Kansas City, Atlanta and Philadelphia responded by adding automatic 20% charges to checks. The New York Post reported on June 20, 2026 that an estimated 1.2 million soccer fans were visiting the region for matches at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
The bars were full, the beer was flowing and the tabs were large. The tips, staff said, were not keeping up.
“It’s very different. And a lot of people haven’t been leaving tips,” said Louise Daggett, a waitress at McCarthy’s Pub on West 46th Street. “There’s been a lot of tables that have come in and had a tab of almost $700.”
Daggett did not blame bad manners. She said visitors often asked how to sign a receipt and work out a tip, and she explained that tipping is a big deal in the city. Between longer shifts, earlier openings and extra staff, she still came away happy. “Everyone has been really sweet . . . they’re loud and happy, very nice,” she told the Post, a quote FootballTransfers also carried.
Service already included, visitors assumed
Anne Calimano, co-owner of Hurley’s Saloon, said the tournament turned one of the city’s slower seasons into a party that runs morning, noon and night. “I mean, obviously they don’t tip like normal,” she said.
She put it down to culture. In much of Europe, she said, staff are paid like workers in any other job, so a bartender who asks whether the service was fine gets a cheerful yes and no tip, because customers assume it was already in the price. Her staff expected it. “They know they’re not going to get the 20% or whatever,” Calimano said, adding that they were busy and making money.
At Garvey’s Irish Pub on West 41st Street, bartender Cathal Reynolds said Scotland fans had taken over the city and the mornings were busier than the nights. He understood why some guests held back. “They’ve already spent a lot of money to be here in the first place,” he said.
Industry groups and restaurant operators described the automatic gratuities as a way to protect workers who rely heavily on tips and to spare visitors a confusing custom, the Post reported.
Axios reported that Teneshia Murray Butler, owner of Atlanta-based T’s Brunch Bar, raised her automatic gratuity from 18% to 20% for the tournament. “My servers are everything,” she said. Axios also described a large group of foreign fans who ran up a bill of about $300 during an Argentina versus Algeria match and left a $4 tip.
New York bartender Jessica Ordeñana told Axios 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,” she said.
The BBC reported that at Banter, a Brooklyn football bar, owner Chris Keller said some European visitors were bad tippers or did not tip at all. He changed reservations to require prepayment for drinks, including a service charge. “It’s just to protect our staff,” Keller said. The BBC noted that some U.S. restaurant workers are paid just over $2 an hour and that 20% is commonly expected.
In Pennsylvania, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that the Pennsylvania Restaurant & Lodging Association advised operators to consider a 20% service charge from June 11 to July 19. It also told them to check with legal or financial professionals, since service charges and automatic gratuities can involve different tax and legal filings.
Not every owner signed on
Fox News reported that restaurant owners were split, with some backing the charges and others opposed, and that some planned to post notices warning customers. “At Mahon Hospitality, we will not be changing our gratuity policies during the World Cup,” Robert Mahon said. Fox said some operators worried about customers getting frustrated with fees.
NDTV Profit reported that some fans pushed back on social media, arguing the money could benefit employers instead of workers or impose unfair costs on diners. It framed the fight as U.S. tipping practices colliding with places where service is built into menu prices.
The tournament money story went well beyond restaurant checks. The IRS was also set to take a cut of Spain’s FIFA World Cup prize.
The Inquirer noted that a service charge is not necessarily the same as a tip, and that where the money goes depends on each restaurant’s policy. In an update on October 27, 2026, the paper reported that Mission Taqueria, which had planned a temporary 20% World Cup service charge, had lifted it.
