Introducción
La cultura de las propinas en Estados Unidos está generando fricción durante el Mundial 2026. Miles de aficionados extranjeros se enfrentan a una tradición desconocida: dejar hasta un 20 % de propina en restaurantes y bares, algo que en sus países de origen ya viene incluido en la cuenta. El resultado: gastos inesperados para los turistas y frustración entre el personal de hostelería, que depende de las propinas para completar un salario base muy bajo.
Summary
- Many football fans travelling to the World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico are finding the local tipping culture difficult.
- In their home countries, service charges are usually included in the bill at restaurants and in taxis.
- In North America, however, customers are expected to leave a tip of up to 20 per cent.
- If they don't, restaurant staff can feel let down.
- Fans say the extra cost is a problem.
- They have already spent a lot of money to attend the World Cup, and tipping makes expensive meals even more expensive.
- Some fans talk about "tipping fatigue" — feeling tired of being asked for a tip for almost everything, even a bottle of water.
- Restaurant workers are also finding this a difficult time.
- In the US, tips make up most of their income, and some workers earn as little as $2 an hour before tips.
- Without generous tips, many cannot earn enough to live on, and staff say it is very hard to survive in the hospitality industry without them.
- To deal with this, restaurants in several host cities have started adding a tip automatically to the bill.
- Restaurant owners say the main problem is that many visitors from other countries simply don't know about the tipping tradition.
- Some restaurants now ask their staff to explain, politely, why tipping matters in North America.
Vocabulario
football fans, to travel to event/location, the find sth. difficult, tipping culture, in sbs home country, service charges, to incl. sth. in the bill, to be expect to do sth., to leave a tip, up to x %, to feel let down by sb. or sth., extra cost, to spend a lot of money, to attend an event, sth makes sth adjective, even more expensive, tipping fatigue, to be tired of sth., to ask for a tip, to be asked for a tip, sth. makes up most of their income, to earn as little as x per hour, as little as, generous tips, to earn enough, to live on, to survive in x industry, the hospitality industry, to deal with sth., host cities, to add a tip automatically to the bill, the main problem is, to ask sb. to do sth.,
Lexical Chunks - English/Spanish Reference Table
| English | Español |
|---|---|
| football fans | los aficionados al fútbol |
| to travel to an event/location | viajar a un evento/lugar |
| to find sth. difficult | encontrar algo difícil |
| tipping culture | la cultura de las propinas |
| in sb.'s home country | en el país de origen de alguien |
| service charges | los cargos por servicio |
| to include sth. in the bill | incluir algo en la cuenta |
| to be expected to do sth. | se espera que alguien haga algo |
| to leave a tip | dejar una propina |
| up to x % | hasta un x % |
| to feel let down by sb. or sth. | sentirse decepcionado por alguien/algo |
| extra cost | el coste adicional |
| to spend a lot of money | gastar mucho dinero |
| to attend an event | asistir a un evento |
| sth. makes sth. adjective | algo hace que algo sea + adjetivo |
| even more expensive | aún más caro |
| tipping fatigue | la fatiga de la propina |
| to be tired of sth. | estar cansado de algo |
| to ask for a tip | pedir una propina |
| to be asked for a tip | que te pidan una propina |
| sth. makes up most of their income | algo constituye la mayor parte de sus ingresos |
| to earn as little as x per hour | ganar tan solo x por hora |
| as little as | tan solo / tan poco como |
| generous tips | propinas generosas |
| to earn enough | ganar lo suficiente |
| to live on | para vivir (de) |
| to survive in x industry | sobrevivir en el sector x |
| the hospitality industry | el sector de la hostelería |
| to deal with sth. | lidiar con algo |
| host cities | las ciudades anfitrionas |
| to add a tip automatically to the bill | añadir una propina automáticamente a la cuenta |
| the main problem is | el problema principal es |
| to ask sb. to do sth. | pedirle a alguien que haga algo |
| 33 lexical chunks - source topic: World Cup 2026 tipping culture (US/Canada/Mexico) | |