Hotelier Noel Cunningham says Irish people are getting better at tipping, but that it's not a necessity.
It comes after a photo of a receipt at a Disney World resort hotel in the US went viral, after being 'shamed' online for not leaving a tip.
The image shows a receipt for US$45.05 (€38.45) for a pizza with toppings including pepperoni, red peppers, olives, mushrooms and onions.
When their bill arrived, the customer wrote on the receipt: 'Sorry not to tip but this price is outrageous'.
Hotelier Noel Cunningham, ambassador for Harvey's Point, told The Hard Shoulder things are changing here.
"I think the tipping culture in Ireland has changed because we didn't have that culture.
"We have become slightly more American in that Irish people are more likely to tip nowadays.
"Thankfully it is not because [people] aren't paid properly, because we now have minimum wage and controls".
"They know, that on top of their wages - which are fair and equitable and correct - that if they give that little bit of extra service that they are more than likely going to get a tip, so that do have a vested interested in that for sure".
"If a tip is forthcoming it's a terrific bonus, but we do not set wage standards that people are going to supplement their pay by getting tips".
"In Ireland, we're getting better at tipping because we've become more sophisticated, standards of service are much higher... and people accept that if they're very well looked after it's a lovely gesture to give a tip".
Comedian Jim Elliott said the US system is confusing.
"Waiters and waitresses - the federal minimum wage in a lot of states does not apply to them because tipping exists.
"So there's a little bit of a chicken and egg thing here: is it that they don't make enough money because we already knew we had tipping, or because we need tipping to make up for the fact that they don't make enough money."
"If you're a waiter or a waitress - if you're in Utah or Texas or somewhere like that - your hourly wage that your employer pays you is probably less than $3 an hour.
"So tipping then becomes what the diner has to do to make sure that that person actually has a job that's worth having".
