London Rock Roll Sanctum Hotel Scraps Service Charge

Sanctum Soho Hotel in London has become the latest hospitality business to abandon service charges on customer bills following the introduction of new tips legislation.

Owner Mark Fuller, who opened the hotel in the heart of London Soho earlier this year, said he was banning the 12.5 per cent service charge at the hotel and its No.20 restaurant to make bills more transparent for customers and give them the option to pay what they wanted to reward good service.

He said: “Service charges cleverly manipulate prices. You head out with a budget in mind, and it's blown out of control with an unwanted tax. I want guests of my hotel and restaurant to know what they’ll be paying when they leave.

“There is nothing worse than the bitter taste of a surprise bill. What you see is what you pay at Sanctum. It’s just not Rock and Roll otherwise, and I encourage others to do the same.”

Legislation that came into force on October 1 has made it illegal for restaurants to use tips left for staff to top up wages to the National Minimum Wage. Restaurants and hotels have also been encouraged to sign up to a new code of practice on tipping so staff and customers know where the money they have left is going.