mandatory gratuity?

feest

Just wondering: how common is a mandatory service charge/gratuity imposed by hotels when hosting weddings? We had ours a few weekends back--brilliant wedding but the venue coordinator left room for improvement. When it came time to settle the final bill for food/wine/accommodation there was a gratuity included of nearly 500 euro. The coordinator was nowhere to be found and we (regretfully) settled the bill in full while stating that we would be following up regarding the charge.

Now we are back home and it's niggling at the back of my mind. I double checked our contract and all wedding related info they sent us--no mention anywhere. It's not even clear what the percentage is or charges it is correlated to. Awaiting a response from the coordinator now, but just wondering if I'm arguing an uphill battle.

seamus

There's no such thing as a mandatory gratuity. A gratuity is always optional, though it does differ from a service charge, which effectively forms part of the bill/contract. This is the same whether it's a restaurant, hotel, spa, whatever.

At this stage you will be fighting an uphill battle, since you have voluntarily paid the gratuity, whether or not it was stated on the contract.