Canary prompts guests to tip by text message, email, or QR code. Guests pay with Apple Pay, Google Pay, or a card, with no app or login.
On TippingLink, guests open the tipping page from a staff member's QR code or link, or from the hotel's tip pool QR code, and pay by credit card or ACH bank transfer. Guests choose an amount, add a personal thank-you message, and complete a secure payment from a phone or desktop, during the stay, at check-out, or after they've left.
When a guest tips a specific staff member rather than a tip pool, the staff member can send a thank-you note back through TippingLink. The guest's personal email address isn't shared with staff, because notes travel through the TippingLink application.
The hotel pays nothing for that setup. Canary sits on a subscription, sold on its own or in a bundle and priced by custom quote.
Before the hotel signs up for a tipping platform, these questions sort out the fit:
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TippingLink |
Canary Digital Tipping |
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Cost to the hotel |
Zero cost to the hotel to enable or maintain, and staff keep 100% of each tip with a fee-free ACH transfer. Guests pay a TippingLink fee, shown at checkout before they pay. |
Sold on its own or in Canary's Advanced and Pro subscription bundles, priced by custom quote. |
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Who it's for |
Hotels |
Hotels, from independent hotels to hotel groups |
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How tips are sent |
A staff member's QR code or link, or the hotel's tip pool QR code, paid by credit card or ACH bank transfer |
A text message, email, or QR code, paid by Apple Pay, Google Pay, or card, with no app or login |
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Two-way thanks |
Guests add a note to their tip. When a guest tips a specific staff member, that staff member can send a thank-you note back. |
Guests can leave a short message with the tip. |
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Tip pooling |
A shared pool, individual tipping, or both |
Tips to an individual, a department, or both |
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How guests find it |
Individual staff QR codes and links, plus a property-wide QR code for a tip pool |
Text and email prompts, plus QR codes on room cards, in-room tablets, and post-stay emails |
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Staff payout |
A fee-free transfer to a bank account, or an optional push to a qualifying debit card with a transaction fee |
Payouts to employee bank accounts, with payroll integration |
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What management sees |
Management is not shown individual tip details for specific staff members. If your hotel uses a tip pool to collect tips and disburse them to staff members, management may have visibility into who contributed, tip amounts, and disbursements to staff members. |
Canary offers tip reporting for the hotel. |
Hotels pay nothing to enable TippingLink and nothing to maintain it. Tip pooling carries no cost to the hotel either.
Guests pay a TippingLink fee when they tip: 3.5% of the transaction, with a $1 minimum. Paying by credit card adds a 3% card processing fee, and paying by ACH bank transfer doesn't add anything on top of the TippingLink fee. Every fee is shown at checkout before the guest pays, and the TippingLink Terms and Conditions have the details.
Staff receive 100% of their tips with a fee-free ACH transfer. Staff who want faster access can push their tips to a qualifying debit card, which includes a transaction fee, and that choice is theirs.
A hotel starts with the get-started form on tippinglink.io.
From there, the TippingLink team handles implementation and loads the hotel's terms and conditions and staff. After launch, the hotel manages its staff as changes happen.
Each employee added to TippingLink gets an invitation email from TippingLink with everything they need to set up their profile, and they appear on the tipping page as soon as they're invited.
If the hotel collects tips into one fund and splits them among the team, TippingLink supports that. Guests see one "tip the team" option for the property. The hotel names the pool and sets a closure date.
You choose how the pool is paid out. A single payout to the property sends the funds by ACH transfer to the property's bank account, and the property handles employee disbursement.
A payout from TippingLink lets you set the percentage each employee receives, and each share is paid into that employee's TippingLink profile. With this method, guests can tip the pool and individual staff at the same time.
If your property uses a tip pool to collect tips and disburse them to staff members, management may have visibility into who contributed, tip amounts, and disbursements to staff members.
Each staff member can have their own QR code and link to share with guests, and a property-wide QR code opens the hotel's tip pool. Where the hotel places those codes is up to the property.
Management is not shown individual tip details for specific staff members. Managers can add and remove employees from the tipping platform, and individual tip transactions sent to specific staff members are kept private. If your property uses a tip pool to collect tips and disburse them to staff members, management may have visibility into who contributed, tip amounts, and disbursements to staff members.
TippingLink runs on PCI-compliant payment infrastructure and SOC 2-compliant systems. Sensitive payment information is encrypted and never stored in full on TippingLink servers.
Get started with TippingLink and connect with a member of our team about bringing it to your hotel.