LETTER: The Exploitation of Hospitality Workers Through Tips and Service Charges in Antigua and Barbuda

Antigua and Barbuda sells itself to the world as a luxury tourism destination built on warmth, service excellence, and hospitality. Yet behind the polished branding and five-star marketing lies a disturbing reality that threatens to stain the country’s image: the systematic exploitation of frontline hospitality workers through the misappropriation of tips and service charges.

This practice has crossed the line from poor management into what many workers now describe as organized wage theft.

Frontline employees, including waiters, bartenders, housekeepers, porters, and servers, are routinely denied direct access to tips intended specifically for them. Instead, tips and service charges are forcibly pooled and redistributed across the board, often with no transparency, no clear formula, and no accountability. The result is predictable: the people who interact directly with guests and generate the tips receive the least benefit, while management and ownership quietly profit.

What makes this situation even more damaging is the reaction from visitors. Guests are increasingly shocked and angered when they discover that the individual providing their service does not actually receive the tip they give. Many refuse to tip at all once they realize they are contributing to an exploitative system. This is not just a labour issue. It is now a visitor experience issue that directly undermines trust in Antigua and Barbuda’s tourism brand.

To make matters worse, some companies have begun labeling tips as company property. Workers are now threatened with disciplinary action or termination if they do not submit tips into centralized systems. Employees are being told that keeping a tip handed directly to them by a guest constitutes theft. This reversal of justice, where workers are criminalized while exploitative systems are protected, has created fear, resentment, and financial hardship across the industry.

Let us be clear. Tips and service charges are not gifts to companies. They are expressions of appreciation meant for service workers. When these funds are diverted, diluted, or absorbed into profit margins, it becomes exploitation in its purest form.

This situation places Antigua and Barbuda at serious risk of reputational damage. In an era where tourists openly share their experiences online, stories of exploited workers and unfair tipping practices travel fast. Silence and inaction from authorities only reinforce the perception that worker abuse is tolerated, if not endorsed.

We are therefore calling on the Government of Antigua and Barbuda, the Ministry of Labour, and all relevant authorities to act immediately. This issue requires urgent investigation, clear legislation, and strict enforcement. Transparent tip distribution policies must be mandated, worker protections strengthened, and penalties imposed on businesses that exploit service charges for profit.

Failure to act will not only deepen inequality within the hospitality sector but will also signal to the world that Antigua and Barbuda is willing to sacrifice worker dignity for profit.

This is not the image of a world-class tourism destination.

This is not sustainable.

And this must not be allowed to continue.

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