Is a variable service fee gratuity?

A service fee is not a gratuity. Service charges are usually for incidentals. If you don't know, ask for a complete breakdown of what the service fee entails.

@OGJessieJV I asked for that and that was the response I got. That's why I'm confused.

You need to be firm and tell them you need an actual list and breakdown. If they cannot provide one with the contract, move on. That's a hefty fee, and for it to be variable without cause is concerning.

Based on that response it sounds like it's a gratuity that is automatically added if you don't specify an amount on your own.

@sarah it says in the contract that we were to pick 22, 23, or 24% for the service fee and the if nothing was chosen 22 would be charged. And that the fee includes a 1% administration fee as well. I assumed this was gratuity since it was variable. Like how restaurants sometimes charge 18% for parties of 6 or more but you can choose to add more for excellent service. And since this is an event room at a restaurant I didn't think twice until this weekend when I looked at the contract again.

ETA: I've contacted them again asking for a breakdown of what the fee includes exactly. I'm glad I'm not the only one confused!

Our venue has an automatic 22% as well. I was a server many years ago and this is exactly what it is. The servers do not get the whole thing, the house keeps like 2-4% and then servers split the rest. So the people serving you will get 18-20% split between them basically as a tip.

@Mozabrat Thank you! This is what I assumed. I don't want to not tip obviously, but I don't want to tip 45% either.

A service fee is not a gratuity. If they are charging a gratuity, it needs to state gratuity.

My venue does 22% service fee. Gratuity is additional.

The event coordinator just emailed back and said the service fee is the gratuity. So I guess the lesson is to always confirm if it isn't explicitly stated.

The range does seem odd. In my area, almost all venues have a 20% service fee across the board. This is in addition to gratuity. I would ask them about what their suggested gratuity is so you can see how much that would be as well. The venues I looked at list a suggested gratuity range.

I asked n they said it was a gratuity but that not every venue is like that. You really have to specifically ask.

We made it gratuity... we payed 22%... we felt like that was enough

Because you asked about gratuity and they responded with information about the service charge, I think in this specific instance the vendor views the service charge as a tip.