German Cultural Facts

Family Values:
- Family is seen as the foundation of the social structure.
- Families tend to be small with one or two children.

German Demeanor:
- Germans are reserved and formal in their approach.
- They are private people.
- Germans tend to have a very dry sense of humor.
- The older generation might have little or no knowledge of English and they therefore hesitate to start a
conversation or come across as “tense” or “rude”.
- They are straight forward.
- Germans are very formal.
- Most Germans won’t hesitate to share any concerns/complaints.
- Germans are safety-/security-concerned.

Naming:
- Always formal, do not address a German person by their first name, it might be seen as rude. Germans will offer you
to use first names after getting to know one another better.
- Germans are very sensitive to their title (Dr., Prof., Graf Von (Duke of)…).

Money Matters:
- Cash and maestro cards (German debit card – often referred to as “EC-card”) are mostly used. Very little use of
credit card.
- Tip is usually only paid as a sign of appreciation of very good/excellent service as hotel-/service-staff (waiters,
cabin-stewards etc.). In Germany, service staff has a fixed salary and is not dependent on tips like for instance
waiters in the US.

Dress Code:
- During vacation, Germans tend to dress casual (shorts and t-shirts or short-sleeve shirts and
sandals/flip-flops/sneakers for men, short skirts/dresses/shorts and t-shirts or blouses for women).
- For dinner (when staying at a hotel), Germans tend to dress smart-casual.
- Formal wear is usually reserved for formal events like weddings, balls, casino-visits or similar.

Housekeeping:
- They place high value on cleanliness and neatness.
- Germans are very private and using personal items for towel folding might be seen as intrusive and rude.
- Germans also are very environmentally concerned which reflects in usage of towels, linen-change etc.

Food and Dining Room:

- Germans are very punctual.
- Germans rarely eat food with their hands.
- Offer bottled water only and preferably sparkling water (no tap water).
- Table manners are Continental.

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German Cultural Facts
- The older/war-generation considers leaving food on the plate impolite; the younger generation tends to be more
health-concerned (organic food).
- Coffee and tea are important.
- In the last few years, All-inclusive vacation packages have become rather popular.

Bar Service:
- Ice cold drinks and ice cubes or crushed ice in drinks are avoided and considered unhealthy.
- Soft drinks usually served chilled, but without ice.
- Most Germans prefer beer from the tap with a “head on the beer”.

Entertainment:
- Germans really enjoy sporting events, specially soccer (or football).
- Musicals or music-events in general (different genres) are very popular.
- The older generation tends to like ballroom-dancing.
- Pub-quizzes have become rather popular.

Other Services:
- Shore Excursions:
o Germans like sport-activities like swimming, snorkeling, hiking, mountain-biking.
o Germans tend to be very interested in the culture/local customs and history of the foreign country they are
visiting (sights, museums) as well as in the local cuisine or wine-tastings etc.
o Germans like a mix between activities/sports and sunbathing.
- Shops:
o Most Germans on vacation tend to only buy souvenirs, gifts for relatives/friends back home or bargains of
specific items (e.g. leather-goods in countries where price for leather is cheaper than in Germany).
o Jewelry or expensive purchases are only made for special occasions.
o Well-known brands and quality are important to Germans when making purchases.
- SPA:
o Spa-treatments are becoming more and more popular with Germans, however, it’s still mainly the female
population who would frequent the spa.
o The spending on cosmetics has increased in the last few years (even for men), however, the average German
tends to buy mainly one specific brand they’ve become accustomed to/like.