I agree with furfan about a place like Pandora's Box (which I would never visit because of their requirements for personal info & how much they record you while on their premises). But, I consider them to be a "house style" dungeon rather than a commercial one.

I do always tip if it is a "house style" dungeon where the Dommes work shifts & there are lower rates. The amount I tip is whatever it takes to be in line with what I consider to be the normal rate I would pay for an independent session. However, I will not tip past that amount.

For Independent Dommes who I book directly with (regardless of whether the session is in a commercial or private dungeon & how much they choose to charge), I pay the agreed upon rate & do not tip.

The difference is that an Independent Domme sets their rate partially based on their business expenses, including the hourly rate for a dungeon rental or the costs of maintaining their own. Whereas a "House Domme" generally charges the Dungeon's rates and gets a much lower cut of the session fee (because the dungeon is also taking care of the pain of booking, advertising, dungeon maintenance, etc...).

These are my personal rules and I respect others who choose to work differently. However, since Scooby expressed surprise about the idea of tipping, I thought I would weigh in with when or when not to tip in my opinion. In addition, I always do bring a small gift (or gifts) of appreciation to a session but that is never cash and has nothing to do with the business arrangement between the Domme and myself.