Why are values-driven diners becoming the norm?
Values-driven diners are on the rise: more and more guests want to know where ingredients come from and what happens to the waste. According to chef Syrco Bakker, people in their twenties are already asking these questions, and in 10 years they will be your guests. What a restaurant shows online, in reviews, review responses and its Google profile, decides whether guests can actually find those values.
How can a restaurant make its values visible online?
A guest who chooses on values checks three places before booking: reviews, the restaurant's responses to them and the Google Business Profile. Local suppliers and a waste policy only count once they show up there. A restaurant that works sustainably but says nothing about it online loses out with this group of guests.
What exactly are young guests asking?
Syrco Bakker's interns from Portugal, all around 20, asked how the farmer works and what happens to the waste. Those are questions about sourcing and waste policy, not about the menu.
Why do reviews matter here?
Guests often mention local produce or sustainability in their reviews. A response from the restaurant that names the supplier or explains the approach lets new guests verify those values for themselves.
What role does Google Business Profile play?
Regular posts about suppliers, seasonal produce or waste policy show what a restaurant actually does. Guests see this right in the search results, before they ever visit the website.
People increasingly choose their hotel, restaurant and clothing brand based on their values.
Frequently asked questions
Which values carry the most weight when diners choose a restaurant?
According to chef Syrco Bakker, young guests mainly ask about origin and impact: how does the supplying farmer work, and what happens to the waste? Working with local suppliers and having a clear waste policy are therefore concrete points on which guests compare restaurants. They pay less attention to general claims and more to practices they can verify.
Does every restaurant need to focus on sustainability?
No. Syrco Bakker says everyone should do what they believe in and stay true to it. The point is not that every restaurant picks the same values. It is about consistency: a restaurant that makes its choices clear and acts on them attracts guests who share those choices.
How soon will values-based choices matter for restaurants?
Bakker expects a timeframe of around 10 years. The twenty-somethings now asking pointed questions about suppliers and waste will by then be regular restaurant guests. Restaurants that already make their practices visible in reviews, review responses and online profiles are building trust with this group today.
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Video transcript
I think everybody should do what they believe in and what they feel good with and really stay true to that. I think that's very important. But for me, well, I really believe, like, because when I was in POC, there was, well, we were connected with the region and we worked with local suppliers.
But then my interns from Portugal, they asked me, oh, but this farmer, how is he farming? And what are you doing with your waste? And what So very, um, asking very, well, specific questions.
And I was like, well, quite surprised. I said, wow, they are really like selecting the place where they live or where they, where they live and work with their values and with their lifestyle. And then I thought like, okay, if this is, these guys were around 20s.
But if this is developing in the same way, then in 10 years, these are our guests in the restaurant. And I really believe that people will more and more select their hotel, restaurant, clothing brand with their values.