Generation Y: how to profit from it, but also satisfy it fairly

Members of the millennial generation (Generation Y) are today in their prime years (ages 20 to 35) and the world literally depends on them. They are often portrayed as demanding, well-informed, and somewhat egocentric, which they likely are, but it would be unfair to stop there.

Millennials have inherited a destroyed economy, an unforgiving labor market, and generally poorer financial living conditions than their parents, both globally and in Croatia. Therefore, it is no surprise that they expect satisfactory service for their hard-earned money and do not forgive mistakes and fraud.

The structure of guests in Croatia is slowly but surely changing. Families with children and older loyal guests still visit us the most, but various events, especially festivals, bring more and more young millennials each year, who currently have a pretty good image of Croatia. However, many hospitality providers who are not directly involved in these events find this generation somewhat mysterious and inaccessible. This is a generation that needs to be understood in order to please them and ultimately profit from them.
First and foremost, millennials travel much more frequently than their parents. They care much more about the question ‘what will I do’ than ‘where will I go’. They particularly demand high standards in hospitality because outings and entertainment are among the most important things in their lives. If you want to engage in hospitality quality, it is essential to offer every guest the so-called holy trinity: quality service and product, reasonable price, and pleasant ambiance. Without that, no other methods will help you attract and retain them, especially millennials. Marin Levaj, one of the co-owners of Mojo Bar in Zagreb and event manager of the pub and restaurant Pivana, particularly emphasizes this.
– Millennial guests are very picky and have every right to be. Today, information is much more accessible, and people get bored very quickly. Along with price and quality, the program is also very important, which means that it is no longer enough for the ambiance to be pleasant and the service good; concerts must be constantly held, and DJs changed. Guests appreciate such effort. Although we mix genres in our programs, we always stay within the frameworks of urban and cultural. In this regard, I am very stubborn because I try to partially educate the audience in my venues. We need to move away from trends dictated by MTV and radio stations, i.e., their corporate sponsors – explains Levaj, noting that you should not cater to guests so much that they dictate what music will be played in the venue. – You need to ‘sneak in’ cultural content like jazz concerts, occasionally invite classical musicians, and so on. If packaged well, guests will open up to new horizons – explains Levaj.
One of the main characteristics of millennials is that they are quite open to all new experiences, including food and drinks. They grew up with many culinary shows and the internet, where the global ‘foodie’ scene has flourished, which has opened them up to all world cuisines. Therefore, on their frequent travels, they do not hesitate to eat fried insects and similar local specialties. In other words, you do not have to sell only farmed sea bream with semi-finished fries from a bag as a side dish in your restaurant on the waterfront; you can freely experiment with indigenous and fresh ingredients because your young guests will taste them.

Millennials also love diversity in offerings at bars and cafes. Levaj told us that at Mojo Bar, in addition to the standard drink offerings, they offer over 130 types of wine and more than 70 different liqueurs and brandies, mostly from domestic producers.
– I have visited most of our drink producers and have confirmed that they operate fairly and properly, and people recognize and appreciate that – he said, touching on another specificity of millennials – they value a sense of inclusion and prefer brands that advocate for community progress, i.e., the promotion and protection of things they consider important. Among them are domestic products, but at a fair price.
The millennial generation is most distinguished from previous ones by its dedication to information technology. They are constantly online and can quickly and easily inform themselves about everything that interests them, which is why hospitality providers must follow these trends. Your restaurant or bar must be on social media, and not just generically and unidirectionally. It is also desirable to have your own website where the menu, prices, and reservation options are easily and clearly visible. Here, you can freely present your business on a personal level, describe the origin of the ingredients, boast about collaboration with the local community and producers, and build a story around each dish. Be sure to optimize the site for mobile devices because many guests browse outing places using their smartphones and make decisions that way. Marin Medak, the owner of the Zagreb restaurant Rougemarin, is also aware of the impact of digital technology.
– The millennial generation is primarily very reliant on digital technology; it allows them to quickly and accurately inform themselves about what they are looking for, which means that all hospitality establishments must use it – Medak believes, adding that Rougemarin, with the speed of data updates, has already become akin to a media outlet that lives off publishing information, and that online presence is largely responsible for successful business operations.

You can attract millennials with digital marketing, but you also need to retain them. Quality must always be the top priority because many studies show that this generation finds it hard to forgive mistakes and fraud, meaning you can only deceive them once; after that, they will never return to your café or restaurant. Moreover, through word of mouth and online sharing, they will share their experience with everyone and appropriately punish you with bad publicity on social media. But this medal has another side because with quality service, you actually gain free promotion.
Sharing on social media is one of millennials’ favorite pastimes; they almost fetishistically ‘share’ all their experiences with friends, including gastronomic ones. Rest assured that every course will be photographed with smartphones; this has become an integral part of their meals. Therefore, the visual impression of the dishes you serve them is very important. This, of course, does not mean that you will serve strictly designer and minimalist plates in a Dalmatian tavern; rather, rustic can also be aesthetically acceptable. Many people do not find cephalopods to be the most charming animals, but no one has yet complained about the appearance of octopus under the bell.
Although they are the generation hardest hit by the recession, millennials are very much willing to pay for what they like and what they consider valuable. Data from the ‘Understanding Millennials’ study shows that the majority of them, nearly 90 percent, are willing to reach into their pockets and order an expensive and beautiful meal even when they are short on cash.

Another important factor influencing Generation Y’s preferences is their education about safety, health standards, and food production. In this regard, its members are very picky; they seek meat that has not been treated with antibiotics and hormones, unprocessed fruits and vegetables, and generally advocate for organic and ‘free-range’ stories. On the other hand, many millennials will not hesitate to eat ‘fast food’ and other processed and instant food. However, as shown by the flood of burger restaurants in the metropolis, even hamburgers are no longer what they used to be. Original blends of fresh meat for making patties, homemade sauces and buns, and generous portions are now crucial for the survival of ‘fast food’ restaurants. A hamburger that sits in plastic wrap for hours waiting to be microwaved does not pass muster among millennials.
The demands of Generation Y are often contradictory, which is not surprising considering that studies declare them to be both the most optimistic and the most depressed generation. This is clearly seen in their choice of outing places. The same guests often spend one evening at a rock festival, another ‘partying’ at Zrće, and a third dancing in a folk club. However, no matter how much we roll our eyes at the way of entertainment in expensive folk clubs, most owners have studied the millennial generation very well, especially the rules in the sponsor-sponsee relationship. Some clubs, for example, serve a free bottle of spirits to a male group that brings female companions. Because where there are women, there will be their sponsors.
Maja Martinović, the booking manager at the Collegium agency, which participates in organizing numerous festivals in Croatia, is well acquainted with the festival scene here and the needs of guests, especially young people from Great Britain, with whom she communicates daily. – Guests are attracted by a list of quality performers, the sea, a good location, and a crowd. The British, favored guests of Croatian hosts, like to book everything in advance, while, for example, Italians only pay for accommodation, visit the festival on the first day, and then look for other places to have fun. Locals were initially skeptical about the development of this type of tourism, but they were quickly won over by festival tourism because such guests are excellent consumers.
– The entire infrastructure has adapted to this type of tourism; festivals last from early June to late August, thus gradually extending the season – Martinović told us.

Festival tourism is very beneficial for local communities that can ‘bite’ the influx of unruly young people and noise for a few days. Concrete indicators testify to this. When the Garden Festival was held in Petrčane eight years ago, an apartment in private accommodation cost 120 euros. After the festival moved to Tisno, accommodation in Petrčane costs 40 euros. Not to mention Ultra and the alleged earnings of around 20 million euros. Festival tourism is currently a train speeding along the Croatian coast. The question is only who among local communities and tourism workers will jump on it and who will remain on the platform. In the end, all those who are bothered by such a profile of events and guests have, unfortunately, nine months to rest their ears from the festival noise.
We cannot fail to mention the ‘party’ mecca of millennials, popular Zrće, where every summer from zero to twenty-four, everything that young people love is practiced. Although it carries the stigma of a sort of Sodom and Gomorrah, Zrće is making great strides forward every year; the clientele is becoming increasingly demanding, the best world DJs regularly come there, and the quality of service is evidenced by the fact that Papaya was chosen as the twenty-third best club in the world last year. Despite the prejudices of the conservative public, the hospitality team on ‘our Ibiza’ is doing a top-notch and very profitable job.
Hospitality providers on the continent have been luring their guests for years with various promotions, ‘happy hour’ offers, actions, themed parties, and over time are becoming increasingly innovative. Recently, pub quizzes have become extremely popular among millennials, stand-up comedians are doing very well, and even the notoriously stiff golf courses must adapt to the younger generation by enriching their offerings with foot golf and beers from small local breweries.
If this is still too much for you, you will surely be ‘delighted’ to know that almost half of Generation Y members believe they will have even greater demands regarding outings in the next five years.