What if our satisfaction with food quality is influenced by factors like atmosphere, noise level, dress code, and technology? Just as families have different preferences when choosing a restaurant, club members do, too. Around the dinner table, perceptions of quality—and even appetite—can vary from person to person. My dad used to say, “Can I just eat in peace?” whenever things got too noisy at dinner.
Successful organizations understand their customers and their preferences. Chefs recognize that consistency and popular menu items foster loyalty. The pandemic affected ingredient costs, staffing levels, and safety protocols through technology. Although conditions won’t return to how they were, some strategic changes have been overly drastic.
Society’s casual attitude began forming as early as 2000 for us at the Ritz. At a lobby table, an elderly couple in seersucker sat across from a young tech entrepreneur in a hoodie, while others entered wearing hip-hop-inspired baggy jeans and glittery sneakers. The shift in our restaurant was evident even then. Despite attempts to enforce dress codes, once seated, guests revealed their preferences and personalities.
Most club memberships average between 55 and 65 years old, spanning three-plus generations. Many are Baby Boomers, who hold the greatest wealth among members. Baby Boomers have voiced strong concerns over new restaurant practices like QR code menus and digital wine lists. When QR code menus swept through restaurants during the pandemic, the logic made sense: physical menus were a contact risk, smartphones were universal, and going digital seemed like a clean solution. Safety and comfort were priorities. Yet two-thirds of consumers aged 60-plus are uncomfortable using technology, according to industry surveys. The surprise today is how broadly that feeling has spread.
In 2024, even tech-savvy Gen Z showed a strong preference for tangible menus, with around 90% favoring print. Club locations such as pools or golf areas that are fully digital are now facing a member engagement problem. While staffing and service delivery times have improved with technology, not all members are happy navigating another device.
With technology comes digital devices such as TVs and other noise-producing elements in dining rooms. Walk into almost any trendy, remodeled club today, and the first thing you notice isn’t the smell of food—it’s the noise level. Hard floors, open ceilings, exposed brick, and display kitchens pushed into the center of dining rooms have turned dinner into something that can genuinely strain your hearing. Long gone are the sound-buffering elements of carpet, drapes, cloth-stuffed chairs, and the classic ’70s drop ceilings. Last week, I was in Florida at a beautifully designed new space, yet the GM mentioned they needed to add sound baffling.
While a higher noise level may feel more current and exciting for some members, it is more than an annoyance—it is a genuine barrier. I remember eating with my dad when he got his first set of hearing aids; he was so distracted in hard-surfaced spaces. The World Health Organization estimates that 60% of adults aged 60 and older will experience moderate or greater age-related hearing loss. If a member is distracted, how can they emotionally engage with the waiter’s description, fellow diners, or the comfort of the dining space?
Studies by dining guide Zagat reveal that noise levels are the top complaint among diners, ranking ahead of bad food, slow service, and high prices as the factor most likely to ruin a meal. Dress code violations are never as offensive as someone at the next table speaking loudly or having a cell phone conversation.
Boomers—my age group—are the least comfortable generation when it comes to restaurant technology and are the most skeptical about the use of AI. According to DoorDash’s 2025 Trends Report, only 34–40% of boomers are comfortable with AI recommendations, compared to much higher percentages among younger generations.
Millennials and Gen Z are more inclined to embrace digital tools for dining, loyalty programs, and real-time promotions, while boomers and Gen X prefer a more traditional approach mixed with modern conveniences. The frustration isn’t simply about not understanding technology—it’s about what gets lost when screens replace staff. Nearly 90% of survey respondents said their main reason for eating out was to spend time with family and friends, and a dining room full of people staring at phone screens or tablet kiosks works directly against that purpose.
Many clubs that initially adopted digital menus have returned to physical menus or now use a combination of both, especially in casual settings like pools or grab-and-go areas. Most members continue to favor a traditional, human-centered dining experience. Member interactions are also the primary reason employees remain at a particular club, making these connections valuable for everyone involved. As a relationship-oriented species, humans communicate a great deal through nonverbal cues.
As a Baby Boomer, I once thought getting older meant simply wanting more silence—until I read that in 2023, SoundPrint found that over half of dining spaces were so loud that it was difficult to have a conversation. These are not niche complaints from a resistant audience; they represent the dominant feedback shaping how the industry is adjusting heading into 2026. Designers of restaurant spaces need to create more zone-based environments because society isn’t going to start speaking more quietly.
