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American
Diners Willing to Spend Big Money on
Dining
Experience of Their Lives, According to Recent Michelin Survey
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Men
willing to spend more for fine food than women
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Young
adults willing to pay much more than older diners
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Diners
in the West are much bigger spenders than rest of the country
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Steakhouse
is the most popular choice for high-end dining
Greenville, SC – December
2015 / Newsmaker Alert / Americans said they would splurge an
average of $203 in order to have a once-in-a-lifetime dining experience
at a gourmet restaurant, according to a recent online survey by Harris
Poll sponsored by Michelin, the
global tire maker that publishes, arguably, the world’s most celebrated
restaurant guide that imparts the famous Michelin stars to the very finest
eateries.
“We discovered across every
demographic that American diners would be willing to pay a sizable sum
to eat the best meal of their lives at a high-end restaurant,” said Cynthia
Ochterbeck, Michelin’s U.S. editorial director for travel guides. “Perhaps
this is the influence of around-the-clock food shows and celebrity chefs,
but the fine food movement continues to see an extraordinary growth in
popularity.”
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Michelin’s survey with Harris
Poll queried more than 2,000 U.S. adults, revealing some surprising preferences
about great food experiences:
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Millennials (ages 18-34) on
average would pay $282 for this culinary experience, compared to those
diners ages 45-54 who would shell out $170, and $122 for those 65 and older.
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Geographically, diners in the
West are much bigger spenders, saying they would pay $352 for an unsurpassed
meal, which is essentially double what people would pay in the Northeast
($182), the South ($149) and Midwest ($148).
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Gender is also a factor, according
to survey results. Men are willing to drop an average of $241 for a once-in-a-lifetime
dining experience, while women are inclined to spend considerably less
on average, at $166.
What cuisine would American
diners likely splurge on?
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A quarter of U.S. adults who
participated in the Michelin survey say that steakhouse cuisine is their
favorite choice for dining.
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Italian ranked as the second
choice nationally for the meal of a lifetime. Notably, nearly 1 in 4 Northeast
diners (24 percent) favor Italian fare, versus 18 percent in the South,
15 percent in the Midwest and 17 percent in the West. Tied for American
adults’ third choice are Mexican, American and Continental, all at 13 percent
in the survey.
Michelin’s famous restaurant
guides
When it comes to dining
expertise, Michelin has a storied history in publishing guides with restaurant
advice. The company’s founders, brothers Andre and Edouard Michelin, created
their first travel guide with dining and hotel recommendations in 1900
to promote early automobile travel and thereby sell more tires. Today,
Michelin’s Red Guide is recognized internationally as the standard for
restaurant information. The Michelin Red Guide is published in 24 countries,
covering four continents. Michelin publishes three guides in the United
States: New York City, Chicago and San Francisco. All these guides have
a suggested retail price of $18.99 ($21.95 in Canada); they can be purchased
at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and your favorite bookstore. Each year, Michelin
food inspectors award the finest eateries with the coveted Michelin stars:
one star, “a very good restaurant in its category;” two stars, “excellent
cuisine, worth a detour;” and three stars, “exceptional cuisine, worth
a special journey.” Michelin recognizes about 112 three-star restaurants
in the world.
Survey Methodology
This survey was conducted
online within the United States by Harris Poll on behalf of Michelin from
June 24-26, 2015 among 2,028 adults ages. For complete survey methodology,
including weighting variables, contact Tony Fouladpour at tony.fouladpour@us.michelin.com.
About Michelin
Dedicated to the improvement
of sustainable mobility, Michelin designs, manufactures and sells tires
for every type of vehicle, including airplanes, automobiles, bicycles,
earthmovers, farm equipment, heavy-duty trucks and motorcycles. The company
also publishes travel guides, hotel and restaurant guides, maps and road
atlases. Headquartered in Greenville, S.C., Michelin
North America employs more than 22,750 people and operates 20 major
manufacturing plants in North America.
Contact:
Tony
Fouladpour
Michelin North America
864-458-4335 |
