5 OUTDOOR DINING SECRETS - to Boost Your Restaurant's Bottom Line in 2021 - Somfy
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5 OUTDOOR
DINING SECRETS
to Boost Your Restaurant's
Bottom Line in 2021
Outdoor dining is a perfect way to turn extra space into
extra money for your restaurant. In fact, it’s been
shown that outdoor seating can increase a restaurant’s
revenue by up to 30%. Expanding your dining into the
great outdoors can give your guests fresh air while
boosting your bottom line.
The importance of outdoor dining skyrocketed in 2020
when the COVID-19 pandemic meant reduced indoor
dining capacity and nervous customers. During 2020,
diners were 52% more likely to feel comfortable dining
outside than inside. Smart restaurants had to pivot
quickly.
In 2020 alone, 37% of restaurants adopted outdoor
seating as a new part of their business. Outdoor seating
was one of the top 10 new services implemented by
restaurants in order to adapt to the new normal. As the
reverberations of COVID-19 are felt throughout the
restaurant industry, dining outdoors is likely to be a In fact, it’s been
trend that’s here to stay. Customers have now become shown that outdoor
accustomed to dining al fresco in the fresh air, and it’s
important that restaurants adapt.
seating can
increase a
Because a good outdoor dining experience is more than
restaurant’s
just moving tables and chairs outdoors, here are five
secrets to help you turn your outdoor space into the revenue by up to
best dining spot in town. 30%.
1. Is Your Outdoor Dining Space
Wasted 50% of the Year?
The most challenging part of outdoor dining is making your Motorized awnings can also help beat the heat
outdoor space multi-seasonal. Depending on your location, and keep patrons cool while they dine. Having
excessive heat or freezing cold might be obstacles at some overhead covering is important to diners
point during the calendar year. because it keeps them protected from the
elements so they can focus on enjoying their
“Outdoor seating has its limits, of course, not the least of meal.
which is the weather. Although nice on a temperate day, it can
lose its allure in rain or blazing or chilly days,” said an article on When the weather cools down, you’ll want to
outdoor dining published in The New York Times. keep your customers warm. Investing in an
outdoor fireplace, firepit or outdoor heating
The data backs up this viewpoint. According to a survey from lamps are all ways to add to your outdoor
Full Service Restaurant News and Study Hall Research, ambiance while keeping customers toasty in the
weather was the most important decision driving customers colder months.
to, or away from, outdoor dining. Potential customers also
took overhead coverings into consideration when deciding on
whether to dine al fresco.
Using smart technology
While controlling the weather might be beyond your pay
grade, there are some easy ways to make outdoor seating solutions - like motorized
more comfortable no matter what mother nature has in store.
pergolas or awnings -
Adding a pergola creates a beautiful outdoor structure that means your restaurant's
can also function as a smart overhead covering. If the pergola
has a motorized roof, you’ll be able to adjust the slats easily to capacity will no longer be
control the comfort level of your guests using a remote
control, wall switch, smartphone/tablet app, or even voice ruled by changing weather
commands. Pergolas can also make your outdoor dining
section look like a planned extension of your restaurant, conditions.
rather than a hastily erected afterthought.
2. How to Take Outdoor Dining
from Day to Night
Your gorgeous outdoor dining space might become pitch
black at night. A small tealight candle is romantic, but it
probably won’t throw enough light for your patrons to see
the food they’re eating. And you want your food to be the
star of the show!
Proper lighting is essential for outdoor spaces as they
transition from day to night, especially in the winter months
when the daylight hours grow short. While hanging twinkle
lights helps to set the mood, you’ll want to ensure there is
more powerful lighting for your customers.
One way to accomplish customizable lighting is to attach
dimmable LED lighting to the arms of a retractable awning.
Lighting options are available in kits with varying levels of
brightness. Best of all, you can control this lighting with the
same remote you use to control your awning, making
customization of your nighttime dining area simple and easy
to manage.
3. Concerned About Unwelcome
Six-Legged Guests?
One of the most annoying aspects of eating outdoors is when
insects invite themselves to the table. While it’s probably a good
idea to invest in some citronella candles, there are other ways to tell
mosquitos, bees, and other meddlesome insects they’re uninvited to
dinner.
Wirecutter, the New York Times tech review site, compiled an
entire list of smart technology products to rid mosquitos from
outdoor dining spaces. These smart repellers can help you show
mosquitos the door in a small, discrete device.
Motorized exterior screens are another smart way to help maintain
the view while also keeping diners protected from bugs and heat.
These screens can be lowered or raised using multiple control
options, making it simple to protect customers from the elements.
Screens give you the ability to create an amazing outdoor dining
experience that can often feel as comfortable as eating indoors, but
with much better airflow. Combine exterior screens with smart
ceiling fans to create spaces that are cool, comfortable and bug-
free.
4. Create Simple Control
of Outdoor Spaces
Managing a restaurant involves a lot of moving pieces. Manually cranking out an awning or lowering a screen
shouldn’t have to be on that massive to-do list. Embracing smart technology can take at least one thing off your
massive to-do list. With smart shading technology, you can control your awnings, screens, and pergolas with a
remote control, an app, or even with voice control.
Restaurant owners and managers can set up schedules for their motorized awnings, screens or pergolas. This
means your awning can automatically extend during the hottest part of the day, while you take care of inventory
inside. Once a scene has been created, for a restaurant's opening time for example, it's an easy 1-2-3 process to
create an automated schedule to execute that scene using Somfy's myLink app:
Access the schedule Create a new schedule Name your schedule and
1 screen from the main
menu.
2 by pressing the plus
icon.
3 select "Set" to schedule
the time.
Creating a comfortable outdoor
environment you don’t even have to
think about is one of the major
benefits of implementing smart
technology solutions for your
restaurant.
Best of all, if your restaurant is
already tech-obsessed you can
integrate smart outdoor shading
products with major third-party
automation systems. This means
you can control smart lighting,
heating, or even air filtration from a
single point of control for a full-
business solution.
5. Improve Energy Efficiency
Keeping operating costs low is always
a concern for restaurant owners and
managers. Smart shading products
don’t just protect customers from the
elements; they also provide energy
efficiency. In fact, according to the US
Department of Energy, motorized
awnings can reduce heat gain by as
much as 77 percent. Smart awnings,
screens and pergolas can all cool
outdoor and indoor spaces. This can
save restaurant owners and managers
on their energy bills by reducing
heating and cooling loads on HVAC
systems.
The outdoor dining trend is here to stay.
Your business can grow and thrive by adding or expanding outdoor dining
space and using smart technology solutions to create an inviting dining
experience your customers will come back to again and again.
About Somfy Systems, Inc.
Since 1969, Somfy has been improving everyday life by designing and manufacturing intelligent motorization solutions for
interior window coverings and exterior solar protections. Somfy innovates to automate and connect shades, blinds, draperies,
awnings, rolling shutters, exterior screens & pergolas for commercial and residential buildings in 58 countries across the globe.
With 170+ million motors produced over the last half-century, Somfy is committed to creating reliable and sustainable
solutions that promote the best way of living and well-being for all. For more information, visit www.somfysystems.com.
SOURCES: FastCasual.com Slate.com The New York Times FSR Magazine Wirecutter Energy.gov QSR Magazine
somfysystems.com
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