There are many factors that influence whether a business is profitable. While the most obvious include location, customer demand, good food, and even service, one of the most overlooked factors is the availability of outdoor dining, and how having outdoor restaurant heaters can influence customer spending.
Outdoor heating not only makes your customers more comfortable, compelling them to stay longer and spend more, but it also adds to the ambiance, increases patronage, and maximizes profit.
3 Key Factors for How Outdoor Restaurant Heaters Can Increase
Revenue & Profits
Extend the Season
Instead of closing your patio when the weather gets cold, add outdoor heating to extend the outdoor season. Adding restaurant heaters increases the number of patrons that can be accommodated during colder months, resulting in a maximized return on investment.
Restaurants that can extend the use of outdoor dining spaces by 6 weeks can generate $22,889 Extra Revenue Per Heater
Outdoor restaurant heating has become essential to the atmosphere of a business. Restaurants today will need to evolve to meet new customer demands and outdoor dining preferences. Not only does it make your customers more comfortable, but it also extends seating through seasons once impractical, increases patronage and maximizes profits, creating a win-win solution for both your business and your customers.
The outdoor heating has allowed us to create an ambiance and an environment where people are happy to stay for a longer period of time.
Matthew Mawtus – Restaurant Manager
HIDE Restaurant in London, UK is the perfect example of how adding heaters to an outdoor dining area can extend the use of the space, no matter what the UK weather had in store.
Draw Customers In
Adding outdoor dining can help create an experience for customers, adding to the ambiance and helping to increase both the capacity as well as the restaurant’s bottom line, attracting new customers and passersby. In recent years, the desired experience for consumers has shifted towards being outdoors for restaurants and bars alike due to the wellness benefits associated with the outdoors.
82% of respondents out of 2,200 adults said they feel most comfortable going to a restaurant with an outdoor space.
– Morning Consult | June 2022 survey
Positive Health & Wellness Benefits
According to Psychology Today, spending time with friends and family outdoors in a social atmosphere can also have positive impacts on mental and physical health and may even help people live longer. Studies also show that being outside in nature is relaxing, reducing our stress, cortisol levels, muscle tension and heart rates, leading towards an overall positive experience.
Capitalize on Consumer Experience
Capitalizing on the customer’s experience is a major driver of future revenue. In a transaction-based business, sales are driven by good customer experiences. Simply put, when a customer is comfortable and enjoying their experience, they tend to stay longer, and in-turn, spend more.
Captivate With Ambiance
Installing beautifully designed heaters adds to the aesthetic appeal that people expect when sitting outdoors. Rather than have your guests climb over clunky mushroom heaters, making the up-front investment on installed restaurant heaters will give you the best return.
Everybody that comes here, they comment about these heaters. They’ve never seen a restaurant heater that is this elegant and also incorporates a light fixture.
Wendell Burnette | Architect
Christopher’s at the historic Wrigley Mansion was able to enhance the consumer experience by adding a dual functioning heating and lighting solution to it’s outside patio that didn’t take away from the overall design and atmosphere of the space.
Maximize Footprint
Studies have shown outdoor patios increase revenue. That revenue is maximized through using installed restaurant heaters.
Maximizes Efficiency of Space
The best way to maximize the efficiency of your outdoor footprint is through utilizing installed outdoor heaters. Adding fixed restaurant heaters to the walls or ceiling increases the footprint even further by removing the obstacles that portable heaters tend to supply, creating more room for staff and room for added tables, allowing for more customers to spend money.
Minimizes Maintenance
Upkeep by staff is non-existent. Installed outdoor restaurant heaters don’t need to be reorganized every time a table arrangement needs to be made or have propane tanks changed at a time that they could be helping a guest. With the variety of controls on the market, they can be simply turned on and off with the push of a button and even paired to your business automation system. In turn, there’s no need to replace the heaters each season due to their durability and performance.
Maintaining Comfort
Installed restaurant heaters tend to be more efficient when it comes to heat output thanks to directional radiant heating technologies. Radiant heating heats objects, rather than the surrounding air, keeping patrons warm and comfortable during their visit. Heat coverage zones can be created providing heat only to areas that are in use and electric outdoor heating solutions can be dimmed for just the right amount of comfort.
Comparable in Cost
In general, natural gas tends to be the cheapest way to heat a patio, followed by electric and then propane. Below is an estimate on how much it would cost to heat a 400ft2 patio with Bromic’s range of patio heaters. Installed gas or electric restaurant heaters tend to be the most cost-efficient way to heat the space and keep guests comfortable.
Natural Gas (2 x Bromic Series 500) | Propane (2 x Bromic Portable LPG) | Electric (4 x Bromic 3400W) |
|---|---|---|
| $1.06/hour | $2.02 /hour | $1.84/hour |
*Running costs will vary per model and power output (wattage for electric and BTU for gas).
Customizing Your Solution
In spaces without walls or ceilings for a heater to be installed, portable heaters are the best option giving you complete flexibility of your space.
Once I installed them and saw how well they worked, it was clear that they were a good product for us.
Mark Barak | Founder, CEO
La Pecora Bianca chose to add outdoor heaters to their restaurant to ensure it could continue its mission to share the joy of Italian food, and celebrate human connection, even amid indoor restrictions.
Download the PDF version of this guide here: How Outdoor Heating Increases Revenue & Profits
Design the Perfect Outdoor Space!
Unsure whether to use Gas or Electric? Not sure which restaurant heater is right for you? Let us take away all of the guessing by utilizing our complimentary design service!
Starting with your floorplans, exterior design and specific requirements, our team of specialists will put together a custom drawing for your project, help you specify the required heaters, and guide you step-by-step through the entire process.
