Start With the Customer Journey

Successful hospitality design begins before the first guest arrives. Consider how guests locate the venue, what they see upon arrival, how they are greeted, and where their tables are located. All of these elements shape the guest’s first impression and strongly impact their likelihood of return.

Walking through a venue and experiencing it like a customer helps assess elements that can positively or negatively impact the guest experience. For example, is the entry inviting? Is there a clear, well-designed space to wait without obstructing staff? Are the restrooms clearly signed and located? Failing to address design elements that address small, everyday frustrators for guests can be the difference between customer satisfaction and loss.

Layout, Capacity and Flow

Every square metre in a restaurant or café needs to make money. The best use of space balances the number of seats with the aisles between them, which give customers and staff enough space to move about. Flexible use of different table sizes can help facilitate different sized groups.

When planning the placement of the staff, it’s important to consider that the flow of the staff should be perpendicular to the flow of the guests. The accessibility of the space should be designed with consideration of staff and customer needs.

There are many types of customers, all with their own set of needs, for example people with small children, older people, or wheelchair users. These people should be accommodated by providing the correct types of seating for their needs.

Lighting and Atmosphere

Lighting alters the mood of a space more than anything else. For a bright, airy daytime café, use cool, bright lights. For a cozier restaurant in the evenings, try warmer lights. Use layers of lights, dimmable lights and wall sconces to create your own mood lighting.

Noise reflects the overall acoustics of your space and affects how long people stay. Hard surfaces make a room noisy, as do certain styles of seating. If you’re using hard surfaces, like bare walls, try soft or upholstered furnishings to absorb sound.

Materials That Look Good and Last

Interiors in the hospitality industry experience the most wear. Tables get constantly wiped, and chairs get dragged while patrons walk on the floors. Interiors must be durable. Test samples and use the hardest wearing materials that can be easily cleaned.

Durable does not mean designs must be dull. The use of warm, natural materials such as leathers, oaks, and stone, help to add texture and warmth to interiors. Cold colours can also add contrast and give a design a unique edge. Brand consistency is vital, as is maintaining the same palette across all interiors to help reflect the food and drink offered.

Extending Into Outdoor Space

Outdoor seating increases capacity and attracts customers during nice weather. Use awnings, canopies, parasols, heaters, and lights to create outdoor seating that is accessible during all hours of the day. design the terrace to be a continuation of your interior design to create a cohesive flow to your establishment.

Planning and licensing may restrict your ability to place outdoor seating. Check early.

Planning for Change and Upkeep

How well do you think the space will adapt to change? Things like menu shifts and ebbs and flows in customer traffic throughout the year mean the space needs to be able to easily shift furniture configurations to serve the space differently. Set a modest budget aside for maintenance. A worn corner or a wobbly chair can ruin a reputation quicker than you can say ‘shutdown for a refit’. Staff retention, motivation and overall wellbeing can be improved by intelligent and thorough design of storage solutions and workplace heights. Customers pick up on changes like that and often reward you for it in customer service reviews.

Working With a Design Professional

A commercial interior designer knows how to integrate both art and science into a functional design. They can assist you in not only optimising space utilisation, but also meet fire and safety codes and accessibility regulations. They can successfully manage the services of various trade contractors, and ensure your project is completed on time and on budget. Involving a designer early on in your project generally means greater savings, as most design mistakes are cheaper to correct on the drawing boards than at the construction site.

Re-designing or opening a new venue always poses a great opportunity to re-think and re-invigorate your space to align your design to better meet the goals of your guests and staff.