Capitalise on Your Outdoor Space All-year Round
Beat the weather and boost your profits with an outdoor canopy
Your outdoor space is a valuable opportunity to maximise your offering and boost your profits. However, with the unpredictability of the great British weather, it’s a space that can only realistically be used to its full advantage for three months of the year.
Here, Jason Eastwood, Managing Director of Canopies UK, the country’s leading designer, manufacturer and installer of high quality canopies, discusses how B&B owners can get the maximum use from their outdoor space 12 months of the year.
With demand for al fresco dining on the rise in the UK, wining and dining in the great outdoors is what most customers have now come to expect. It’s a trend that’s all well and good in finer weather, but what about when winter arrives or when we get rain throughout most of the summer?
Unfortunately, B&B owners are at the mercy of the weather when it comes to delivering the al fresco dining experience that so many customers have come to know and love. However, it doesn’t have to be this way.
Just because it’s winter or because it’s rained on and off all day in the middle of June (despite the forecast for sun) doesn’t mean you have to pack your garden away or your customers can’t still sit outside.
Outdoor canopies are increasingly being recognised by B&B owners as the solution to providing an outdoor dining experience, meeting their customers’ needs and boosting their profits – all-year round.
For instance, underused outdoor terrace areas can instantly be transformed into stylish al fresco dining hot spots, where guests can while away the afternoon enjoying a drink or lunch with friends, regardless of what the weather’s up to.
Enhance the customer experience
Today’s industry-leading canopy solutions are designed to be as functional, flexible and enhance the customer experience as much as possible.
Take our Cantabria canopy, for example, which features a retractable roof that’s operated with a remote or smart device. It also comes with a range of glass sides, including fixed, folding, sliding, balustrade and internal. In the finer months, they can be retracted and come the cooler, wetter, more changeable weather, they can be partially or fully closed.
Stand out from the competition
Contrary to popular belief, outdoor canopies aren’t quick-fix temporary structures, but self-contained, multi-purpose buildings that give you the chance to put your outdoor space to good use 365 days of the year.
From providing outdoor dining all-year round, to creating extra space for functions, such as weddings, christenings or birthdays, canopies enable you to:
- Offer something that little bit different from the competition – today’s systems are stylish structures that become instant focal points.
- Meet customer demand – whether that’s providing outdoor dining or catering for a special occasion.
- Strengthen your business offering – by being able to capitalise on your outdoor space come wind, rain or shine.
Generate additional revenue
If you’ve done your research, then there’s no reason why your canopy shouldn’t provide you with the best return on your investment. Most leading canopy suppliers will be able to give you an estimate of the financial results your canopy is projected to generate. For instance, The Cantabria can create up to 184 additional weekly covers* and an additional weekly revenue of more than £7,000.**
Investing in the right canopy system can really pay off for a whole host of reasons, including those listed above, if you take the time to do your research. The question is – will you be capitalising on your outdoor space just as much as your indoor space this year?
For more information about Canopies UK visit www.canopiesuk.co.uk or call 01254 777 002.
* Based on Friday and Saturday, 2 sittings per day.
**Based on £40 per cover = £7,360.
