You may have heard about the importance of lighting and how it changes the mood of a room, but in this article, we’ll tell you how lighting enhances a person’s experience. If you’re in the hospitality industry, you know how important it is to create an excellent customer experience. It’s a concept not new to this sector. Happy guests keep the business running, and with satisfied customers, you get more job fulfillment.

In this article, we’ll talk about how lighting affects a customer’s experience, particularly in a restaurant setting.

The Role of the Customer

When designing a restaurant or a hotel, the client is always top of mind. Regardless of what kind of image you’re trying to portray or what mood you want customers to feel, the lighting plays a huge role in communicating your intentions.

The customers from years back are not the same customers you get today. Their tastes and preferences evolve, and it’s the job of the hospitality sector to continually improve and adapt to meet their client’s expectations.

The Role of the Restaurant and the Experience

Even the role of the restaurant has changed today. It is not just a place for eating; it should also offer more than food. Customers look for something more whenever they go to restaurants. They expect an experience that is unique and memorable.

Most restaurants today also position themselves based on the type of escape they’d bring to different people. That serves as their unique selling point, and it’s what differentiates them among other competitors.

This phenomenon is called the “experience economy.” Customers no longer look forward to just the goods or products a business provides; their expectations relate to the entire experience.

In an article by Gross and Pullman, “the experience” relates to the sensations and knowledge that a customer is exposed to when interacting with the different elements provided by a business. It is considered a successful experience if it meets these three aspects:

• The customer finds the experience memorable, unique, and sustainable
• They expressed their desire to repeat the experience
• They promote it via word of mouth

How Lighting Enhances Customer Satisfaction

Lighting affects the way a room looks. It also affects the comfort level that it gives customers. Most restaurant owners know this, which is why they hire professionals to make comprehensive lighting designs that will make the space comfortable for guests.

#1. Engagement

Lighting affects how you see a person or a place. When it comes to restaurants, light is an immediate mood setter. It can capture the customer’s attention and help establish the ambiance of the space. Remember that the customer’s intention behind eating out is to enjoy a new experience different from their meal at home.

#2. Increased Appetite

Lighting creates wow factor, and it can translate even to the food your restaurant offers. Having proper lighting makes viewing of the food even better. At the same time, as Frable discussed in his journal, the color temperature of the lightning directly affects the accuracy of the food’s color.

In another journal, McNully explained how lighting works in a restaurant. He described it as a theater show: If your lighting is good, your customers won’t even notice it, but they will immediately recognize it if you do a terrible job.

#3. Changes the Mood

The wrong lighting can affect one’s mood, even if you did well on your restaurant’s other elements. In her book, Successful Restaurant Design, Baraban says that light can make a space feel intimate, relaxed, exciting, friendly, or quiet.

Dort, in his book, Restaurants That Work: Case Studies of the Best in the Industry, says that people can create emotional and metaphorical responses to the color, brightness, space, and shape of the light in the room.

Conclusion

Nowadays, customers consider the overall appeal of an establishment, including its ambiance and vibe, when determining if the whole experience is valuable. Going to restaurants is no longer just about food. By providing a unique and favorable experience to guests, restaurants can stand out and provide better service. Besides the visual impact the lights bring to, the right lighting allows owners to offer a premium experience in exchange for premium payments.

If you want to enhance your customer’s experience through custom lighting, we can help. We are custom lighting manufacturers in the US, providing hospitality lighting design from concept to creation. Contact us today to learn more.