Opening a winter terrace: the hospitality checklist

A winter terrace attracts guests who want to sit outside in the cold season too. It does require preparation: rules, shelter, heating and visibility. With this checklist for hospitality businesses you arrange everything in good time, so that your winter terrace runs well from the first cold day.

1. Permits and rules for your winter terrace

• Check whether your municipality has separate winter terrace rules for opening hours and dimensions.
• Check whether your terrace permit also applies to the cold season.
• Check what is allowed in terms of patio heating. More and more municipalities are restricting gas heaters. Read Gas patio heating: what is still allowed?

2. Shelter from wind and rain

• Place windbreaks on the windward side. Glass keeps the view open.
• Use a canopy or large parasols against rain and dew.
• Keep walkways clear, even when you add extra screens.

3. Heating that works in the wind

• Choose heating that warms the guest directly. Heated seat cushions run on a battery, without gas or cables, for up to 8 hours.
• Calculate how many cushions and charging stations you need: one charging station per ten cushions.
• Compare the costs: read how much patio heating costs.

4. Furnishing and atmosphere

• Cushions that suit your chairs: Olefin for stacking chairs, Paris for bistro chairs, Sheepskin for lounge seating.
• Warm lighting and table lamps make a terrace inviting when it gets dark early.
• A few plants or planters with greenery break the wind and add atmosphere.

5. Menu and service

• Put warm drinks and dishes for sharing at the top of the menu.
• Agree with your team who puts the batteries in the charging station after closing time.
• Explain to guests how the cushion works; a card on the table helps.

6. Visibility for guests

• Register your terrace free of charge on Heated terraces, the map of heated terraces.
• State in your Google Business Profile, on your website and on social media that you have a heated winter terrace.
• Read more in 7 ways to extend the terrace season.

Common mistakes

• Starting too late. If you only start on the first cold day, you miss the first weeks of turnover.
• Relying on heaters alone. In windy weather the heat disappears, and guests leave anyway.
• Forgetting the guest. Explain how the heating works; a guest who does not switch on the cushion stays cold.
• Not showing anything. A heated terrace that nobody can find online stays empty. Put it on your website, on Google and on the map.

Planning: when do you arrange what?

Start in good time, because permits and delivery take time.

• Six weeks before: check the rules and permit, decide on the number of seats and request quotations.
• Four weeks before: order shelter and heating or schedule a trial.
• Two weeks before: finish the furnishing, adjust the menu and explain to your team how charging works.
• The week of opening: register the terrace on the map, update your Google profile and post a message on social media.

7. Testing without risk

Would you like to see first how guests respond? Take a free one-month trial of up to 10 heated cushions. After that you decide for yourself whether to continue.