Trend of Restaurants That Include a Kid Free Zone: Hurting or Helping Business?

More restaurant owners are noticing an emerging trend: patrons with children have stopped dining as frequently as they used to, and with good enough reason. Dining with children isn’t relaxing—it’s a job! Because of that, 2016 will be the year you’ll find your patrons with children flocking to restaurants that offer a kid-friendly play zone. Here’s why the new, up-and-coming, in-house babysitting trend is all the rage—and why it will diversify your clientele, raise your profits and boost your competitive edge.

It’ll Diversify Your Clientele

Distractions are everywhere, so why not minimize it for each and every customer of yours—in order to ensure that their meal will be peaceful, relaxing and delicious? Think about the benefit a child-friendly zone could provide both your customers who have children and those who don’t. A child-friendly zone could offer children a fun and safe place to play, while your customers enjoy the peace of mind and relaxation of a great meal.

Dining in peace can be a rare thing for a parent of young children. They don’t want to spend their entire meal correcting or quieting their children—they want to enjoy good company, a great ambiance and even more importantly, a really delicious meal. The same goes for those patrons who don’t have children. They don’t want to be interrupted by a screaming child at the dinner table, or a crying toddler who isn’t getting her way.

By offering a kid-friendly zone in your restaurant, you’re boosting your ability to cater to the masses—those who don’t have children, and even those who do—and giving everyone the opportunity to enjoy a kid-free meal. Here’s some tips to help make the transition (and as a result, bring in the masses!):

  • Advertise your new in-house babysitter service by using social media.
  • Start off slow, by bringing in a child-friendly zone during peak business zones, such as Friday and Saturday night. Then, extend your babysitting hours as your child-friendly restaurant picks up in popularity.

By thinking of your entire restaurant as a space that caters to the community at large, restrict the amount of distractions that come in, and maximize the enjoyment and pleasure of your patrons with a babysitting service in-house. You’ll quickly stand out as a restaurant with superior customer service—and set yourself apart from your competition!