The era of dining pods: bubble dining and more
Posted by MOHIT BHATNAGAR

Dining pods are the newest trend of the hospitality industry, restaurants in particular. Since Covid-19 made it’s way around the world, indoor dining has become a highly debated and feared idea. This had pushed restaurants to improvise in order to keep business running and welcome customers sans fear. Designers and architects have thus come up with the creative solution in the form of dining pods. Restaurants around the world are welcoming this new product as a way to encourage safe dining and also keep serving irrespective of the virus fears. These dining pods are built to scale to be placed in outdoor spaces, with the dining setup inside them so that guests can eat with a peace of mind. These pods are not just useful to shield from the virus but also a fun way to continue outdoor dining even in chilly weather.

Dining pods offer a unique and fun dining experience to guests. Here is why dining pods are proving to be a useful pick for restaurant owners:
SAFER ALTERNATIVE

In the era of covid 19, dining in a closed space seated alongside strangers is a true nightmare for guests. Restaurants and hotels have seen a dip in their foot traffic amidst fears of the virus. The dining pods however, offer a solution. Dining pods prove to be a safer and more creative alternative to traditional indoor dining. When dining indoors, especially in the pandemic, there are fears around contracting the virus in a covered space where naturally people are without their masks. Thus investing in a dining pod or a bubble dining set up helps keep restaurants going as people get to sit only with the people that they have with them in private pods, that are close off from others, limiting contact.
FLEXIBILITY OF LOCATION

Dining pods as is are structures to encase the dining set. They are not set into cement on land, rather installed or delivered pre-made to the location. This translates into a bunch of flexibility. Most dining pods are built to be portable while some are fixed. Nevertheless, they offer a ton of flexibility in terms of the location of their placement. They can be placed creatively on sidewalk, rooftops, balconies, patios or even parking lots which has actually been done by a lot of restaurants. Even with a little bit of kitchen space, dining pods allow a restaurant to function well by catering outdoors. Depending on where one can spare the most space, these pods can be installed ready to welcome the guests. One can also switch up between spaces over time for a unique pop up concept since these pods are usually easy to move.
VARIATION OF MATERIALS

One of the biggest plus points of having dining pods, is that they are just as unique and customisable as a restaurant. Dining pods can be customized in a lot of different materials, from plexiglass, plastic to tenting materials, there are a lot of different variants of dining pods. Each material has its own set of qualities, purpose and costs associated that can be factored in to make the most ideal pick. While most dining pods are made to have a transparent exterior, the opacity can also be modified as per preference. One can easily get creative with the designs and the structure. WHile one way is to opt for the classic bubble dining, there are a lot of unique modern designs and shapes that can be incorporated for an edgy look.
OFFERS DINING WITH A VIEW

The biggest selling point of the dining pods has been it’s offer of a charming dining experience. Of transparent build and placed in outdoor areas, dining pods offer a unique experience to customers by allowing them to dine with a view, being closer to the great outdoors without actually being exposed to them. The designs can be made to be fully transparent or have pockets to the outside for one to enjoy. Many restaurants have utilized this opportunity to set base alongside river banks, or near stunning greenery to give their guests a scenic dining atmosphere. This factor also adds a touch of value to the brand posing a unique opportunity to dine.
DECORATE AS YOU LIKE

lookout rooftop bar, Boston
A huge plus point of installing dining pods is that most of them are of a transparent build. This means that there is no commitment to a particular color theme or interior theme. This gives owners the opportunity to transform the space with the decor and interior they choose. From a lavish dining set, stunning lights to small accent pieces and rugs, there are a lot of different incorporations to make the space as aesthetic and comfortable as possible. Since there is no rigid design set, you can switch up the interiors every now and then to keep up with seasons or even festivals and create a little themed oasis amidst the dining pods. Instead of a typical restaurant which would cost a lot of money to keep on refreshing, dining pods are much more cost effective in offering flexibility of design, creating a positive experience each time.
HELPS BOOST BUSINESS

Dining pods are a rescue system for restaurants and hotels to keep going. Whether it is troubling weather conditions that usually hamper outdoor dining or covid restrictions limiting the covers that restaurants can fill, dining pods aid both problems. In troubling weather, dining pods offer the outdoor dining concept without the discomfort. The interiors can be customized to make it as comfortable as possible. SImilarly, when governments restrict the covers each restaurant can offer, outdoor dining pods help them break down their crowd into spaces without loosing the foot traffic or even add capacity conveniently. This would eventually translate to a stable or growing revenue, making dining pods the ultimate pick.
Overall, the virus seems like it’s going nowhere for a while. In such a situation, the fears of covid and the constant restrictions for safety affect the balance and business of restaurants. Dining pods, however, offer a solution to this problem by giving outdoor dining a new meaning. Even apart from the virus, these pods are a useful addition making them a choicest pick for restaurant owners across the globe.
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