Good acoustics as an extra source of income in restaurants - A case study

Bars and restaurants are deeply rooted in the Spanish culture. They are places identified with socialising, friendship, relaxation and places for opportunities and inspiration. Spain is the absolute world leader in number of bars and restaurants with one for each 175 inhabitants (i.e. almost 280,000 establishments). Unfortunately, noise levels in restaurants are often so loud that having a conversation with fellow diners becomes nearly impossible without having straining the voice, which hinders acoustic comfort and results in complaints by the clientele. A case-study of a restaurant in Madrid is reported in this paper. Even though the restaurant initially complied with the Spanish acoustic regulations, customers voiced their discontent with the acoustic environment numerous times. Therefore, the restaurant owner took action and commissioned an acoustic refurbishment. To evaluate its effect, three types of assessment were taken: (i) a subjective evaluation of the customers employing questionnaires (both pre- and post-intervention), (ii) measurements of different acoustic parameters before and after the refurbishment and (iii) a financial data analysis. By comparing the post- with pre-intervention results, it was shown that not only the acoustic-related responses and the clientele satisfaction were improved, but also the yearly revenue increased by 10%, with a 1.5 months' payback.