Festive Lights says hospitality venues need tougher outdoor lighting for year-round trading

Festive Lights released an overview on how UK pubs, bars, restaurants and hotels are specifying commercial-grade exterior lighting to keep outdoor areas usable after dark through autumn and winter. The shift matters because gardens, terraces and pavement seating have become core trading space, not just summer add-ons.

Why it matters: - UK hospitality venues are treating outdoor space as a year-round revenue driver, not a seasonal extra. - Lighting now determines whether gardens, terraces and forecourts can stay open after dusk in the darker months. - Better-specified commercial lighting can reduce outages, maintenance calls and energy costs for venues that rely on outdoor trading.

What happened: - Festive Lights, a UK supplier of domestic and commercial decorative lighting, published an overview of how hospitality operators are specifying exterior lighting for longer trading seasons. - The review focuses on pubs, bars, restaurants and hotels using lighting to extend outdoor use beyond summer. - Festive Lights said the market has shifted from occasional outdoor use to permanent outdoor trading. - A temporary pavement-licence regime introduced in 2020 was later made permanent in statute, giving venues a more stable framework for on-street and outdoor seating.

The details: - The overview says outdoor areas help increase guest spending and dwell time. - Venues are combining lighting with covered and heated structures such as pergolas, awnings and umbrellas. - Once daylight fades, lighting becomes the factor that makes outdoor areas usable and safe. - Stephen Alty, general manager at Festive Lights, said an unlit outdoor area effectively closes at sunset for much of the year. - Alty said the key question is no longer whether to light an outdoor area, but how to specify a system that will run reliably through every season. - The review draws a line between domestic decorative lighting and commercial lighting built for continuous operation. - Domestic garden lighting is often designed for seasonal, intermittent use. - Hospitality installations are typically left in place year-round and run for long hours every day. - Festive Lights points to mains-voltage systems as the standard for permanent commercial use. - The ConnectPro range is a 240-volt connectable system with an IP65 weatherproof rating and a two-year guarantee. - Festive Lights says ConnectPro is intended for permanent, all-year-round outdoor displays and commercial use. - The company says ConnectPro can run several hundred metres from a single supply point. - The FestoonPro range is a 240-volt commercial festoon system with individually replaceable bulbs and customisable belt lengths. - Festive Lights links FestoonPro to hospitality venues and event operators seeking durable, long-term installations. - Replaceable bulbs and belts can reduce downtime because one failed component can be swapped without replacing the full set. - Secure connectors and heavy-gauge cabling help prevent voltage drop over long runs. - The review says commercial outdoor systems need to withstand rain, frost, wind, ultraviolet exposure and temperature swings. - Ingress Protection ratings define that resilience. - IP44 is generally viewed as the minimum for sheltered domestic use. - Permanent outdoor commercial installations are typically specified at IP65. - Jana Dalton, a Festive Lights exterior lighting specialist, said commercial venues need heavy-duty rubber cabling, sealed connectors and IP65 protection because installations stay outside through storms, frost and constant handling. - Dalton said the aim is a system that can be installed once and relied on, rather than one that needs repeated repair. - Commercial systems commonly use thick rubber cabling, sealed bulb housings and connectors designed to keep their rating when secured correctly. - Many commercial ranges carry warranties of two years or more. - LED technology has changed the economics of extended outdoor lighting. - Festive Lights says its LED festoon systems use up to 90% less energy than equivalent incandescent bulbs. - Lower energy use can cut running costs to pence rather than pounds per evening for large displays. - The review says lower electricity demand makes continuous evening operation more feasible for hospitality venues. - Festive Lights says its trade arm, Festive Lights for Business, offers business accounts, commercial pricing and access to ranges meant for permanent and large-scale installation. - Modular connectable systems let venues extend, reconfigure or repair installations without replacing the whole setup. - The company says that approach makes lighting a multi-year asset rather than a consumable.

Between the lines: - The move toward permanent outdoor trading is changing lighting from decoration into infrastructure. - Venues now need systems that can survive weather, heavy use and long operating hours. - The emphasis on modular parts and replaceable components suggests operators want lower lifetime cost, not just a lower upfront price. - The permanence of pavement licensing appears to be encouraging longer-term spending on outdoor fit-outs.

What's next: - Festive Lights expects continued growth in outdoor and commercial lighting as LED costs fall and durability standards improve. - The company says its overview is meant to help operators and installers choose commercial systems instead of domestic ones for year-round outdoor trading. - Hospitality venues are likely to keep investing in lighting that supports later opening hours and winter trade.

The bottom line: - Outdoor hospitality space is becoming a fixed commercial asset, and the lighting spec has to match that shift.