After another summer of prolonged sunshine and soaring temperatures, hospitality businesses have been given a clear indication of what future summer trading could increasingly look like.
For pubs, restaurants, hotels, cafés and leisure destinations, warm weather has traditionally been good news. The sun comes out, terraces fill, customers stay for another drink and outdoor areas become valuable extensions of the main venue.
But there is a tipping point. When temperatures climb into the mid-to-high 30s, an outdoor space without sufficient protection from direct sun can quickly become uncomfortable. Instead of encouraging customers outside, poorly shaded terraces and dining areas can leave guests searching for the coolest available table, retreating indoors or cutting their visit short.
For operators, that means an area designed to increase capacity and revenue can become significantly less attractive at precisely the moment demand for outdoor hospitality should be at its highest.
Shade as part of the infrastructure
Sarah Lunt, Director at InstaShade, believes the experience of summer 2026 should encourage hospitality operators to think differently about shade. She says: “We tend to think of sunshine as universally positive for hospitality, but there is a huge difference between a pleasantly warm day and the temperatures we have experienced during recent heatwaves.
“When it becomes extremely hot, shade isn’t simply a nice addition to an outdoor space. It becomes fundamental to how comfortably that space can be used. The businesses that are best prepared will be those that think about their entire outdoor environment. Where does the sun fall throughout the day? How many covers need protection? How can we maximise usable space? And what solution works practically as well as aesthetically?”
This is particularly important for larger commercial spaces. Providing meaningful protection may require more than adding a handful of parasols. A successful scheme needs to consider the scale and shape of the area, customer flow, furniture layouts, positioning and the level of coverage required throughout different parts of the day.
A shade solution designed around the venue
This is where InstaShade’s approach goes beyond supplying an off-the-shelf product. Working closely with commercial customers, the team can help develop a shade scheme around the individual venue and its requirements, from straightforward solutions using existing parasol designs to fully bespoke installations.
Size, shape, positioning and configuration can all be considered to create the required level of coverage, while customisation allows shade to become part of the wider identity of the venue rather than an afterthought. Canopies and parasols can be tailored to complement corporate colours, branding and existing interior or exterior design schemes, creating consistency between indoor and outdoor hospitality spaces.
Depending on the project, solutions can range from centre-post and cantilever parasols through to larger-scale outdoor structures and pergolas.
InstaShade’s 3D Parasol Configurator can also help commercial customers explore options and visualise bespoke parasol designs, including customised finishes and branding.
Don’t wait for the next heatwave
For many hospitality operators, the opportunity now isn’t necessarily to solve the problem for the final weeks of summer 2026. It is to use what this summer has demonstrated to start preparing for 2027.
Bespoke commercial projects require planning. Waiting until temperatures are already climbing and customers are asking for shade can mean trying to source a solution at exactly the point demand is highest.
Sarah adds: “The message we’d give hospitality businesses is simple: use this summer as your planning tool for next year. Look at which areas worked, where customers naturally sought shade and which parts of your outdoor space became difficult to use during the hottest periods. Then talk to us early.
“That gives us the opportunity to work with you properly, understand the space and develop a solution that is ready well before the first heatwave arrives. We already know the demand for comfortable outdoor hospitality is there. The challenge now is making sure those spaces are equipped for the summers ahead.”
For hospitality businesses planning ahead for spring/summer 2027, InstaShade can provide advice on commercial shade schemes, standard and bespoke parasol solutions, branding and larger outdoor installations.
