When guests visit a hotel, business or condominium complex, they’re bound to walk away with some opinions about the space. Whether positive or negative, these opinions matter.

Since 2010, the average online review has become 12 percent more positive. This means that consumers are more likely to share their positive experiences with others and help convince others to use their services. Yet, consumers are still 21 percent more likely to leave an online review following a negative experience than a positive one, driving away potential business.

While elements like interior design, cleanliness and customer service all feed into a guest’s experience, commercial landscape design also factors into the equation.

Here are some commercial landscape design elements that can help positively impact the way guests perceive your organization.

Ways to Enhance Your Commercial Landscape Design

Proper Landscape Lighting

Landscape lighting is traditionally thought of as a means to highlight a property’s architectural features like ornate pillars or water features. While this function for boosting curb appeal rings true, lighting fixtures are also central to the safety of a commercial landscape design. Guests are better able to navigate the outdoor space at night time, minimizing the potential risk for falls as well as damage to plants and flower beds.

Then, there’s the added layer of security for visitors. Having landscape lighting as part of your commercial landscape design helps guests feel more safe about their surroundings since animals and intruders have fewer places to hide. In fact, these fixtures can even help deter the presence of nocturnal creatures, as well as targeted burglaries, on the property.

Multiple Seating Areas

Common areas are an integral piece of the commercial landscape design puzzle. Not only do they help establish a sense of community for employees and tenants, but they also have a similar effect on visitors. When the weather allows, guests may want to congregate outside for lunch, relax and read a book outside to de-stress or simply stop for a quick chat on the way out the door.

That’s why organizations are encouraged to make use of seating areas like benches and patios in commercial landscape design. These mixed-use features make guests feel more welcome and comfortable in the space, encouraging them to spend more time on the property and return later. And in the case of very young and old visitors, the value of seating throughout your commercial landscape becomes all the more clear.

Create a Positive Experience for Your Guests

Meeting guest expectations is an important goal for any hotel, business or condominium complex. Rather than making fast fixes to boost your bottom line, the better approach is to make long-term investments that continue to increase your property value over time. Adding lighting and seating areas to your commercial landscape design are two investments that fall under this umbrella.

If you’re looking to add these or other amenities to your commercial landscape, Green Impressions—a local landscape provider serving the Northeast Ohio area—can help bring your creative visions to life. All you have to do to get started is request your free consultation.