User satisfaction in indoor playgrounds of restaurants: The case of Antalya, Turkey

Today, the competitiveness of businesses has rapidly increased in order to improve the service quality of the restaurants. This requires restaurant businesses to pay attention to user preferences in order to ensure their continuity and prominence in the food and beverage industry. In this sense, one of the most important factors in the service-based selection of the users is the family. The main restaurant preference criteria for families with children is that the restaurant has playgrounds that attract children and help them have a good time. While their parents are eating, children are very pleased to play in specially designed playgrounds. Thus, restaurant managers can include families with children in their customer range. In this context, it is inevitability for restaurants to have playgrounds in their interior space in order to ensure user satisfaction and to be preferred again. The aim of this study is to determine the design and functional characteristics of indoor playgrounds in restaurants, the satisfaction of families with children from these areas, and also the effects of these areas on the restaurant atmosphere and the user's preferences. For this purpose, examinations and determinations were made in the indoor playgrounds of three restaurants sampled from Antalya, and a survey was applied to families with children. According to the results obtained from the survey, it was concluded the fact that a restaurant with an indoor playground has a positive effect on the users' decision to prefer the restaurant. In addition, it was understood that the existing playground designs should be improved and the active and educational game sections should be added to serve all age groups. In conclusion, the design of the playground should be planned together with the restaurant design, and the child-friendly restaurants should exhibit their differences with both their menus and the space characteristics designed for children compared to other restaurants.