livingforever

So as I was sitting on my own in a bar in a Mumbai hotel on Saturday night, staring at my phone, watching 5 other obviously European/American lone business travellers doing exactly the same as me, it struck me:

Wouldn't it be great if there was an app you could use to find other bored travellers staying in your hotel, who might welcome a get together for a beer and a chat. I have no doubt that if I had rounded up all those strays and bought them all a beer, a great weekend would have ensued.

Obviously I know about Tinder and that kind of thing but there's always a suggestion of something seedy about hooking up with people through that, and as a happily married man I don't really want my face on a dating app even if it does blatantly say I'm just bored and want a beer.

This is a fantastic idea, I think! So I go and look, to just make sure that nobody's had the same idea as me, before I start writing my business plan- and I find that there are several previous attempts to do something like this, of which none appear to have been very successful. (The most promising one I found was called "Hellotel" and I joined up and downloaded the app but it didn't even find a single hotel in the whole of India, not terribly helpful...)

What do you think - is there a gap in the market here? Or do lone business travellers just want to be left the heck alone, and that's why it's not worked yet?

365RoadWarrior

I'd rather have the opportunity to meet/chat with a "local". That's just me. I don't really enjoy talking about travel as a thing unto itself. And that's the way most of my airport/train station encounters seem to turn out.

LondonElite

You mean like:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/hell...923547336?mt=8
http://backpackr.org
http://www.wandermates.com/#mainpage
https://www.triptogether.com/travellers/

Granted, some of them may not be what you are looking for...

Edit: I see you've stumbled upon Hellotel already!

BearX220

Even if such an app were not intended as a hookup forum, I think that's what it would quickly be hijacked for... and be dominated by males on the prowl. Very difficult to calibrate it otherwise.

The real answer, I think, is hotel public space / environmental design. Create opportunities for connection with seating, tables, and lounge architecture. In the US, Courtyard by Marriott is upgrading its public spaces along precisely these lines.

BSBD

Needing an app to strike up a conversation in a bar? What has this world come to?

djs

Just this past Saturday I struck up a conversation with the person next to me at my local watering hole. Rangers game was on, though I'm a sports fan I have no dog in the playoff race but he was a Rangers fan. Turns out he works for the Red Sox, and it wasn't long before I was trying on his 2013 World Series Ring (not quite as blingy as the one the players got, but still a nice looking ring).

Sure I could have just checked my Twitter Feed, or FT but by having an actual conversation I got to experience something I otherwise would have missed out on.

livingforever

Ha, I did wonder the same thing. Perhaps I just lack the confidence to go over to the other side of a bar in a strange hotel and approach someone sitting by themselves and say "Hello, can I come and sit and talk to you, I'm booooored!"

Perhaps I'm making a huge assumption when I imagine that most people sitting on their own eating or drinking at a table away from everyone else, reading a book, probably don't want some random Brit coming and annoying them!

greggarious

Why not just stay in a hostel?

Usually you can find people game to do stuff at breakfast

livingforever

Because I'm 36 years old and travelling for work...

Trust me, I would not be spending Saturday night in a Mumbai hotel on my own if I had any control over the situation!

This is kind of what I'm getting at - there must be tons of people in the same situation as me out there, stuck on their own in a place they don't particularly want to be...

MSPeconomist

Sometimes conversations occur more easily in hotel executive lounges than in the more public bars downstairs on the lobby level or outside of the hotel.

A few hotels have special events for their guests, such as a weekly manager's reception at some upscale properties, special wine tastings, a tour of the hotel's historic aspects, etc. These can provide opportunities for meeting others. Once I did a special champagne harbor cruise thanks to the Peninsula Hong Kong.

fotographer

What hotel in Mumbai

cbn42

Try couchsurfing. The discussion pages for each city often have posts from locals or other travelers.

With regard to the hostel comment, I have seen 60 year olds stay at hostels. I am now in my 30s, and I fit in just fine. If you are in the right mindset, you can have a great time regardless of age.

Redhead

You can also post in the Community Buzz here on FT. I've met some cool people on my travels that way

callum9999

How does that prevent you from staying in a hostel? You seem to have a pretty large misconception over what a hostel is.

It can be exactly what you are describing - a place a 36 year old man travelling for business can stay (in their own room if they want) and meet other travellers who'd like a beer and a chat.

LondonElite

Joking aside, I know exactly what you mean. I'm in that situation often; on those occasions where there's no friend, relative, or business partner to have dinner or drinks with, it would sometimes be interesting to met someone in the same situation (not always). But it would be very awkward to strike up a conversation with someone just for the hell of it on the off chance that they're 'lonely' as well.

Nevertheless, I have to agree with BearX220 that any such app would quickly degenerate into some business-person NSA 'loveyoulongtime' tool.