Ideas

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Staying at a hotel last night and thinking about how many professionals seemed to staying by themselves and may have been interested in catching up with other professionals for dinner/drinks.
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Maybe they just want to take a rest?

i had a similar startup about this. but it wasnt properly marketed. http://www.selectedspace.com

and maby you should take contact with these people who are by themself? :) try to make contact IRL instead of having a website doing that hehe start a conversation to stop the friction

It would be good to tie this into exisitng networks like Linked in Zing, plaxo etc. Are any of those open to plug ins?

I think the idea is sound, but it only has teeth once it hits a critical mass. Once everyone is using it, all is well and it's a no brainer, but how do you make it attractive enough for people to sign up in the first place?

Tech guy had the idea of "jumblelunch" and this seems like it would kind of fit into the same realm of social networking that you are considering.
I like both ideas but I think that one business could handle them both with less effort.
Whereas you are targeting more of a social networking rather than a professional networking the site could differentiate the two with a click of a button.

I've seen the idea but maybe you can make it more specific. Are you trying to make a community with only professionals in it (correct me if I'm wrong).

If it turns out a majority are males looking for 'something raunchier', I wonder if a different type of businesswoman than you're thinking of will get involved.

Ah, but David -- there's a great profit-sharing opportunity right there!

My initial thoughts... Not sure about the chat before hand, semi one-night-stand visions the description seemed to conjeur. But I do see merit in Professional networking style of event.

One avenue could be organised, branded networking meeting held at hotels - All the hotels need to do is provide an area with access to the bar, and maybe something small to eat. Hotels can promote it as a service offered to guests. If it is promoted right (is as Networking opportunity) then shouldn't give out the wrong idea. Hotels would sell more drinks too.

The event would need to be consistently branded and organised - maybe a format that is repeatable and scalable.

Still a little unsure of the business model; would hotels pay for it, or would the guests pay for it? Per meeting fee or subscription? still not sure on that one.

i think it will out to be business networkin site!

Great idea. Quite similar to TechGuy's Jumblelunch though (like entreprenew said). Do you think it should be implemented separately ?

As for the "something raunchier", you would need to take extra care that it's not perceived that way, and that it cannot be perceived that way.

@Leddo: Great idea to have hotel do the promotion.

Make it exclusively available to current registered hotel guests, or guest of nearby hotels. Might help avoid the undesired "businesswomen".

good call

Thanks for the comments people:

Here is what I have taken from people's suggestions

1) remove the "raunchier" part. This was somewhat tongue in cheek when I wrote it, but on reflection probably detracts from the core idea.

2) Perhaps think about how the service could be integrated into existing profile networks (e.g., LinkedIn). I am wondering also if it could be integrated with services like wotif.com

3) Need to think about initial incentives for joining. How could we advertise the product to get great exposure and take-up. Would getting the hotels on board be possible? Leddo suggested getting the hotels to promote the concept as a service that they offer (we offer the networking tool, they offer the venue and perhaps some food/drink). It is a branded service that can be rolled out easily at all hotels.

4) It does share some similarities with Jumble Lunch and it may be worth thinking about the common aspects of these services. My take is that this provides networking opportunities for professionals on business trips - outside of their usual networks but in an environment that supports social connections (i.e., close to bars, restaurants).

5) The target audience is those who are actually staying at the hotels - to reduce less savoury uses.

Thanks for the comments everyone. I will make sure that people who have made suggestions are recognized in the changes I make to the idea (and hence in the ownership of the idea down the track).

It could work. It would be better if it worked as a mobile service, or at least have a mobile friendly option. If you combined it technology like Socialight (http://socialight.com/) then you'd just be able to know if there were someone at the bar and then go check out their profile with your blackberry or treo (or other mobile device).

Could also just have a kiosk in the lobby to check too.

Okay -- I've been thinking about this a little more in the past few minutes and I almost want in on this. I have a lot of hospitality and travel clients and I think that some form of this could really take off.

I think it would work best, as a business model, if it started out aimed at business travelers and maybe worked through LinkedIn.com or another established business networking site.

CarlenLea: I am interested to hear more. I like both your mobile and kiosk options as well as you focus on business travellers.

Hi everyone. I have had a go at refining the idea. Would be interested in more feedback.

On a business trip, there can sometimes be a lot of wasted time especially in the evenings if you only have daytime appointments. Especially in the winter, people do tend to stay in their hotel rooms or gravitate to the lounge or hotel bar, as there are very few other public spaces available.

I have never been comfortable walking into a bar by myself, and although I am friendly, I would not start a conversation with a man I didn't know, whether in a bar or elsewhere. A service like your idea would have helped me meet people when I was travelling alone.

It would also have been nice to have been able to find other women to spend a little time with. There are so many interesting people in the world, and so little time.

Would I use this service now? Well, I am unlikely to be travelling on business so personally, no I would probably not need it. But hypothetically, what I would look for is a meeting place that was hosted or mediated in some way by the hotel or another trusted third party, and that did not involve giving out personal information over the internet. Privacy and safety would be a higher priority than networking.

Good luck with it.

Hi Jill:

The safety issues and integration with hotel services are key points and ones I am trying to weave into the idea. I do not think the idea would work without the cooperation of the hotels involved, and I think it is an excellent service they can offer (it could be one of the menu options on the TV in the rooms!!). This idea is constantly growing thanks to the feedback of the people in here. Please keep the comments flowing so I can continue to develop this idea further.