About Organising

Do it for love or do it for profit, hosts are special people. Organising a dining group or a supper club is great fun and it brings many rewards. Here are the steps, our tips, hints and best practice to make everything go well.

Setting up

If you want your guests to come to your events, then you will need to say enough about yourself in your profile so that their trust is deserved.

You will need to decide if you want to organise your events under your name or as a supper club / restaurant.  If you brand your events under a club or venue then you will need certain things.

1. A name for your club.
2. A logo. A square JPEG file of 150 pixels is good enough.
3. Set up your club page [in the Profiles section]

If you are going to take payments on the site, you will also need:

4. a PayPal account which is attached to the email address you use for Social Republic.

Preparation

The core of Social Republic is a organising an event at a restaurant. Somebody else does the cooking and you sit with your guests. The first things you need to do are to agree certain things with the venue:

• A deal: you are bringing a number of guests so ask for a deal.
• Dates: a] date and time of the event b] a cut-off for final numbers and for if the event is not going to occur.
• Seating and any use of private rooms.
• The number of places: a] maximum, b] target and c] minimum.
• Special diets: ask about their ability to cater for guests who may have intolerances.
• The menu: ask for an electronic copy if possible in PDF, .DOC (best) or .DOCX format. An agreed fixed-price menu makes everyone's life so much easier.
• Tipping protocol: including this in the guest's ticket price enables a payment-free evening.
• How to deal with extras ordered by guests, and how they settle up for these.  The venue's support and management of this is invaluable, and also can make for an evening without a 'settling-up' process involving you.

In good time

List your event well in advance. Three months is the forward limit and three weeks the shortest period if you want to optimise the effect of promotional emails sent from the site. We send an alert when you list the event the first time, and then a reminder two weeks and one week before your event.

The process

1. Create your event on Social Republic. You can save it and come back later, and publish it when you are ready. Check how your flyer looks and print it out. If you have a panic about something, don't worry, you can un-publish an event that has no guests or applicants.
2. When you publish, we'll take care of informing members by email, and if you make changes, to alert members who have applied about these.
3. Sit back and answer any questions from members.  You can add more comments if you forgot something, adjust the places available and the gender balance and even add a menu when it comes through, so don't let this hold you up.
4. When you have sufficient interest to make up a party, review your guests profiles and pick them!  We'll let them know by email.
5. Keep the venue informed.
6. Print your guest list .. and go!

Describing your event

'Sell the sizzle, not the steak', as they say. Here are some things you might like to mention.

• Why you are doing this
• Things that appeal to the five senses.
• The best points about events you have been to, or organised, and you are trying to recreate
• If there is a theme, what is it
• About the venue
• About the chef
• About the food
• The kind of people are you inviting. The kind of person they are likely to meet. [See below]
• What they can expect to have happen
• How long should they expect to be there

Please put some detail into the description of the type of attendee you want - there is a field for this but there is no harm including details in the description too. Many members are single and will want to meet 'suitable types', so a very wide age range won't work for them. If you are specific, applicants will 'select themselves in'.  The point that the host is selecting their guests is important, unless it is clear the event is purely 'foodie'.

Be clear about what is included, and what is excluded from the price. If something is excluded, back it up with a positive statement in the description. So, for example if table wine is excluded, say they should bring their own.

Gender Balance

It's a fact; the supper party format is popular with females. That is, until the word gets out. The ratio of females to males also changes as we get older. We didn't make the world, but we can do something about it. To help even things out, consider these options:

• aim for food that also appeals directly to men
• make it a wine tasting evening too
• give preference to women who will bring along one of their male friends
• enlist a male co-host

Publicity really works!

The more times people hear about your event the much more likely they are to go.  We tell them three times by email. You can publicize your event in several ways, and all for free.

• Print and put up the fliers. This is especially important for the venue. There's a button at the bottom of your event page.
• 'Like' your own event on Facebook - there's a 'like' button on your event page.
• Tweet your event. There's a 'tweet' button too.
• Your event will have a web address visible to anyone on the internet. Email your friends. There's an email icon on your event page so you can inform your own contact list.
• Get it listed in the What's On section of your local paper and community magazine.

Selecting your guests

Start picking members for your guest list when you have a critical mass. Be aware that doing so commits you. 

Just as important, don't leave it too late - the cut-off for guest selection is 24 hours before the event. We do this so there are no last minute surprises for people.

Of course some people leave it until the last minute before they commit. It takes all types. Don't become disheartened if take up is slow.

If there is insufficient interest in your event then, so long as you haven't picked any guests, you can let your event expire quietly. However, we would urge you to hold a small party instead - they are just as much fun. An expired event will not affect your track record. We still admire you for having a go and hope you will try again.

Taking care of your guests

Hosts are special people and you will have an innate understanding of what is required since it interests you. You will know that polite leadership qualities are needed sometimes, as well as a friendly approach. Your guests will appreciate the efforts you are making on their behalf.

• Please remember that walking into a room full of people can be daunting for some, so please meet your guests where they come in.
• Pre-empt issues, such as how people pay for extras, and paying tips.

Cancellations and no-shows

Sometimes a guest may need to cancel.  If you have asked for pre-payment, then we ask you to be benevolent in your refunding decision.  The guest's track record will reflect the cancellation.

If a guest does not show up, you should mark them as a no-show after the event. The guest's track record will show this, and it stops them sending private messages to other guests they have not physically met.

If you really, really do have to cancel an event, please refund your guests promptly. You can do this through your PayPal account.