Introducing Our Partners!

More Fun for Groups as we collaborate with Excursionist, Underground Eats, and Zozi

Two weeks ago we were excited to introduce Experiences by GroupMe — a new way to help groups of friends get together better in the real world. With Experiences, you can discover, plan, and collaboratively pay for the amazing group experiences you’ll always remember. Today, we’re just as excited to announce the launch of the Experiences Partner Program, along with our first three flagship partners! Each of these new collaborators will bring unique new group opportunities to our line-up:

1) Excursionist, with luxury travel experiences throughout the U.S. and around the world

2) Underground Eats, with exclusive culinary experiences

3) Zozi, with fun outdoor and adventure experiences

Together, these three partners complement our own selection of hand-picked group Experiences, to bring you even more amazing things to do with your friends. Adding these partners to the Experiences family means they’ll have the opportunity to showcase the best social opportunities they’ve got, using our super fun and simple group planning (and group paying) platform. Traveling and dining alone is uncommon — not to mention less fun than it is with friends! — so our conversations so far have been all about coming up with the best social experiences. One of our premiere Partner collaborations is the Best of the Bayou New Orleans Experience, a four-day adventure to one of America’s most culturally robust and colorful cities, complete with private musical and dining tours, designed flexibly for groups of two to six friends. And, a private dining experience hosted by an Iron Chef finalist, which lets you and your friends be among the first to try his brand new East Village restaurant Graffiti Me in five courses with wine pairing, for groups of two to four.

The Experiences Partner Program is really beneficial for our Partners too. Because GroupMe’s core expertise as a company is all about group dynamics (communication, decision-making, and collective purchasing), we’re able to take a lot of the manual effort out of the group planning and payment process. To get all business for a second, we help our partners benefit from added exposure, introducing their unique offers to a new audience while nixing the friction their customers endure while planning for groups—solving that classic group-buying problem of, “If I decide to front the money for this experience, which of my friends are going to pay me back and actually show up?” And soon, we’ll be pioneering awesome new ways of reaching groups via mobile, and amping up our new mobile-optimized checkout process—that’s great news for us, our Partners, and you too. Today’s news is the first step in building relationships that deliver even more great group options to Experiences customers and our Partners’ customers in a way that’s easy and fun. Win win win.

Stay tuned for more in the upcoming weeks. If you’re looking for things to do with your friends, check out Experiences today for a slew of great new options. And if you’re a potential partner with experiences great for groups of friends, you might be a great fit for us — we’d love to hear from you.

Above left: A day-long bike tour in Central Park for four; Center: The best of the Bayou during four days in New Orleans for two to six; Right: Iron Chef finalist Jehangir Mehta invites groups of two to four to a premiere taste of his brand new East Village restaurant.