As a chronically single woman, I do admit there are times when I felt lonely, but I have never considered renting a date—let alone an influencer.
That was, until I came across Elitely Social, a platform that gives “normies” like me the opportunity to go on dates with influencers in Singapore.
Driven by curiosity (and to a certain extent, scepticism), I reached out to find out how it operates and, more importantly, makes money.
How the platform works
Now, to be clear, rent-a-date platforms are not new. This business model first became popular in Japan, with China and South Korea following suit.
They have also become more prominent in Singapore in recent years, with one article even highlighting a spike in demand during festive seasons like Chinese New Year as a form of “appeasement” to nosy relatives.
Elitely Social started out with a similar business model in 2020, as a rent-a-friend, rent-a-date platform that aimed to connect individuals who found it difficult to meet others organically.
You could think of it as a little push, a mechanism to get the ball rolling and initiate meaningful connections. “Subsequent friendships or relationships all depend on their chemistry upon the first meeting,” added Dickson Chung, one of the founders of the platform.
However, Elitely Social’s business model went through an evolution in 2022, after influencers began reaching out to ask if there was a way to monetise their time and presence on the platform.
Today, it functions as a “strictly platonic” platform connecting users with personalities and influencers in Singapore.
Users can join for free as “lurkers” and become paying members if they want to unlock chat access or arrange in-person meetups. The fees vary based on the individual rates set by each influencer.
Alternatively, you could also choose to join as an influencer or personality, but that begs the question: what qualifies someone as such on Elitely Social?
Initially, we had an unspoken/ unwritten criteria that we would screen our Platform Personalities by:
Dickson Chung, co-founder of Elitely Social
- how attractive they were, and/or
- how compelling their outward personalities were.
According to Dickson, this strategy helped the platform gain early traction. “It took the market by storm, and we believe it led to the massive sign-ups when we first launched.”
That said, it has since evolved its criteria beyond benchmarking individuals against conventional beauty standards, and perhaps it’s for the better (remember Abercrombie and Fitch’s lawsuits?).
“As long as they do not post anything weird, we accept anyone as a personality or influencer,” he said, though they may need to have a sizable following on social media.
Is it safe?
Currently, Elitely Social has over 500 lurkers and more than 800 personalities and influencers on its network. This includes both active and inactive users, who can choose to go “incognito” when they know they will be less active on the platform.
The platform generates revenue by taking a 30% commission from all paid chats and meetups.
But given that the platform facilitates real-life meetups, safety is a key concern, especially since there have been many instances where media personalities and influencers were impersonated.
To mitigate these issues, Elitely Social verifies all users based on their identity cards or passports. This is so that paying users are aware that they are chatting with a real person, a public personality.
In addition, to further bolster security especially around payments, logistics, and conduct, Elitely Social has implemented a built-in meetup scheduler that helps coordinate timing and locations directly within the platform.
All payments are also to be made via the platform, which helps ensure transparency and prevents scams. It also acts as an escrow service, only releasing payments after the meetup (or chat) windows have ended, provided there are no complaints from either party.
However, the platform still occasionally receives direct messages on its socials, asking for “special services,” even though its website clearly states otherwise.
If a personality encounters inappropriate conduct during a meetup, they are advised to leave immediately and make a report. And if the report is proven to be true, the offending party will be flagged for violating Elitely Social’s rules and may be banned from the platform.
Meanwhile, in the event of a no-show from the personality, Elitely Social investigates the cause before releasing payment or initiating a refund.
“In this way, we protect both our service standards and also the well-being of all platform users,” he added.
Rent-a-date services are here to stay
With more Singaporeans finding it difficult to date due to more fast-paced lifestyles, which is a factor contributing to the city-state’s declining birth rate, it’s no surprise there has been a spike in demand for rental date services.
However, when asked if these services could one day replace dating apps, Dickson was quick to clarify that it is unlikely, as they serve different purposes. User intentions on these platforms also vastly differ from one another.
Ultimately, though, he believes that rental date services are here to stay in Singapore, and they will only grow as people get busier and wealthier and society becomes more “open-minded.” But for now, it seems that the bigger challenge lies in convincing sceptics (like me) to give it a shot.
“How do we respond to sceptics? Try it to believe it!” he said.
Well… maybe I will.
- Learn more about Elitely Social here.
- Read more articles we have written on Singaporean startups here.
Featured Image Credit: Elitely Social
