Many singles are eager to go back to a time when meeting their future partner didn’t involve a virtual rose. As dating apps see declining use, a constellation of services is throwing in-person events that offer singles an opportunity to excuse themselves to the bathroom to get out of listening to a rant about politics mingle in person:

• The Dinner Table Club organizes dinners with strangers at local restaurants in New York and Los Angeles, costing around $75–$100. Restaurants are happy to host people swapping contact info, as it brings in extra foot traffic on slow nights.
• TimeLeft lets users book dinner, drinks, or a run with strangers, with the goal of fostering connections.
• Thursday puts together singles dinners, game nights, and salsa dances in dozens of cities worldwide, as well as no-couples-allowed ski trips.

The swiping apps have acknowledged that many users want to make sure someone isn’t lying about being 6 feet tall before handing them their number. Tinder recently introduced features allowing users to find or organize get-togethers, while last year, Hinge expanded its $1 million initiative that gives grants of up to $25,000 to nonprofits to organize IRL dating events in New York, LA, Atlanta, and London.

Non-dating apps that help you date

Even some gyms are taking after your parents by trying to help you find a spouse by hosting dating-oriented workout sessions. Eventbrite saw singles nights—including blindfolded experiences, game-based activities, and tantric meditation—grow in popularity on its platform. And Partiful now notifies users if someone who attended the same event has a crush on them, allowing the pair to start messaging if the request to do so is accepted.

But…filling a room with clumsily conversing people isn’t a surefire recipe for romance. Some Redditors have complained that dating events often amount to a bunch of (mostly male) singles awkwardly standing around.

Are dating events big business? Some investors are wary of IRL events delivering the same returns as the swiping apps, which is a $6.2 billion industry. They told Business Insider that shindig-organizing apps are harder to scale than a service that leaves planning in-person logistics to the users.—SK

Before the loneliness epidemic and all the friendship apps that followed, there was Meetup.com, the pre-Facebook platform for hanging out with strangers from the internet. After growing a loyal user base, surviving a stint under WeWork, and then stalling out, Meetup is angling for a second wind—but its turnaround may be turning away longtime fans.

Origins: Meetup launched in 2002 after its co-founders noticed a general desire for community in the wake of Sept. 11. The concept was straightforward—give people with similar interests a forum for organizing hangouts:

• The startup initially grew by finding online blogs for niche groups and inviting them to organize Meetups for fake holidays, like International Pug Lovers Meetup Day.
• Meetup crossed 1 million users in 2004 after it was publicized as a grassroots organizing tool for the presidential race.
• Soon, it started charging volunteer organizers $12 to $19 per month, leading to its first profitable year in 2010.

By the time it was acquired in 2017, the platform boasted 35 million members and an estimated 300,000 communities, according to its new owner.

The beginning of the end?

WeWork bought Meetup for $156 million in what seemed like a natural pairing—about 100,000 people had already attended Meetups at a WeWork space, the companies said at the time. With the acquisition, Meetup organizers thought their days of cramming into community centers or cafés, or paying for venues themselves, were over...

...until WeWork crashed in 2019. Its tumble appeared to trickle down to Meetup, which laid off as much as 25% of its staff, weeks after testing a $2 RSVP fee that also ruffled users’ feathers. Once the pandemic started, it became harder for the platform’s ~50 million members to meet up in person. WeWork sold it in March 2020 for far less than it paid.

New owner: Bending Spoons, an Italian firm that buys struggling tech companies of yesteryear (see: Evernote, Vimeo, AOL, and Eventbrite), acquired Meetup in 2024. It raised organizer fees for the first time since 2019, from $24/month to $45/month, and started paywalling some features. Though the move aggravated users, new app registrations increased by 20% last year, hinting at a potential post-pandemic resurgence, Engadget reported.—ML

The best way to really get to know someone is to use a visual aid and set a time limit. Audiences are flocking to bars and other venues in cities including New York, Chicago, and Miami to watch people publicly present their friends for courtship as if they were investment opportunities. Who else can hype you up and lovingly raise your red flags better than your besties?

Kira Felsenfeld has hosted Chicago’s semi-regular matchmaker event “Please Date My Friend” for the last two years, getting anywhere from 20 to 50 submissions for nine slots from people hoping to sell their single friends. A good presentation is “a nice balance of funny and earnest,” Felsenfeld told Morning Brew. After two years of shows, she has a message for presenters: “People are like, ‘This guy’s in therapy,’ but therapy is no longer a litmus test for stability.”

A gift from Matty. Here’s a pitch deck template you can use to help your friend find love. Take it from me, someone who has pitched their friend: The presentation hits harder if the slides are a little bad.—MM

In fairness to Harry Nilsson, when he wrote the line “One is the loneliest number,” single-person travel wasn’t as big as it is today. Nowadays, group tours offer plenty of options for travelers who want to venture out on their own without actually feeling lonely.

Ridin’ solo: Solo travel can be an opportunity to build confidence, broaden your horizons, and unplug from the daily stresses of life. It also tends to be easier to plan a trip, since you don’t have to work around your uncle’s catsitter’s dentist appointment. Per Grand View Research:

• The global solo travel market was worth almost $550 billion last year.
• That number is expected to nearly triple by 2033.

But it can still be scary. A quarter of Americans find solo travel intimidating, citing safety concerns, cost, and a fear of being alone as the biggest barriers, according to a survey conducted by Talker Research for travel organization Road Scholar.

All for one, and one for all

Tour companies have tried to profit off of calm those jitters by tailoring group trips specifically to solo travelers. After all, there’s safety in numbers and peace of mind in having a professional guide build the itinerary. And there’s also a sense of community when you’re with travelers in the same boat as you (sometimes literally).

Women are driving the trend. According to luxury travel company Virtuoso, more than 70% of solo travelers are women, prompting many tour companies to specialize in women-only trips.—BC

The case for dating. As run clubs continue to gain popularity following the pandemic, TikTokers have pointed out that they may offer a better endorphin boost than scampering across the pavement: finding a date. While every popular IRL dating trend seems to ultimately be traced back to the idea that “the apps are a nightmare,” running clubs have an added bonus: You already have something in common and have seen each other at your sweatiest. Plus, with some clubs reaching membership of 300+ people, the odds of getting rejected aren’t as high as they might be at smaller get-togethers. Just slow down if you want to meet someone new.—MM

The case for running. “Are you tired? Because you’ve been running through my mind all morning.” It’s things like this that women do not want to hear from a random guy just after sunrise, especially through heavy panting. They also don’t want help stretching or the cramps massaged out of their legs. Want to hear something crazy? It turns out most people are at run clubs to run, and not to hook up with a weird guy in an “I’ve Got The Runs” tank top and MoMA hat who gets winded after a half-mile. You’ll have better luck at chess club: “Call me a knight the way I’m willing to lay down for my queen.”—DL