Features

Request an invite

To make them safe and exciting, all Chowbunga Pop-ups are open for public viewing, but private to attend. Anyone can request an invite to any Pop-up, but the host always has the ultimate say on whom they'd like to attend their Pop-up. Thus, the Request an Invite feature allows the host to curate the crowd and create their own ideal guest list. Only those attending learn the address of the Pop-up. In selecting their guests, your host will ensure a great mix of interesting new people to meet and things like an even girl-guy ratio, resulting in a better experience and more fun for all.

Invite old friends too

Chowbunga is all about safely teaming up with new people to throw private parties, but, naturally, old friends can be mixed in too. By funneling everyone through the platform, costs are shared and parties get better. To make sure they chip in, hosts can send old friends invites directly via email.

“Pop” - started

All Chowbunga Pop-ups are kickstarted. Confirmed guests will only have their credit cards charged if/when enough people have reserved a ticket to the same Pop-up. This gives both interested guests and hosts assurance that the party will only "tip" or "pop" if enough people have confirmed to attend. Thus, hosts will never have to risk making preparations for a party that doesn't materialize, and guests will never have to risk attending a party that ends up being much smaller than expected.

Cost shared and all-inclusive

For parties with a contribution price, everyone attending chips in to share the costs involved. Sharing the costs not only makes it affordable for everyone to attend, but enables your host to throw a more lavish, fun affair for everyone's benefit. Also, the contribution or "ticket" price for all Chowbunga Pop-ups is always all-Inclusive, meaning that you won't have to spend any more money once at the Pop-up (except for maybe a tip to a bartender). For example, a Chowbunga cocktail party is always an open bar.

Profile verification tools

All members’ profiles must be connected to and verified through at least Facebook and/or LinkedIn, Twitter optionally, and may also incorporate by reference personal blogs and other websites where the community can learn more about a particular member. While these tools do not offer 100% verification, they allow hosts to begin to trust that members are who they appear to be on their Facebook and LinkedIn pages, and provide hosts social cues to help them decide whom to invite, such as when a host sees that an aspiring guest has a vibrant social network.

Member-driven trust & reputation tools

Members of the Chowbunga community can learn about each other and get a feel for one another’s reputation as a host or a guest by reviewing how many positive references a member has received from other members, known as "High fives", reviewing written positive reviews for more details, and seeing how many Pop-ups a member has hosted or attended. These tools are available for the community to self-regulate, so that quality hosts get their events filled and reputable guests are more likely to receive invites. The more you participate as a member by hosting, attending, and interacting with fellow members’ profile pages, the more effective the member-driven tools will become.

High Fives & positive reviews

“High Five” the people you interacted with at a Pop-up and thought were cool. You can also leave a positive written review of your host or any of the guests you “High Fived”. You can only High Five and receive High Fives from the members with whom you attended a party. The more High Fives and positive reviews a member receives, the more the community will trust and appreciate that member, both as a host and as a guest.

Connect with new people

Pop-up parties are geared toward meeting new people and making new friends. Chowbunga gets the right mix of people “in a room” together offline, and allows partygoers to easily connect online before and after the party. Each Pop-up has its own dedicated event page, where you will be able to see who is attending an event, message guests individually and collectively, and easily stay in touch with those you meet at a party by becoming “Pop-up Pals”. Becoming Pop-up Pals after a party allows you to easily stay in touch with your new friends, and see when they are hosting or attending future Pop-ups.

Hosting

Hosting a Pop-up with Chowbunga is simple and safe. Our features enable you to post your Pop-up in a jiffy, handpick vetted guests, and provide you the guarantee that enough people will chip in to attend before you must ultimately commit to hosting the event. Chowbunga makes it easy for anyone to host and fill their own unique Pop-up parties. Brunch, dinner parties, cocktails, performances, themed events, games, cooking classes and more, a Pop-up can be anything and happen anywhere. Set a contribution or “ticket” price to cover your costs, and, if your parties are that awesome that you can charge a premium and still pack the house, keep any extra money you make.

Insta-Pop

Want to host a Pop-up party that everyone will love, but without too much thought or effort? Then instead of creating your own Pop-up from scratch, throw an “Insta-Pop”. Just open your door and let the party come to you. Simply provide the venue (e.g. your home or storefront), select your guests, and choose which bartender or chef you want to show up and Chowbunga will do the rest. It won’t cost you a thing, and you’ll even get a split of the bartenders tip jar! Insta-pops are a great way to curate your perfect social setting, on your own terms, and party with people you want to meet, all without doing much more than providing a space for the party to Pop-up!

Pop-ups for shop owners

Chowbunga experiences can Pop-up anywhere, not just homes, as long as the environment is private and unique. For example, you can host a storefront Pop-up at your fashion boutique or at your bakery after-hours. It’s a hip way to build your community, generate buzz or new sales, get to know existing customers and fans, and develop new ones in a genuine and enjoyable manner. People may read a billboard, but they’ll never forget a great party!

Enhance-a-party

Hosting a good old fashioned gathering amongst close friends? Spice it up by posting it on Chowbunga to bring in a few new faces for you and your friends. Example post: "Backyard bbq with 5 friends, looking to meet 3 new people. Come on over!”

Profile pages

Every Chowbunga member has a profile page. The profile page is where members can learn about one another before meeting in person at an event. It is particularly useful for hosts, who review profile pages before deciding whether to send an invite to a member who requested one. A host can learn how trusted the member’s profile is (by determining if the profile is verified through Facebook and/or LinkedIn, etc.), how reputable the member is (based on feedback from other members on the profile page), and can learn about the member’s background and interests to determine if the member would mix well with other guests. The more complete a member’s profile, the more likely they will receive invites to parties.

Dashboard

Every member has a dashboard. The Dashboard is the command center for all activity taken on Chowbunga. If a member is hosting, this is where they can manage invite requests to their party. If a member is looking to attend a Pop-up, this is where they can manage the requests they have made. It is also where members can easily find and connect with the other members they have met at parties.