How to Use Tinder During Travel

by Alyssa Ramos

I thought I was just so clever when I blurted out to my roommate that I was going to enable my Tinder profile on a recent trip to New York City, and frankly, she did too. What better way to meet cute, sophisticated guys in suits in a city where I had no idea where they hid, right?

Well. It didn’t exactly turn out with the fairytale Sex and the City 2 ending that I had envisioned, and I had gotten no where near meeting a Chuck Bass, but I did discover a few things. All the cute, ‘swipe right’  guys did not wear suits, but were extremely observant of the fact that I was just visiting for the weekend… #no.

And a lot of the ‘swipe left’ guys wore suits, and proved to be as smart as their Tinder bio claimed, because a few of them actually E-MAILED me from the contact form on my blog, which I have listed on my bio. ‘How genius! ‘I thought, realizing what a freaking gold mine Tinder could be for marketing and networking.

So although I immediately gave up on meeting someone, as I did before even downloading it, I figured out how to use Tinder while you travel, whether it’s to meet new people, find out local hotspots, market yourself, or…well, you know what some people use it for…

Travel Tinder DO’s

DO write your website and Instagram handle in the bio. Most people want to see more photos, so you may gain some new fans.

DO pay attention to bios – what they do, where they live, and how obnoxious or boring they are.

DO disable notifications & even disable data when you’re not using it because it severely drains your battery.

DO use a classy photo. You don’t want to attract any stalkers or serial killers, or put off any sophisticated people.

DO say that you’re in town on business or you’re bi-coastal. Even if you’re not. Just, do it.

DO casually ask about hotspots…even if you’re not interested…you now know where to go.

DO use it to network. Somehow I always get into deep convos about travel and writing with 1 in 10 of them wanting to help me in some way other than getting my pants off.

Travel Tinder DON’Ts

DON’T tell people you’re just in town for the weekend…apparently that automatically translates to “let’s hook up”.

DON’T tell people where you’re staying. It’s easy to just show up in the neighborhood you happen to be in.

DON’T travel farther than a one mile radius to meet someone…for safety and moral reasons.

DON’T ever respond to anyone who automatically opens with a sexually related comment. There’s a good chance they have a sexually related disease.

DON’T make it obvious that you have no idea where you anything is.

DON’T admit that you’re just using it to network…people get real mad when the find out you’re not on there to meet them…

DON’T respond to anyone who sends more than two messages before you even get a chance to respond…

ANNOUNCEMENT:

*I started a charity! It’s called HeartSleeves.org and gives two underprivileged kids in Muizenberg, South Africa (where I volunteered) their very own brand new T-shirt when you buy one!

Please check it out and get a shirt/donate if you can! And please share on Facebook! Facebook.com/heartsleeves.org.