Paris app trades free meals for social media posts

Free dinner in Paris now comes with a posting requirement.

Inside Membership, an app created by Dutch hospitality executives, has launched in Paris with 15 venues signed up. The launch was marked by an organised party on Sunday night during Paris Fashion Week, the twice-yearly series of runway shows and presentations, according to Women's Wear Daily.

The offer is aimed at so-called culture shifters. That is the app's term for members selected for their social media reach. Those members can book complimentary meals. Discounted hotel stays are planned as a next step. In exchange, they provide coverage on social media.

Membership costs nothing for those who are selected. The money comes from the other side. Participating restaurants, and later hotels, pay a subscription fee, a recurring payment for access to the service, to appear on the app.

Each establishment sets its own terms. It decides what experience it will offer to an Inside member and a plus-one, or one accompanying guest. The venue controls the details. The member books what is listed. In practice, members browse, book, bring one guest, eat and post. The app handles the introduction.

The Paris start follows a trial run at home. The team ran a beta test, a limited trial of an early version, in Amsterdam across 81 venues.

Four people are behind the business. Rosa van Wissen, a cofounder, runs Nitro, a creative agency focused on hospitality. Sascha Lupker, a cofounder, is a former model and dancer who moved into VIP and guest relations management and recently worked for Silencio. Timo Bierens, a cofounder, is head of operations, overseeing day-to-day running. Roy Scheepens, a cofounder, is head of technology, overseeing the app itself.

The system turns one-to-one negotiation into a shop window. Instead of restaurants and creators arranging free meals over messages, venues list a defined offer inside the app. Members choose from what is available. Posts are the payment. No cash changes hands between the member and the restaurant for that booking.

What makes this stand out for anyone who follows food and fashion accounts is how open the trade becomes. The meal is free. The post is expected. Both sides know the terms in advance.

For anyone scrolling, this means a polished table shot may be part of a deal. The meal was listed. The coverage was the cost.

The founders want to go further. Plans for expansion name London, New York, Milan and Los Angeles, alongside Turkey and Morocco.