The Tinder of hospitality deals

Danesh Abeyratne, left, and Connor Finlayson scroll through the current deals on their recently launched Hatcher

Here is an excerpt from an article we found on a great new kiwi app which is set to take off in the hospitality industry.

Wellingtonians Danesh Abeyratne, Connor Finlayson and Josh Brake have developed what they hope will be the Tinder of the hospitality industry, to introduce people to the bargain of their dreams.

The trio said they often found themselves with an open evening or lunch break, keen to try something new but unsure of where to begin or what their friends were up for, Abeyratne said.

"Before the internet, you had to plan things out, there wasn't a choice. But people are inherently lazy."

Their recently launched app Hatcher presents people with a collection of food and drink specials, pub quizzes and live music, all happening now or in the next three hours.

"We haven't found anything that does quite what this does ... this is specifically for people who realise they're free, want to do something, and just want to see what's available then and there."

Like Tinder, Hatcher highlights one offer at a time. Users can swipe left if they are uninterested, or right if it appeals to "hatch a plan", Finlayson said.

"You can also see what Facebook friends of yours said yes to. So if I do decide to go there I know exactly who to ask. You can pick the people you want to go with and it will send them all a text message."

Hatcher grew out of an idea Finlayson had as a recent graduate from Victoria University, working at the Renouf tennis centre. "I always ran into lots of people who were looking for people to play tennis with – and I had an idea for an app where you'd get all those people and get them together. But I never had a background in coding."

Abeyratne, a former army officer, and Brake, the developer, joined during an entrepreneurial boot camp, and the idea to get people together was stretched beyond the tennis courts. Hatcher is free for users, though the hope is that restaurants and bars will eventually pay to promote their events.