EatWith
IndustrySharing Economy
Founded2012 (2012)
Tel Aviv, Israel
FoundersGuy Michlin and Shemer Schwartz
HeadquartersTel Aviv, Israel
Area served
International
Websitehttp://www.eatwith.com/#!

EatWith is a community marketplace that offers local social dining experiences in people’s homes around the world. The EatWith community brings hosts, with a passion for cooking and entertaining, together with travelers and locals looking for an authentic and totally new dining experience. [1] The growing global community of EatWith hosts allows guests the option of choosing a dining experience that best fits their needs, from location to language. The company was founded in 2012 by CEO Guy Michlin and CTO Shemer Schwarz. EatWith is headquartered in Tel Aviv and has received VC and angel funding.

History

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Origin

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The idea began with a just one dinner. As a traveler himself, Guy Michilin, one of the founders of EatWith, connected with a friend of a friend to eat with a local family in Greece. [2] The family was so excited to host Michilin in their home that he ended up staying for hours. They offered him local tips on restaurants and things to do, and even a bottle of Cretan liquor as a parting gift. The hospitality was amazing and the experience was the highlight of his trip. After returning home, Michilin shared his experience with his future business partner, Schwartz, and the two began to envision a way of re-creating this home dining experience for a global community of guests and hosts across the world. It was going to be a concept similar to that of Airbnb, and it would be a food sharing experience unlike any other. [3] From there, EatWith was born.

International Expansion

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EatWith currently has over 100 hosts in Spain and Israel, with a concentration in Barcelona, Madrid and Valencia in Spain and Tel Aviv and Jerusalem in Israel. Summer 2013, EatWith will be launching in New York and Brazil. [4] The next launch locations will be based on response from the EatWith community. Food enthusiasts can sign up as either a host or guest at EatWith.com.

How It Works

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The process relies on the guest’s selection of a host and a meal. A guest browses through the site, narrowing the selection down based on location, number of guests, type of food, etc... Once the guest chooses the meal they wish to attend, they can select a pre-existing event on a set date or request a specific date, and then continue through with the order.

Hosts

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EatWith hosts are passionate about cooking and entertaining. They love meeting new people from around the world and are keen to share their love of food and cooking as well as local travel tips. EatWith hosts speak their native country’s language, as well as some English.

Guests

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EatWith guests can be travelers or locals looking for an authentic and totally new kind of dining experience. Travelers have the opportunity to sample authentic local cuisine but also to make connections and friendships with people around the world that they would not have met otherwise. Locals often attend EatWith events in their hometown in order to meet new people as well as to gain a different perspective on home dining. [5] They are provided with the opportunity to try unique styles of cooking, perhaps gaining new skills in the process, breaking out of their usual routine of local restaurants.

Security

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Verification of Hosts

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EatWith wants its guests to be 100% satisfied with the experiences they choose. Wherever you see the black and white “EatWith verified” icon, you can be sure that the EatWith experience (hosts, homes and food) have been personally checked and verified by an EatWith team member. [6]

EatWith Guarentee

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Above all else, EatWith values the safety and security of its users. The EatWith Guarantee protects hosts for up to $1,000,000 under a third party insurance coverage. In the event a guest suffers certain damages, in eligible countries, while attending an EatWith event, subject to certain conditions, limitations and exclusions, both the host and the guest are covered.

Secured Transactions

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Payments are facilitated through PayPal's secure system, providing users comfort in their purchase. Payments can also be made by credit card.


References

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[7] EatWith was featured in an article on the online Techcrunch magazine. The article was titled "Traveling Abroad? EatWith Wants To Help You Break Bread With The Locals In Their Own Homes" by Greg Kumparak. EatWith was featured on Time tech, the branch for Time magazine. EatWith was featured by the ElviaJero publication online and in print. EatWith was mentioned on a Spanish site.

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