A new Instagram account is marketing itself as the "Waze of Vancouver nightclubs."
"I was actually pre-drinking with my friends, we were about to go somewhere in Vancouver, we were deciding where to go...and then I thought to myself, why isn't there a real-time live service that tells you what's going on at each bar and what the vibes are like?" says Lines Vancouver founder Dylan Samra.
Taking the approach of the community-based traffic app that uses crowdsourced up-to-date information to plot the quickest navigation route, Lines Vancouver on Instagram has a team of 'line checkers' on the ground outside clubs, walking up and down Granville Street, collecting pertinent data to help people make the best decision about which hot spot to visit.
The premise is pretty simple: People follow the Vancouver Line's Instagram account and check their story for photos and videos with information about the length of lineups, the age demographic, and the general vibe of different bars on Granville Street, in Gastown, Yaletown, and Main Street in Vancouver.
"Sometimes we actually have people that are already inside that either work for the club or that are there actually just patrons and they send us updates on what it's like in the club," says Samra.
The line checkers are made up of a mix of people, some who frequently go to bars and nightclubs and are familiar with the scene, and some who don't but are working as a side hustle. For now, the line checkers are being paid with start-up investment money but Samra says the long-term plan is to monetize the page with ads and club partnerships.
As the account's following grows, the goal is to have people who are already standing in line or inside the clubs to contribute information to the platform. According to Samra that is starting to happen as managers and owners of clubs get wind of the service. "They're telling us that 'we'll send you the information, we'll send you the video and photos,'" he says. "And then our followers are starting to produce information so it's getting there."
If they don't have a person on the inside, Samra adds that "our actual line checkers will most of the time just go up to the security guard or the bouncer as well the entry people and ask what it's like inside. And they also take a video of a lineup so we have both."
Forming relationships with the bouncer community is key to getting information if line checkers can't get inside but so far Samra says none of his team have had any issues asking these kinds of questions.
By giving both quantitative (like line lengths and age ranges) and qualitative information (how well dressed are people, is the crowd rowdy or subdued, etc.) Lines helps people decide where to go when they head out for an evening or where to hit up next when club hopping.
The account launched in April and as of now has over 8,000 followers. Samra says that the young millennials of Vancouver are loving it because it solves a big problem in the market.
"A problem people are going to have this weekend if they don't follow us."
