Founder of Guestlist.ph, Ron Baetiong
Like to feel like a VIP everytime you party? Want to be up-to-date about the latest clubbing events? Hate to get confused on which event to go? Guestlist.ph is here to help.
An online guest list to Manila’s best nightclubs, lounges and bars, Guestlist.ph makes sure that having difficulties in finding the right access to the right parties becomes the thing of the past.
e27 interviews founder of Guestlist.ph, Ron Baetiong, to find out more about how he is shaking up the night scene of Manila.
How did the idea of Guestlist.ph come about? And what difference has it made to the partying scene in the Phillipines?
Guestlist.ph was first conceived when I was writing a thesis while studying Entrepreneurship in the University of Santo Tomas in 2009. Our thesis involved actualization the business during our senior year and running it for a whole year.
Longing to start something creative of my own, I decided to combine my passion, clubbing, into my brainstorming sessions of how I could improve the whole system. I discovered that the main problem of clubbing is that if you didn’t know any club promoter, you’d have to pay the cover charge at the door. Plus, one may be limited to a certain promoter depending on which night it is.
Thus, I thought that it would be a great idea if everyone could just choose where they want to go without going through the hassle of looking for a promoter. With no marketing budget, it became a hit. Guestlist.ph revoluntionized the whole guest listing system and we were able to get 50,000 party enthusiasts to use our free online guest listing system.
Do you think Guestlist would be able to be exported to other countries too? How well received do you think it’ll be in other countries? (Since the partying scene is different in different countries)
Wherever you are in the world, being on the guest list is always considered a privilege gaurantees free entry. It is a way for clubs to drive traffic to their venue and thereby increasing their chances of having higher bar sales (their main revenue stream).
Rules may vary in other countries but there is a common denominator for all clubbing enthusiasts nontheless. Everyone wants to save money or at least maximize their money’s worth. With that being said, we are confident that we can transplate this to other parts of the world no matter which country we are in. It is just a matter of adjusting to the culture but the system is pretty much the same.
What problems have you encountered during the actualization of Guestlist?
The main constraint that we have encountered in this project is awareness. Clubbing is a habit-forming business. People are used to doing the same things over and over again, until they realize that there is a better way for them to do things easier.
So far, we are doing a good job reaching out to people and telling them the good news that we are here to make partying easier for them. However, there is still much work to be done in order to reach everyone and tell him or her the good news.
Were merchants open to this idea since Guestlist is essentially bringing all the competitors closer to one platform?
At first, clubs were skeptical about the idea but when they saw how much traffic I was able to give them. But they soon realized that Guestlist.ph allowed them to promote their venue and their events with much greater conveneince. We started to build a lasting symbiotic relationship with them.
What are your future plants for Guestlist? E.g. partnerships, feature developments, market expansion etc.
Guestlist.ph is just the first step of the 3-step process that we have laid out. We are in the process of partnering with big telecommunications sponsors and brands that would give our users more perks when they go out.
Also, we are developing the e-commerce functionality of the site and after a few months we will be launching the app. The next step for Guestlist.ph is to usher in 2 more projects that would give our users the choice to go out to more nightlife hotspots (not just clubs) and by January, we want to migrate our site to Singapore or Thailand under a name that would be globally known.
How is the traction like for Guestlist and what are some of the feedback you’ve gotten from partygoers so far?
We have grown rapidly ever since Guestlist.ph was launched 3 weeks ago and there have been increasing number of users who use the site and the Facebook app. We have been getting positive feedback about it and have been featured on several radio stations, magazines and other sites.
This is only the beginning. We expect to be full blown during our launch party by late June or early July.
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