Kelowna woman’s speed dating business helping people escape dating apps

Online dating can be a lot like shopping, sometimes if you want to know what you’re getting it’s better to look around in person. That’s what people are finding at speed dating events in Kelowna.

Hailey Janes was a school teacher back in October when she started Speed Dating Kelowna. Now she’s running the business full-time and has organized events for around 1,400 people.

“People just love love and want to connect or are sick of dating apps,” she said. “We just hit the ground running. Like it’s been insane.”

Janes started out with an event for people ages 25 to 35, but after the event’s popularity she expanded to events for various age brackets, sexual orientations and different interests.

Ticket prices vary, usually between $25 to $35. At the end of the event participants fill out a card and they are notified the next day if they get any matches.

The events are organized in typical speed dating fashion with structured mini-dates around five to seven minutes each, match cards and conversation prompts if needed. But some of the events have a twist like a salsa dancing lesson intro or an event where people can bring their dogs.

“I did one recently for people who like board games and gaming in general,” she said.

“We’ve done them for men for men, women for women. I have a friendship event coming up. There’s just a huge, huge demand to connect in general.”

The speed dating events have been selling out, but it hasn’t always gone smoothly, like an ages 60 to 75 event back in November.

“I had sold out women’s tickets and I had one men’s ticket sold,” she said. “So I had to cancel that one, which I felt so bad.

“I had one lady email and was like, ‘I’m not going to say I’m not disappointed. I slept with the curlers in last night.’”

She hasn’t given up on a senior’s night and has an event planned for folks over 70.

Janes said the toughest demographic to get out to speed date has been men over 40.

“I think for them, it’s a very new concept. And I think for the men, it needs to be a word of mouth thing,” she said. “They maybe need someone else to go out for him and try it. But we’re finally now at a place where we’re not really struggling to get older men.”

It has only been around six months but there are already some success stories coming out of Janes’ events.

“We did the East Kelowna Valentine’s Day market,” she said. “Halfway through the day there was a knock at my door and I opened it. And it was a couple who had met at one of my events saying ‘I just wanted to stop and say hi, like let you know that we’re still together.’”

The challenges of dating apps are well-known: bare-bones profiles, endless swiping and often boring conversations with people who aren’t serious about making a connection. Janes said the benefit of a speed dating event is the kind of person it attracts.

“The people who are looking for something a little bit more genuine, got dressed up, showed up, paid to be there. So it always attracts a very nice person. So they’re always people who are really easy to talk to,” she said.

Janes said she welcomes suggestions or requests from people who want to see a certain kind of event or they want her to come to their city in the Okanagan.

“I don’t know what’s going on in the trenches, as I call it. So it’s always really nice when people suggest like a certain age range they want to see or a certain city,” she said.