A York couple love to go on trips away and enjoy unique experiences – and this inspired a lockdown business. Founder Dan Temple explains more
When Emily and I try a new experience, we research good quality but affordable accommodation nearby. That way we can make our date day into a date night too. It just makes everything extra special, without breaking the bank.
During the first lockdown, we spent some time planning new activities for us to look forward to when the world re-opened. And I discovered a gap in the market for unique experiences for couples with optional accommodation nearby.
I thought the concept would make it effortless for people to plan their next date day or date night away together – and it would certainly be of use to us. So we founded Date Night Away in April 2020.
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Throughout the last year, we put our heads together to research what other couples enjoy doing together. We wanted to offer a service to make it effortless for anybody planning their next trip.
It was important to us that we found amazing activities to suit all tastes, along with accommodation of great standard, but reasonably priced to suit all circumstances.
From here, we found perfect business partners, who host experiences all over the UK. We have searched high and low for good quality accommodation options, all nearby the chosen activity.
The website offers at least two different priced options, which are optional for the customer to book if they wish to book a trip away. We’ve found that this is an effortless one-stop-shop for those looking to spark up their date ideas or even for those wishing to enjoy a unique day out with a friend.
How does it work?
So how does it work? It’s simple really, you choose an activity from five different categories. Each activity is always priced for two people and once you’ve bought one, you receive an e-voucher attached to your email.
This voucher is usually valid for 12 months from purchase, meaning it’s great to plan ahead for special occasions. You can redeem your voucher with the experience provider, anytime within 12 months, subject to their availability.
Each e-voucher explains how you do this for each experience.
You also have the option to book accommodation nearby, but there’s no pressure to do so. We just want to make it easy for those interested, all whilst saving a lot of time researching options yourself.
Whilst browsing the website, customers may note the ‘Tried and Tested’ sign. This means that we, or friends of ours have tried the experience and recommend it for others to do. There are photos and reviews so it gives the feel of how others enjoyed it and if it is the right date experience for you.
We are proud to offer over 50 new experiences which range from Llama Treks through the Lake District, Indoor and Outdoor Escape Rooms, Movie Set Tours, Bungee Jumps, Food and Drink experiences and more.
Most importantly, we set our sights on supporting businesses in our home town, and we are proud to be partnered with the Locked in York escape room, Yorkshire Appetite, offering food tour and tastings in York, and Love Cheese for wine and cheese pairings.
More than a year on and three lockdowns later, we have finally opened for business!