Hosting & planning
My guests invited their people, and the party was better for it
By the Afters team · Updated · 3 min read
The best parties I have been to were full of people I met that night. The worst parties I have hosted were full of people I met that night and did not know how they got there.
For our summer party I wanted the first without the second.
Guests got their own Invite people button
On Afters, guests can invite people too. They get the roll’s QR and link, and they can invite someone from their own people or by phone number. My friend Maya invited her flatmates in about thirty seconds, without asking me for the link or forwarding anything.
The part that made me comfortable: if the roll needs approval, a guest’s invitation doesn’t skip it. When Maya’s flatmates accepted, they arrived in my Requests with a note saying “Invited by Maya”. I knew exactly who they were and who to blame. Lovingly.
“Your people” made inviting personal
When guests open Invites, they see people they have shared a roll with before, so inviting someone is a tap rather than a hunt for a phone number. Nobody else’s number is ever shown. For people not on Afters yet, guests can send the invite from their own phone, just like I can.
Twelve new people, zero strangers
Twelve people came that I had never met. All of them were somebody’s someone, and I had approved every one in a few seconds each. One of Maya’s flatmates took my favourite photo of the night, of me laughing at something I no longer remember.
Questions people ask
Can guests invite people to my roll?
Yes. Guests can share the roll’s link or QR and invite people from their own list or by phone number.
Do guest invitations bypass approval?
No. If your roll requires approval, accepting a guest’s invitation sends you a join request that notes who invited them.
Can guests see my crew or remove people?
No. Guests only see Share and Invites. Requests and the crew list are for the host.
Keep reading
Friend of a friend? Why I started approving who comes to my parties
My parties are open-hearted. My flat is not infinite. Join requests with a note fixed both.
How I invited my grandmother to a party app (and she came)
She uses her phone for calls and photos of her garden. She still made it into the party.
I went to Budapest with one friend. I came home with everyone’s photos.
I knew the person who invited me. The shared roll helped the rest of us find a way in.