Melissa Chia, Author at Goody Feed

Who else is being made highly aware of their singlehood the past Chinese Valentine’s Day (20 May aka 520)? *raises hand slowly* We are living in a world where businesses have taken ideas to a whole new level, and now you can rent anything, even a human. As bizarre as this sounds, this concept is not foreign to trend-setting countries such as South Korea, Japan and China, where people have long been curing their single-hood blues by renting a bae. Watch more about it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?vdLBNO33bMX0 If you have been too busy finding a proper partner, or simply need a date for a special event or two, here's Maybe to the rescue. Maybe Image: maybe.sg Maybe, Asia is a Singapore-based company that aims to set people up on dates, or simply to do fun activities with. The company offers simple ideas like dinners, drinks, coffee dates, or movie sessions. Maybe guarantees you a date, as long as you don't back out yourself. A Familiar Concept Despite Maybe marketing themselves as a platform to make friends, its concept works similarly to that of a dating app. Simply put, you scroll, consider, select, and contact the company that will contact the date for you. Much like how you keep swiping left until you swipe right! The difference is, by renting a date, you've to pay and "return" them at the end of the date. Think Airbnb, but with humans. Deets On the site, details such as age, height, spoken languages, date preferences and a brief self-description written on the potential dates' profile pages. Additionally, they have their dates availability and rental charges listed down. Image: maybe.sg Your bae can be hired for 2 hours, and different baes charged differently ranging from S$60 to S$200 per date. According to the site, you can share the cost of a date with your friends and go on a group date! For example, if you see BuffLord95 and like him, you can have a date with him but what if you're afraid that he's too smelly? You can bring your BFF and makan as a group! It's Not An Escorts-Hiring App Maybe has strict codes of conduct put in place that supposedly sets themselves apart from escorts-hiring or other dates-renting services, ensuring the safety of the dates. All you have to do is to be polite, respectful, and limit physical contact to not more than a handshake. Oh, and only public places are allowed. Image: tenor For further privacy reasons, the company does the liaising on behalf of you if you have any questions for your date. And if you are wondering, contact with your date may not be allowed after the stipulated rental hours - we can't be certain, though. Maybe your date would secretly pass you a paper with his or her contact number! After all, with a name and face, we can easily stalk someone's Instagram out. Image: YouTube (Asian Boss) Will It Work? Singapore may be all about following trends, but this idea of dates rental admittedly may not sit well with the conservative majority. It remains to be seen whether this trend will be well received in the long run. But, if you are interested, there are currently 24 ladies and 4 men available for rent. With Maybe, you can now grab yourself a bae for next family gathering to fend away the naggings of your aunties and uncles! Explore more about Maybe and its services here.

Melissa Chia

There’s a Rent-a-Bae Service in S’pore, With Each Date from $60...