Yelp launched in Australia last year and last night saw the first of Yelp’s Elite Squad events.

Elite Squad

Yelp users are selected by the Elite Squad Committee at Yelp HQ in San Francisco to become Elite Squad members.

Perks

Elite squad members receive an Elite ’12 badge on their profile and invites to special events.

Venue

The first Elite Squad event was held at Joe’s at St Kilda, formerly ‘Greasy Joe’s’, (in fact the sign still says so), Joe’s has recently undertaken a makeover. Timing was perfect to show off the new menu and interior to some of Melbourne's most enthusiastic foodies.

Guests could bring a plus one and friends were welcome to join in the fun after the event finished (8:00pm).

What's your name?

Each guest was given a name tag, with a quirky introduction like 'My name sounds famous' or 'Guess the origin of my name'. A notation in the bottom corner indicated if they were Yelp Elite, or a +1. The name tags were well-accepted.

Food and booze

Guests were treated to food from two stations set up in the main dining room. This allowed for chatting with the chefs, and plenty of opportunity for guests (including quite a few food bloggers) to get great snaps of the whole snapper and great hunk of pork.

Each guest was given a generous allocation of drinking tickets which could be exchanged for high quality drinks including sparkling wine and cocktails.

Entertainment

A DJ ensured night had a party vibe.

Reviews

Guests were invited to check in to the event (rather than the venue) and encouraged to post their reviews. Yelp reviews are required to be posted to the site (rather than through app) to ensure quality, but short 'quick tips' can be sent from the app.

Images

Reviewers can also post images to the site, creating a collaborative album of images.

Community managers

Yelp’s Melbourne community manager, Tresna Lee has an extensive knowledge of and contacts in the local hospitality industry – perfectly positioning her to create excellent events. Yelp is also looking to place a community manager in Sydney.

Community in real life

Having many years experience in building online community, Yelp appreciates the importance of bringing people together in real life to strengthen community and increase engagement.

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