Short answer: the most important safety tips for hosting strangers are to host at a busy, staffed public place rather than at home, to set a clear start and end time, to choose your guests from their request notes and limit who can join if that helps you feel comfortable, to keep conversation in the group chat until you meet, to tell a friend where you will be, and to arrange your own way home. If anything feels wrong, you can decline, block or leave at any point.
Hosting a plan with people you have not met is one of the best ways to build a social life in a new place, and the vast majority of plans are simply pleasant: a coffee, a walk, a dinner, a game. Good hosts still take a few simple precautions, the same ones you would take meeting anyone new. This checklist covers what to do when you post the plan, when you choose guests, on the day and afterwards. For the guest-side basics and how MeetNow is designed, read is MeetNow safe?.
Safety tips for hosting strangers: choose the right venue
The venue does more for your safety than anything else. On MeetNow, plans are always at public places, and some public places are better than others for a first meeting. Look for a venue that is:
- Busy. Other people around, especially at the time of your plan. A café on a main square is better than a quiet bar at the end of a side street.
- Staffed. Restaurants, cafés, bars, clubs and sports centres have staff who will notice if something goes wrong.
- Easy to reach and leave. Close to a bus stop, a taxi rank or a well-lit street, so anyone can leave whenever they want.
- Familiar to you. Hosting somewhere you know means you know the layout, the exits and the staff.
- Right for the plan. A first plan works best somewhere you can talk, sit and leave easily. Save remote hikes, boat trips or private homes for when you know people better.
Never host a first plan at your home or ask guests to come to theirs. If a guest suggests moving to a private place, it is fine to say no.
When you post the plan
- Name the place and the time. Be specific: the venue, the date, the start time and roughly how long the plan will last. A clear end time makes it easy for everyone, including you, to leave.
- Keep the number of seats small. Three to six guests is easy to manage as a host. Our guide on filling the seats for a group plan covers how many to aim for.
- State who pays. Host pays, split, pay your own or free. Clear money rules prevent the most common awkward moment at the end of a plan.
- Use who-can-join limits if they help. On MeetNow, the host can limit who can join, for example by gender or age range. Use them if a plan is designed for a particular group, or simply if it makes you more comfortable.
- Do not share private details. No home address, workplace or personal phone number in the description. The plan only needs a public place and a time.
When you choose guests
On MeetNow, people ask to join with a short note, and the host accepts or declines each request. That note is your best tool:
- Look for notes that engage with the plan. “I play padel twice a month, intermediate level, happy to split the court” tells you far more than “hi”.
- Trust your instinct. You never have to accept a request, and you do not have to give a reason for declining.
- Check track records where available. After plans, both sides confirm “we met”, which builds each person’s track record. It shows whether someone has met people through plans before; it is not a rating or a background check.
- Block if needed. If someone sends anything inappropriate, block them. You can block a user at any time.
Our guide on how to host a plan on MeetNow walks through posting and accepting step by step.
On the day of the plan
- Tell a friend. Share where you are going, the time and who you are meeting. Agree to send a quick message when you get home.
- Keep the chat in the group. Use the plan’s group chat for logistics. You do not need to give anyone your personal number before or during the plan.
- Arrive first, and know your way home. Arriving early lets you pick a good table. Before you go, check your route home on Malta Public Transport, or plan a taxi, and do not rely on a guest for a lift.
- Stay in control of your drink and belongings. Keep your drink with you, and order your own.
- Stick to the plan. If people want to continue somewhere else, that is fine, but only if it is another public place and you want to. You can always end the plan at the stated time.
- Leave if you feel uncomfortable. You do not need an excuse. Pay your share, thank people and go. If you feel unsafe, ask staff for help.
- Know the emergency number. In Malta, as across the EU, 112 is the emergency number.
Example plan description with safety built in
Sunday afternoon coffee for newcomers. Meeting at a café on a main square in Sliema, 15:00 to about 16:30. 4 seats, pay your own. Relaxed chat about settling in on the island. Please write a line about yourself. I’ll be at an outside table from 14:50 and will post in the group chat when I arrive. The café is a short walk from the bus stops and the ferry.
The description names a busy public place, a start and end time, a small group, a clear money rule, and how people will get there and away. Nothing in it is personal. For more ideas on getting the conversation going once everyone sits down, see icebreakers for hosting strangers.
After the plan
- Message your friend to say you are home.
- Confirm “we met” for the guests who came, which builds everyone’s track record.
- Block anyone who made you uncomfortable. Blocking is there for exactly this.
- Keep good guests in mind. If the plan went well, invite the same people again; repeat plans are where friendships form.
What MeetNow does not do
To set expectations clearly: MeetNow does not run ID checks, background checks or ratings, and it does not handle payments. Safety comes from the design of plans (public places, host choice, small groups, a group chat, blocking and track records) and from the common-sense steps above. For a wider view of going out to meet new people on the island, see our guide on meeting new people for drinks in Malta.
Safety box
Safety box. Host at a busy public place, never at home. Tell a friend where you are and with whom, keep chat in the group, arrange your own way home, keep your drink with you, and leave if you feel uncomfortable. Decline or block anyone who makes you uneasy. In an emergency in Malta, call 112.
FAQ: safety tips for hosting strangers
Is it safe to host a plan with people I have never met?
Most plans with new people are simply enjoyable. Hosting at a busy public place, choosing guests from their notes, telling a friend and arranging your own way home keep the risks low.
Can I host a plan at my home?
No. MeetNow plans are at public places, and a first meeting with new people should always be somewhere public and staffed.
Can I choose who joins my plan?
Yes. As host you accept or decline each request, and you can limit who can join, for example by gender or age range. You can also block a user.
Does MeetNow verify guests?
No. MeetNow does not run ID or background checks. You see each person’s request note and their track record of confirmed “we met” plans, and you decide.
What should I do if a guest makes me uncomfortable?
Leave or end the plan, ask staff for help if needed, and block the user afterwards. In an emergency in Malta, call 112.
Want to turn this into an actual plan? MeetNow is a free app for meeting people in person: a host posts a plan at a public place, says who pays (host pays, split, pay your own or free) and picks who joins. It is live on the web now, starting in Malta, with the phone apps on the way: open MeetNow and see the plans near you.
