Dubai restaurants count the cost of influencers who get free food but fail to deliver

Owners and industry experts explain why the problem is growing

Restaurant owners have hit out at social media influencers taking advantage of collaborations to get free food and drink with nothing in return. AFP

Restaurant owners in Dubai have hit out at purported social media influencers who promise to post content about their business in exchange for free food and then fail to honour the agreement.

As a result, restaurateurs can end up heavily out of pocket with next to nothing in return. While it is mandatory in the UAE for influencers to be licensed, there are still those who abuse the system to get as much for free as they possibly can.

The National spoke to hospitality and industry experts who advised on how best to identify those who will add value to a business and stay clear of freeloaders.

Fadel Fabour, owner of Big T BBQ, said he now only trusts influencers passed on to him by acquaintances and friends to avoid falling prey to people who buy followers, often bots rather than real people, to get food without paying.

“It has gotten to the point where I needed to train my employees to reject influencers coming to barter 'exposure' for free meals,” said Mr Fabour.

“Having a restaurant that sells a lot of protein and meat means that giving out these free meals really costs us.”

Mr Fabour estimates that each influencer offered barter deals ends up costing his business as much as Dh1,000.

He said that many influencers have visited his restaurant but the genuine ones would wait in line, get their meals and pay for them, as opposed to the fake influencers who would demand free food.

Hricha Saraf, owner of Bol Gappa Restaurant in Dubai said she stopped hosting influencers entirely, primarily because some influencers do not have genuine followers and often take undue advantage of the restaurant's hospitality.

“What was happening is when we invite them, we didn't put any limit that, I thought we would give them the option to order whatever they want,” she said.

“So I have seen that people order too much food and then they take it home.

“And not only that, many of the influencers came to me and they said, can you pack it for two places so that, you know, I can drop it at my cousin's place?”

For each influencer, she estimated it cost her up to Dh300.

Spotting the right influencer

“When they are legitimate, the demeanour is very different,” said Kevin Joshi, director of marketing and PR for Atelier House Hospitality.

“The fraudulent ones on the other hand, if we discuss a table of two, they'd bring three or four instead and they are hardly ever interested in the concept of the restaurant and just want as much food and beverages as possible, sometimes they even ask for extra to take home.”

Since July, any influencers making money from their social media collaborations in the UAE must be licensed or face fines of up to Dh10,000 ($2,720).

The licence costs Dh15,000 in Abu Dhabi and Dubai but the costs vary in other emirates.

Natasha Hatherall-Shawe, chief executive of Dubai marketing company TishTash, estimates that a quarter of influencers have a permit but most still “operate on a gift-giving or barter basis”.

“If you don’t have an agency or someone to steer you in this area, ask some basic questions of everyone who approaches you,” she said.

“Ask for their media kit of audience insights so you can understand who they are and who their following is.

“This should be easy for most to provide and if someone won’t, then warning bells do flash for me.”

She acknowledged some restaurants might not be able to afford analysis tools but says there are some simple steps anyone could take like looking at basic things like “type of content, quality of content, how many people are viewing posts versus the number of followers”.

“Set out clear guidelines to anyone you work with in terms of what you will give them and also what you expect in return from them and have this in writing,” she said.

“A lot of the issues I see is where this has not happened and there is no clear boundary and influencers turn up with 10 friends and order endless expensive wine and drinks all night.

“Asking for Google reviews of Trip Advisor reviews as a deliverable is something we’re doing a lot more now, as this is more valuable to a business over and above content today.

“Think what will benefit your business more and ask for that.”

Taking advantage

Ms Hatherall-Shawe described social media influencers who are taking advantage of businesses as fraudulent.

“I’m very honest about my views on this area and it is fraud,” she said.

If you’re presenting yourself as something you are not and accepting goods, services or even paid deals for something that is not real, then it is fraudulent and should be tackled accordingly.

Ms Hatherall-Shawe said that most agencies keep blacklists for unethical or fraudulent influencers. She added that the market is small and such influencers could find themselves with fewer jobs due to their bad reputation.

“It is always the case that a minority ruin it for the majority and this is the same when it comes to influencers, as truly fake influencers are I do believe in the minority.

“[However they] are definitely on the rise as an increasing number of people aspire to be an influencer for the perks and lifestyle it can potentially offer.”

Genuine influencers are detaching themselves from the word and are now opting for the term “content creator, she added. "True influencers really take pride in their craft, work tirelessly on their content and do it as a full time job, so take it very seriously and with solid ethics and integrity. Influencers should treat it as any other job or career and be professional in the way they approach and deal with restaurants."

“Send a professional and polite message or email, present your profile and media kit to restaurants, showing clearly who you are and your audience as this shows you see it as a business transaction and you’re not just after a freebie.”

She said while those caught exploiting restaurants may evade punishment, agencies who would seek to work with reputable influencers would take steps to distance themselves from unscrupulous operators.

“There is no real consequence for people who deal in gifts and bartering but PR agencies have blacklists for fraudulent influencers,” said Ms Hatherall-Shawe.

“The market is small and as a result, they can get a bad reputation and not get jobs because of it.”