Making dashing work for you begins with finding the best place to dash — somewhere that has plenty of restaurants— and plenty of offers— at the time you’re dashing. The best way to find these places? Look for the hotspots on the Dasher app.
Hotspots are areas where there is a high density of customer orders at the time you’re dashing. Think of the neighborhoods in your city with either a high concentration of people, an energetic center, or both. Is there a big sports event happening? That’s likely to be a hotspot. Friday night in the downtown core? That’s another one to explore.
Wherever there are hungry people gathering or people who need groceries, Dashers can make the most of their gig by finding the best places to dash.
Where is the best place to dash?
How do successful Dashers get more offers and find locations that work best for them? The first step is to find a good area for dashing, but if you can coordinate your dashing with the times that hotspots will be active, you’ll maximize the amount of offers you receive. Let’s break it down.
How to find an area for dashing
To start, look for areas with a high density of restaurants on a small amount of city blocks. Consider the time of day you’ll be available to dash. Are you going to target breakfast-minded early birds, or the dinner diners? The more options for each segment in one small area, the better.
Once you’ve determined a dashing starting point, you can check the Dasher app to see if any hotspots are active.
What are hotspots?
Hotspots are key to ensuring you get more offers per time spent dashing. A hotspot indicates the busiest areas for customer orders related to your specific start point. Hotspots happen near areas with many restaurants and will appear during busier times of day, like the dinner rush. Put yourself closer to a hotspot, and you’ll inevitably end up with more offers.
How do I find a DoorDash hotspot?
When you open the Dasher app to start dashing, you may notice areas of red on your map, with a circle and flame icon on top. These are hotspots: areas that are experiencing higher traffic of customer orders right now. Hotspots are updated every 10 minutes within the app.
Make hotspots convenient for you
As hotspots are areas of high demand and activity, that makes them a high-traffic area — so it’s good to plan ahead. One way to dodge potential traffic or parking issues within a hotspot is to bike dash or use a moped. Depending on your dashing location, two wheels might be faster than four.
Are hotspots always active?
There are two types of hotspots: dynamic and historical. Dynamic hotspots are the red hexes that show you where there are many customer orders being placed currently. If an area was previously experiencing a high density of offers but isn’t anymore, this makes it a historical hotspot. These are marked on the map by a little black flame. If you see an area with a red hex and a black flame, that means that this hotspot has been busy in the past, and is busy again now.
Because hotspots may not always be active, it’s important to be mindful of when and where you are dashing, so you make the most out of your time. Keep an eye out for special offers within the DoorDash app you use to place orders: if a popular restaurant is running a promotion, more offers could rush in.
Do you have to be at a hotspot to receive offers through the Dasher app?
You can receive offers anywhere, any time, but the density of offers will probably increase at a hotspot. For example, lingering around the financial district late at night probably won’t be worth your while, but if you target an area where you know the market is for late-night cravings, you can receive more offers and faster turnarounds.
Optimize your dash
Where is the best place to dash in cities with a sprawling metropolitan area? The easy answer is to focus your time and attention on a singular neighborhood or corner of the town, rather than the whole city.
Double down and become the self-appointed expert in your own area. Track your profits. Make a note when it’s busier or slower. Remember travel times. You will soon know exactly where the best place is to receive offers. No location will ever be better than the neighborhood you know best, so try it out at different times, learn the patterns and habits of the area, and see where the hotspots take you.
Why am I not getting DoorDash offers in a hotspot?
If there are no hotspots available, you can still receive offers in the Dasher app. Always keep track of trends so you can better anticipate them in the future. The good news is that the app shows historical hotspots, so you know where to return to when the rush begins again.
Hotspots help you make the most of your dash
Dashing can be a fulfilling gig, but knowing exactly how and when to dash is key to ensuring that you make the most out of your time. Head to the hotspots and pay attention to where and when you get the most offers, and you’ll make every minute count.
So now you know what a hotspot is and how to leverage them. Get out there and find a hotspot on your dash.
