If you are a new Dasher you probably do not know about hotspots. You are probably wondering what the benefits of hotspots are. It’s likely that you already know that hotspots are areas that show up in your DoorDash app to show you places where you may receive the most orders.
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Should I Go To DoorDash HotSpots?
While you don’t necessarily have to go to DoorDash hotspots, you can if you’d like to. DoorDash displays the hotspots near you for a reason. They claim that you can get more orders if you are parked near a DoorDash hotspot.
DoorDash hotspots are usually places where a lot of restaurants are located and they are usually near a mall or shopping center. Some people say that DoorDash hotspots aren’t really all that important. They also say that you don’t really get more orders from being closer to the restaurants.
It likely depends a lot on what time of day it is and how close you are to those restaurants. If you park in a hotspot during the lunch time you probably will see more orders. However, if you park at a hotspot mid morning after the breakfast rush, you probably won’t see more orders coming through to you.
So if you want the chance to get more orders and possibly make more money then you should go hang out at DoorDash hotspots. Even if nothing comes of it, at least you can say you tried. Find the DoorDash hotspot you’d like to be at and go there.
Do I Have to Park at the Hotspot Closest To Me?
No, you do not have to park at the hotspot closest to you. When you look on the app and see hotspots you will see where they are located. However, DoorDash does not limit you to those hotspots that are closest to where you live.
This means that if you live on the East side of town you can go to the West side and park at a DoorDash hotspot there and vice versa. DoorDash has no rules that tell you exactly where to park. They don’t even tell you that you must park at a hotspot.
If you wanted to drive around near the hotspots you could do that as well. Just make sure you aren’t paused and can actually receive the orders as they come in. And remember that you only have 45 seconds to accept or decline an order.
Am I Required to Park at a DoorDash Hotspot?
No, you are not required to park at a DoorDash hotspot. DoorDash makes it clear that going to a hotspot is optional. There may not be any hotspots in your area or the area where you wish to dash.
That’s okay because you aren’t required to be at a hotspot in the first place. You have the opportunity to get more orders when you go to a hotspot but it’s not 100% that you are going to get orders or make more money.
However, it has been said that you can get peak pay when you get orders at a hotspot. These orders tend to pay more probably because they are the busiest and you have to wait longer for the orders to be made.
Are HotSpots Worth It?
There’s no right or wrong answer here. That’s really for you to choose. Hotspots may be worth it for some DoorDashers and not worth it for others.
It depends on a lot of factors as far as being worth it is concerned. You park at a DoorDash hotspot and receive a lot of orders and more pay, you would probably say that the experience was well worth it. On the other hand, Sally down the street parked at a hotspot for 6 hours and received only 1 or 2 orders and not very much pay.
Sally would likely say that parking at hotspots are not worth it because of the way her experience turned out. There are just too many factors that play a role in whether parking at hotspots is really worth it. You’ll have to be the judge of that.
Will HotSpots Help Me Get More Orders?
DoorDash pushes hotspots heavily and their reasoning is that they say hotspots help DoorDashers to get more orders. This is not always the case. Sometimes, Dashers go out of their way to reach a hotspot and still don’t get any orders.
If you aren’t getting orders they say you should go to the nearest DoorDash hotspot and use it to try and get orders. However, if there is not a DoorDash hotspot near you then many would say you shouldn’t go out of your way to get to one.
It goes back to whether it’s worth it or not. Regardless of what others say about their experience with hotspots, if you feel it is worth it to drive out of your way to sit at a hotspot then by all means do it. You have to do what works for you and not what works for someone else.
What If There Are No HotSpots Near Me?
There are a couple of things you can do if there are no hotspots near you. You can wait near an area that you know has a lot of restaurants that are likely busy during the time you are out.
This way, you can be chosen for more orders when they start coming into DoorDash.
Another thing you can do is simply drive to another part of town. This may be more beneficial if you live in a big city and drive to the other side of town. It is possible for one part of the city to be busier than the other.
If there are more business places on one side and more factories on the other side of town, the businesses may be more likely to order during the day time. Thus creating more orders in the system for DoorDash to pick up and send to their Dashers.