Virtual pub The Stay Inn creates a global community
There’s a quiz night, a book club, Dress Up Fridays, and thousands of regulars at the online pub. Laura Reid speaks to real-life innkeeper Stephen Whyte, one of its founders.
FOR STEPHEN Whyte, the tagline of the virtual pub he helped to set up in April tells you all you need to know – there are no strangers at The Stay Inn, just friends you haven’t met yet.
“That pretty much sums it up,” he says. “All these people from all over the world, the majority who haven’t met each other, are talking through The Stay Inn.”
Whyte, who runs the Brewers Pride pub, in Ossett, Wakefield, launched the online inn with friends Howard Lawton and Robert Ingham, in the form of a public group on Facebook.
It began shortly after lockdown started in early April and now has around 4,500 members, spanning 27 countries of the world.
“People haven’t been able to go to the pub so we thought why don’t we bring the pub to the people?,” Whyte explains.
“So we’ve brought a pub online, virtually, and people are sharing posts and talking about the stuff they normally would when they’re at a real pub with their mates.”
Members of the group call themselves Innmates, a play on words inspired by the pub’s name and the restrictive nature of lockdown living. The admin team describe themselves as Innkeepers.
Initially, many of the posts included images of people outside in their gardens enjoying a drink in the warm weather, but as more people have joined, the online pub has become a hive of activity.
Mealtimes at the Inn see members sharing images of their bakes and dishes and passing on recipes for others to use.
On Mondays, there’s a quiz night, shared to both the Brewers Pride and The Stay Inn Facebook channels, whilst Tuesday is virtual book club day, with people sharing their reading recommendations.
On Wednesdays, there’s a craft and hobby club; people are encouraged to share what they’ve built or created and what’s been keeping their mind busy each week.
And Dress Up Friday has also been a theme, with members getting ready as if they were going out for the night and then sharing photos on the group.
Whyte didn’t expect it to take off in quite the way it has. Some days there’s been around 100 new Innmates joining.
“It’s built up this really good base of people who come to just forget about life for a while, who come and have a drink, chill out, chat and have a bit of fun,” he says.
“People are going online and posting what they would be talking about down the pub really.”
For some, it’s provided a muchneeded online community of friendship, during an unprecedented time.
“We have a great community,” Lawton says. “When our local closed, we knew that people were missing the spirit of community and chatting over a drink.”
Though many people will be spending less time online as lockdown eases, the trio plan to keep the page running to enable people to continue to connect.
They’ve also created an Innmate t-shirt that members can purchase, with sales raising funds for Huddersfield-based Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice, a charity also supported by Ossett Brewery.
“It’s a cause close to my heart,” says Whyte, who has run the Brewers Pride for seven years.
“I did a wing walk for them a few years ago. It’s quite moving to go there and see actually what they do.
“The majority of our Innmates are in West Yorkshire, our fan base is predominantly around here, so we thought let’s keep the charity close to our heart and in West Yorkshire.
“The charity was over the moon. Like everybody else, charities are struggling at the moment and need all the help they can get.”