Delightful, a date-planning service that Match.com-owner IAC splashily launched in January, seems to have shut down after less than three months.
The website now reroutes to the page bye.delightful.com, which displays the message: "Unfortunately, our balloon has changed directions. Sorry!" Customers are instructed to e-mail the company to handle scheduled dates or their accounts.
Barry Diller's IAC, which also owns OKCupid and Tinder, introduced Delightful on Jan. 24 as "a service that plans extraordinary dates for two," following the success of HowAboutWe for Couples, BuzzFeed reported at the time. HowAboutWe for Couples, an offshoot of online dating startup HowAboutWe, had a successful first year, presumably spurring IAC's interest in the business of planning dates for people already in a relationship.
Delightful, which was only available in San Francisco, said it had plans to expand to other cities. It charged a lower subscription fee than HowAboutWe for Couples, though also offered a concierge serve and curated "Date Library." Almost all of the makers of Delightful previously worked at OkCupidLabs, according to their LinkedIn profiles. The company's blog, which is still available, was updated two days ago with a post titled: "Classic Romance Movies: Our Top 5 Must Sees."
One of its co-founders, Chris Ling, tweeted yesterday: "From @datepress to @delightfuldates, awesome ride. What's next?" Amy Canaday, a spokeswoman for Match.com, didn't return an e-mail seeking comment.
It doesn't seem to be an issue with the business model of date-planning for couples, however.
HowAboutWe for Couples, which is available in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle and Los Angeles, just launched a national version of its business.
From @datepress to @DelightfulDates, awesome ride. What's next?
Screenshot of dating service Delightful
