What are DoorDash Hotspots and How Do They Work? (All You Need to Know)

Going online and accepting delivery orders is just one aspect of becoming a Doordash driver. You must be aware of all available earning methods.

Sometimes you want to know where the best place is to start your Dashing day, so you utilize the driver app’s heat map to identify Doordash hotspots nearby, only to find yourself waiting a very long time for your first order.

What Are DoorDash Hotspots & Are They Worth It?

How do doordash hotspots work? (Explained)

The Dasher app has a feature called “Doordash hotspots” that virtually always displays the busiest regions where you may maximize the likelihood of receiving delivery requests and making more money by making deliveries.

Hotspots are indicated on your Dasher map when you are dashing by a circle with a flame icon.

Positioning oneself closer to Doordash red regions will increase the number of orders you receive.

Dynamic hotspots

When there are many orders at a certain restaurant or location, dynamic hotspots are produced.

The phrase “Busy hotspot zone” will appear at the bottom of the screen next to dynamic hotspots, which will have a red border around them that highlights the entire region of busy eateries.

Although you don’t have to be in the red area to get an order, the closer you are, the more probable it is that you will get the order.

Historical Hotspots

Historical hotspots are indicated by the flame emblem without the red border and have the text “Previously busy Hotspot zone” beneath them.

It will be visible when it is not busy enough to generate a dynamic Hotspot. These Hotspots direct you to eateries that are typically busy at that hour based on its statistics.

How frequently are Hotspots updated?

When restaurants are getting busier, hotspots will update and refresh every ten minutes.

The recent Hotspots are usually still good places to get orders, though the hotspot areas may just shifted to different locations.

What should I do If there are no Hotspots available?

If the Dasher app indicates that there are no Hotspots present, you still can get orders and the app is still functional.

This only indicates that no restaurants is having enough high traffic to support the establishment of a Hotspot.

During these times, you are the best one to determine your own hotspots. Take note of where your orders are coming from at different times of the day, and stick around in those areas.

Do you need to hang out at a DoorDash hotspots?

You are not required to do so in order to get orders. However going to a hotspot will enhances your likelihood of receiving more delivery requests.

Are DoorDash hotspots worth it?

There’s some debate about the importance of hotspots. Some drivers expressed the concern that if you simply follow the DoorDash-listed hotspots, you might not even receive orders due to the excessive number of dashers in such areas.

If you’re just getting started, DoorDash hotspots can be worthwhile because it can be challenging to acquire orders when you don’t know where to start.

DoorDash Hotspots are simply a matter of trying things out, so decide for yourself whether it will be worthwhile in the long run. You will get to know your area once you dash for some times.

[Read next: How Does DoorDash Assigns Orders?]

What other DoorDash hacks to get more orders?

• DoorDash schedule hack
  • Unlocking DoorDash’s Early Access Scheduling is something you can try.
  • This option allows you to schedule shifts as early as six days in advance, ensuring that you can get orders in busy markets.

• Wait near ghost kitchens
  • Ghost kitchens are, in a nutshell, commercial kitchens that produce meals for a number of different restaurants. It’s possible that a city’s ghost kitchen supplies meals to 15 separate restaurants.
• Aim to be Top Dasher
  • Top Dashers get priority over non-Top Dashers when orders are slow.
• Vehicle type
  • If you live in a suburban or more spread-out location. You can serve a greater area with DoorDash if you have a car. Find out whether it is worth to rent a car to DoorDash.

Final thought

If you’re just starting out, using DoorDash hotspots can be a great way to begin delivering for DoorDash. It’s more crucial to figure out what suits you as a Dasher than it is to visit as many hotspots as you can.

What ultimately works best for you will depend on your time availability, the level of traffic, and your location.