Help people choose faster
A clear, specific review can save someone a 30-minute search and a bad meal — that's a real service to the community.
Community standards
Review Guidelines
Help people discover better local places by sharing useful, respectful, and honest experiences.
Why reviews matter
Reviews help people choose — and help businesses improve
Locallya reviews exist for two audiences: travellers and locals making a decision, and the business owners working on their place every day.
Support useful local discovery
Reviews surface places that don't have marketing budgets — the family restaurant, the indie cafe, the new boutique hotel.
Give businesses practical feedback
Specific feedback — about service, freshness, hours — gives owners something they can actually fix or build on.
Improve listing quality
Reviews flag outdated info — wrong hours, moved locations, changed menus — so editors and owners can keep listings current.
What works
What makes a helpful review
The most useful reviews share specific, recent experiences that help others decide. Here's what to aim for.
Be specific
"The pad thai was light on tamarind but well-balanced" beats "good food." Specifics make reviews trustworthy.
Share your real experience
Write about your actual visit. If you didn't go, don't review. If a friend told you about it, mention that.
Mention useful details
What you ordered, what the wait was like, who you came with, what time of day. Practical details help others plan.
Keep it respectful
Criticism is fine — even encouraged. Personal attacks and slurs are not. Aim for "I wouldn't go back because…" not "they're awful."
Be fair and balanced
A great review usually mentions both what worked and what didn't. Few places are 1 star or 5 stars across the board.
Use recent information
A two-year-old experience may no longer be accurate. Mention when you visited so readers can weigh your review.
Details that help most. Service quality, food or product quality, cleanliness, atmosphere, value, location convenience, and the booking or waiting experience. You don't need all of them — pick the two or three that mattered to your visit.
What we don't allow
Content that is not allowed
These types of content may be removed if reported and confirmed. The goal is to keep reviews useful and fair to everyone.
Fake or misleading reviews
Reviews not based on a real experience at the place.
Conflicts of interest
Reviewing your own business, a competitor, or a place you work at.
Harassment or hate speech
Attacks based on race, religion, gender, identity, or origin.
Personal attacks
Targeting individual staff members by name with hostile language.
Private information
Phone numbers, addresses, IDs, or any private data of others.
Spam or promotional content
Links to unrelated sites, repeated promotional copy, or referral schemes.
Illegal content
Anything that violates local laws, including in your country or the business's country.
Irrelevant content
Reviews about a different business, or about an unrelated topic entirely.
Explicit or unsafe content
Sexual content, graphic violence, or content that could be harmful.
Duplicate reviews
Posting the same review multiple times or across many listings.
How we moderate
Review moderation principles
We aim for usefulness and fairness, not perfection. Reviews are imperfect by nature — our job is to keep them useful enough to trust.
- We focus on usefulness. A review that helps readers make a decision is more valuable than a perfectly worded one.
- We aim to treat users and businesses fairly. Reports from either side are considered — being a business doesn't override the guidelines, and being a reviewer doesn't either.
- We may remove content that violates these guidelines. Especially clear violations like spam, hate speech, or private information.
- We may limit spam or suspicious activity. Sudden bursts of similar reviews, identical phrasing across accounts, or coordinated campaigns may be reduced.
- We may update these guidelines over time. Standards evolve; we'll keep this page current.
About verification. Locallya may review reports and check public information, but we do not currently claim that every review is independently verified. We may, in the future, introduce signals like "visited recently" or "verified customer" — if and when those exist, they will be clearly marked.
If you see a review you believe violates these guidelines, you can report it and we'll take a look.
Photos & media
Guidelines for photos and media
Photos can make a review much more useful — but they need to fit the same standards as the written content.
Allowed
- Food and drinks you ordered
- Rooms, suites, and shared spaces in hotels and stays
- Storefronts and exteriors (from a public viewpoint)
- Facilities, amenities, and seating areas
- Products and packaging in shops
- Menus, price boards, and signage
- Atmosphere shots — lighting, decor, view
Not allowed
- Private documents — passports, IDs, receipts with personal data
- Offensive, sexual, or graphically violent images
- Misleading images — photos from a different place
- Copyrighted images without rights to share them
- Photos of other guests, especially children, without consent
- Behind-the-scenes / restricted areas you weren't given access to
- Heavy filters that misrepresent the actual look of the place
For business owners
Guidelines for business owners
If you own or run a business listed on Locallya, please follow these guidelines. They exist to keep reviews trustworthy — which ultimately benefits good businesses too.
Do not post fake reviews
This includes reviews written by yourself, staff, friends, family, or paid third parties. Detected fake reviews can be removed and may affect your listing.
Do not pressure customers
Asking for "a 5-star review for a discount" or implying refusal of service for a bad review is not allowed.
Do not offer misleading incentives
You can encourage honest reviews. You cannot trade rewards for positive ratings.
Respond respectfully
Replies to reviews — positive or negative — should be calm, professional, and free of personal attacks.
Report reviews that may violate guidelines
If a review looks fake, abusive, or about the wrong business, report it instead of arguing in public.
Keep listing information accurate
Hours, address, menu, services — keep them current so reviewers and customers aren't surprised.
Reporting
How to report a review
If you believe a review violates these guidelines, please report it. Reports help us focus on what to look at.
Valid reasons to report:
- Spam
- Fake review
- Abusive language
- Private information
- Wrong business
- Conflict of interest
- Irrelevant content
What happens after a report. We aim to look at reports within a few working days. Outcomes depend on the case — sometimes the content is removed, sometimes it stays. We don't always reply individually, but every report is read.
If you feel strongly that something needs urgent attention — for example, a privacy breach or harassment — please contact us directly with the listing URL.
Examples
Helpful vs. less helpful — three pairs
Same place, different write-ups. The "helpful" column gives a reader something to act on; the "less helpful" column doesn't.
Example 1 · A Bangkok rooftop restaurant
"Came on a Tuesday at 8pm — got the corner table without booking. The pomelo salad and grilled prawns were the standouts; the green curry was sweeter than I expected. Service was attentive but unhurried. Note: lift access only from Sukhumvit 22, not from Soi 24."
Why it works: specific dishes, time of visit, service note, and a practical access tip.
"Amazing place, loved it. Great food. Will come back. 5 stars all the way."
Why it falls short: no specifics — readers can't tell what was good or whether their visit will match.
Example 2 · A neighborhood cafe
"Good for working — strong Wi-Fi, plenty of outlets, espresso pulled well. Gets full between 9 and 11; quieter after 2pm. Cold brew is excellent; pastries are average. Cash and card both fine."
Why it works: tells you what to expect by time of day and what's worth ordering.
"Terrible. Don't go. Staff was rude."
Why it falls short: a negative review can be valid, but readers can't act on it without knowing what happened.
Example 3 · A boutique hotel
"Three nights in a river-view room. Check-in fast, bathroom spacious, water pressure great. Breakfast was small but solid. Negative: thin wall between bedroom and corridor — light sleepers should ask for a higher floor."
Why it works: length of stay, what worked, what didn't, and an actionable booking tip.
"Hotel was ok. Some things good, some things not. Wouldn't say more than that."
Why it falls short: no detail — no help to anyone trying to decide whether to book.
Trust & fairness
Help keep Locallya useful and fair.
Whether you're writing a review, responding to one, or noticing something off — every action makes the directory better for the next person.
FAQs
Questions about reviews
Specifics: what you ordered or used, when you visited, what was good, what wasn't, and any practical tip for the next visitor. Two or three details matter more than length.
Yes — when a business has claimed its listing, owners can respond. Responses must follow the same respectful-tone rules as reviews themselves.
Yes. Contact us with the listing URL and the reason. We may compare it with other signals before deciding — outcomes depend on the case.
If it violates the guidelines on this page — spam, hate, conflicts of interest, private information, or content unrelated to the place. We may remove it on report or during routine moderation.
No. Self-reviews — including by staff, family, or paid third parties — fall under conflict-of-interest and are not allowed.
Yes — photos of food, rooms, products, facilities, and atmosphere are welcome. Avoid private documents, offensive content, or copyrighted material you don't have rights to share.
Abusive content — harassment, hate speech, personal attacks, threats — is removed when reported and confirmed. Repeated violations may lead to further action on the account.