Content Guidelines

Last updated: March 2026

StayViz relies on honest, helpful, and respectful contributions from our community. These guidelines set the standards for all user-generated content on the Platform, including reviews, ratings, and photographs. By submitting content, you agree to follow these guidelines.

Review Guidelines

Reviews are one of the most valuable resources on StayViz. They help fellow travellers make informed decisions and provide hotels with meaningful feedback. To ensure reviews remain trustworthy and useful, please follow these guidelines:

Be genuine and relevant

• Only review properties where you have personally stayed. Reviews must be based on your own first-hand experience.
• Write your review within 12 months of your stay to ensure the information is current and useful to other travellers.
• Focus on aspects relevant to the hotel experience: room quality, cleanliness, service, location, amenities, and value for money.
• Be specific. Mention particular details that would help others understand what to expect (e.g., "the breakfast buffet had a good variety of hot and cold options" rather than "breakfast was fine").

Be honest and balanced

• Share both positive experiences and areas for improvement. Balanced reviews are the most helpful.
• Your rating should reflect your overall experience and be consistent with the content of your written review.
• Do not exaggerate, fabricate, or misrepresent any aspect of your stay.
• If a problem occurred during your stay and the hotel resolved it satisfactorily, we encourage you to mention the resolution.

Be respectful

• Critique the experience, not individual staff members. Do not include full names of hotel employees.
• Keep your language civil and constructive, even when describing a negative experience.
• Do not include personal attacks, threats, hate speech, or discriminatory language of any kind.

Photo Guidelines

Photos bring reviews to life and give travellers a real sense of what to expect. When uploading photos to StayViz, please ensure they meet the following standards:

Quality and relevance

• Photos should be clear, well-lit, and in focus. Blurry, extremely dark, or distorted images will be removed.
• Upload photos that are relevant to the hotel and your stay experience: rooms, facilities, views, dining, common areas, and the surrounding area.
• Photos must be your own original work. Do not upload images copied from the hotel's website, other review platforms, or any other source.
• Maximum file size is 10 MB per image. Accepted formats: JPEG, PNG, and WebP.

Privacy and consent

• Do not upload photos that clearly identify other guests, staff members, or any individuals without their consent.
• Avoid capturing personal information such as names, room numbers, or booking references in your photos.
• Do not photograph areas where photography is prohibited or restricted by the property.

Prohibited Content

The following types of content are strictly prohibited on StayViz and will be removed without notice. Repeated violations may result in account suspension or permanent ban:

• Fake or incentivised reviews: Reviews written in exchange for payment, discounts, free stays, or other compensation from any party. This includes reviews written by hotel owners, employees, or their representatives about their own property.
• Competitor sabotage: Deliberately negative reviews intended to damage a competing property's reputation.
• Harassment and abuse: Content that threatens, intimidates, harasses, or bullies any individual or group.
• Hate speech and discrimination: Content that promotes hatred or violence against individuals based on race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or age.
• Sexually explicit content: Pornographic, obscene, or sexually explicit material of any kind.
• Illegal activity: Content that promotes, encourages, or facilitates illegal activities.
• Personal information: Content that reveals private personal information about others, including phone numbers, email addresses, physical addresses, or financial information.
• Spam and commercial content: Advertising, promotional material, repetitive content, or links to external websites unrelated to the hotel experience.
• Plagiarised content: Content copied from other users, websites, or publications without attribution or permission.
• Irrelevant content: Content that is entirely unrelated to the property or travel experience, including political commentary, religious proselytising, or personal grievances unrelated to the stay.

Moderation Process

All user-generated content submitted to StayViz is subject to review before publication. Our moderation process is designed to maintain the integrity and quality of content on the Platform while being fair and transparent.

How moderation works

• All submissions are screened using a combination of automated systems and human review.
• Content is evaluated against these guidelines, our Terms of Service, and applicable laws.
• Reviews are typically processed within 48 hours of submission. During peak periods, this may take up to 5 business days.
• Content that does not meet our guidelines will be rejected. Where possible, we will inform you of the specific reason for rejection.
• We may edit content for minor formatting issues (e.g., excessive capitalisation) without altering the substance of the review.

Reporting content

If you encounter content on StayViz that you believe violates these guidelines, please report it using the report button available on each review and photo. All reports are investigated by our moderation team. You can also contact us directly at content@stayviz.com.

Appeals

If your content has been removed or your account has been restricted, and you believe this was done in error, you have the right to appeal the decision.

How to appeal

• Submit your appeal by email to content@stayviz.com within 30 days of the moderation action.
• Include the content in question (or describe it clearly), the date of submission, and the reason you believe the removal was incorrect.
• Appeals are reviewed by a senior member of the moderation team who was not involved in the original decision.
• You will receive a response within 10 business days. The appeal decision is final.

Hotel responses

Hotel Partners may respond publicly to reviews. Hotel responses are subject to the same content guidelines and moderation process as guest reviews. Hotels may not request the removal of genuine negative reviews, but may flag reviews they believe to be fraudulent or in violation of these guidelines for our team to investigate.

Questions

If you have questions about these Content Guidelines or our moderation process, please contact us: