Why we charge what we charge.
Verifying every listing. Helping with the second language. Re-checking quarterly. None of that happens for free. This page is the honest story: how we fund Guía Boquete, what your money buys, and what we'd never sell.
How the funding works
Three sources of money keep a directory running: advertising, data sales, or subscriptions from the people using it. We picked the third one and ruled out the other two.
Advertising changes what readers see. Ads work for the advertiser, not the reader. Data sales work for whoever buys the data, not the person it's about. Subscriptions work for the subscriber. The trade: smaller revenue per visitor, but every incentive points the same direction.
If a Boquete business gets value from Guía, they pay $10 or $25 a month for that value. If they don't get value, they cancel. That's it. No banner ads. No email list rentals. No SEO link sales.
What your money actually buys
Outcomes, not features. Here's what shows up in your life because we charge.
- A page that's verified before you trust it. Real businesses, not stub entries. Hours that match the door this morning.
- An editor who reads every submission before it goes live. Manual review, 48-hour SLA, bilingual help if you only have one language.
- Listings that stay current. Owners get a one-click re-verification nudge every 90 days. Stale listings are archived, not faked into freshness.
- A small team you can reach. One email gets you a person, not a ticket queue.
What we'd never charge for
These are the lines. Stating them out loud is part of the product.
- Listing existence. Any verified Boquete business can be on Guía for free.
- Verification status. Paid tiers don't get a different verification. They get more visibility, not more trust.
- Ranking position. Paid tiers appear in the labeled "Spotlight in this category" module, separate from the organic listings. We don't sell ranking; we sell a labeled slot.
- Negative-review removal. We don't have reviews. So this can't be bought.
- Editorial inclusion. Editor's Notes, guide picks, and editorial collections are editorial. Sponsors don't buy a mention.
- Owner contact information. We don't rent or sell your email.
The tiers, today
What's actually enforced. No promises we don't keep.
Community Free | Verified Profile $10/month or $99/year | Spotlight $25/month or $249/year | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listed in the directory | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| All clickable contact (phone, WhatsApp, email, website, social) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Name, category, neighborhood, address, hours | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Verification status + last-verified date | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Short + long description | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Editor's Note (when written) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Uploaded hero photo on card and detail page | No | Yes | Yes |
| Tier badge on card | No | Yes | Yes |
| Inclusion in the "Spotlight in this category" module | No | Yes | Yes |
| Weekly pinned top slot in the Spotlight module | No | No | Yes |
| Cancel anytime | n/a | Yes | Yes |
Tier features evolve as we build. When we add something, it's because we built it, not because we promised it.
Honest comparison
We're not the only way to be findable in Boquete. Here's how we differ from the major options, where they win, and where we win.
| Guía Boquete | Google Business Profile | Facebook Page | TripAdvisor | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bilingual (EN + ES) | Yes, every listing | If the owner sets up both | If the owner sets up both | English-first; ES partial |
| Manual review before publishing | Every submission, manually | Algorithmic, often skipped | None | Algorithmic |
| Fake-review policy | No reviews at all | Reactive, slow | No formal policy | Documented problem |
| Hours update: who controls and how fast | Owner edits in minutes; quarterly re-verify | Owner edits, often slow to publish | Owner edits | Owner requests change |
| Paid placement: labeled clearly | Labeled "Spotlight in this category" module | Some "Ad" labels; algorithmic ranking opaque | "Sponsored" badge | Paid plans affect ranking |
| Owner support: human reachable | Direct editor email | Help center; limited human contact | Help center | Help center |
| Cost to the business owner | Free, $10/mo, or $25/mo | Free (paid ads available) | Free (paid posts available) | Free; "Business Advantage" paid plans |
Most owners benefit from being on Guía AND Google. We don't compete on reach. We compete on trust.
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About sponsorships
Sponsorships are a separate product. Brands and partners can place a clearly-labeled sponsor strip in specific surfaces. Read the sponsorship policy on /commercial.
Sponsorship policy→