How SendLoco works
SendLoco is the trust layer between the travel content you watch and the places you actually visit. Here’s exactly how we turn creator videos into a searchable, scored, and honest recommendation database.
The pipeline
- 01
We index creator content
We collect public creator content: videos and posts from travel creators, plus articles from reputable publications and respected “best of” rankings. We only use publicly available content, and every pick links back to its source.
- 02
We extract place mentions
A combination of transcript analysis and video description parsing pulls out every named place, restaurant, bar, hotel, market, experience. Each mention is matched to a real Google Maps listing.
- 03
We check for sponsorship signals
The pipeline looks for disclosure language, affiliate links, and patterns that suggest a paid partnership. Each recommendation gets a trust status: Independent pick, Partnership likely, or Sponsored.
- 04
We compute a trust score
Each place's SendLoco score blends creator mention count, Google rating, Worth It votes from our community, and sponsorship status. The method is explained on this page, so there is no black box.
- 05
We surface the best picks
City pages rank by trust score. Top 10 lists are recalculated weekly. “The One”, the single must-visit per category per city, is algorithmically selected but can be manually overridden by our team.
Trust badges
Every recommendation on SendLoco carries one of these labels. They appear on place pages, creator profiles, and place cards. Labels are automated assessments of public signals. Creators and venues can dispute one at any time via Email us.
Independent pick
No sponsorship signals detected. Creator mentioned this place without any detectable commercial arrangement.
Partnership likely
Soft signals present, affiliate links, brand partnership language, or the creator has a known commercial relationship with the venue's parent brand.
Sponsored
Creator explicitly disclosed a paid partnership, gifted stay, or the video was created as part of a promotional campaign.
Partner venue
The venue has a commercial arrangement with SendLoco, for example, a verified listing or exclusive offer. This is always disclosed on the place page.
What is “The One”?
Every city has one algorithmically-chosen must-visit per category. We call it The One. It’s the place with the highest combined score across mention count, Google rating, and Worth It votes. It gets a gold star badge and appears at the top of Top 10 lists. Our team can manually override The One if the algorithm produces an obviously wrong result.
Common questions
What exactly is a “pick”?
A pick is a place a creator featured positively in their own public content, a video, a post, a caption. We compile picks; creators don't submit them to us. Every pick links to the original video so you can see exactly what they said, in context.
Do creators work with SendLoco?
No, unless a profile is marked as claimed, the creator has no relationship with us. We independently compile their public recommendations, the same way a review aggregator compiles published reviews. Creators can claim their profile, dispute a trust label, or opt out entirely at any time.
Do creators know they're on SendLoco?
Some do, usually because they've claimed their page or a fan submitted their content. Unclaimed creators can claim their page at any time, request edits, or ask us to remove their picks entirely. We believe in creator transparency.
What if a trust label is wrong?
Tell us via the contact page. Labels are automated assessments of public signals and we correct mistakes: we aim to acknowledge disputes within 48 hours and resolve them within 5 business days, and we suppress a disputed label while we investigate. Creators get the benefit of the doubt about their own commercial arrangements.
Can a creator pay to improve their ranking?
No. Trust scores are algorithmically computed and can't be purchased. Venues can become Partner venues (disclosed clearly on every page), but that doesn't change their SendLoco trust score.
What is the Authority badge?
A place gets an Authority badge when it appears in a respected published “best of” ranking, such as The World’s 50 Best Bars or the MICHELIN Guide’s Keys for hotels. The badge names the list. We record that a place is listed and link back to the source; we don’t reproduce the lists. SendLoco is not affiliated with, sponsored by or endorsed by these publications, and their names belong to their owners. The badge is separate from creator picks and trust labels, and it can’t be bought.
How often are scores recalculated?
Trust scores and The One rankings are recalculated weekly. Google ratings are refreshed monthly. Trending scores use a rolling 7-day window.
What if a place has closed?
Anyone can flag a place as closed using the 🚩 flag link on any recommendation card. We review all flags within 48 hours.
How do I submit a creator I trust?
Paste a YouTube URL on the Submit page. Our pipeline will scan it, extract any place mentions, and add them to the review queue within minutes.