01Why this matters
You're here because you know places the way only a local can, which street to walk at which hour, where the food is honest, what the guidebooks keep getting wrong. That knowledge is the whole point of Ohana.
Every place you add becomes part of a real traveller's trip, matched to who they are and how they want to feel. So we care less about how much you add and more about how true it is. One place described with real knowledge beats fifty generic listings. Quality is the job.
A simple promise runs through everything here: Ohana is honest. No ads, no paid rankings, no places recommended because someone paid for it. That only works if what you give us is honest too.
02The Ohana standard, in three words
Specific. Honest. Felt.
If a place you're adding is specific (not generic), honest (flaws and all), and felt (you can say why it matters), it belongs on Ohana. If it's missing one of those, it probably needs more work before it's ready. Everything in this playbook is just those three words, expanded.
03What belongs on Ohana, and what doesn't
What belongs. The things that make a place worth the trip:
- ·Points of interest viewpoints, landmarks, neighbourhoods, parks, beaches, trails, museums, markets, the spots with a story.
- ·Restaurants, cafés, bars and food spots the places locals actually eat and drink.
- ·Events festivals, concerts, markets, ceremonies, seasonal moments worth planning a trip around.
What doesn't belong:
- ·Hotels and short-term rentals. Ohana doesn't recommend where you sleep. We have no commercial interest in lodging and we never will.
- ·Chains and the generic. If it's the same in every city, it's not an Ohana place.
- ·Anything sponsored or paid. No affiliate links, no “they gave me a free meal” recommendations. Ever.
- ·Tourist traps you wouldn't send a friend to, even if they're famous.
- ·Places you haven't been. If you haven't experienced it yourself, don't add it.
04What is a POI?
A POI, a point of interest, is a specific, fixed place a traveller can go to. It has a location, and it's there most of the time.
A good POI is one place, not a category. “Restaurants in Rome” is not a POI. “Da Enzo al 29, the trattoria in Trastevere with the cacio e pepe locals queue for” is.
The bar a POI has to clear: it's a real, findable place with an address; you've been there; and you can say something specific and true about it that a stranger couldn't find on the first page of Google.
Weak
“Beautiful viewpoint with great views of the city.”
Good
“A small terrace behind the convent where locals come at dusk, the three old quarters light up one by one, and the tour buses have already left.”
05What is an Event?
An event is something that happens at a time, not just a place. A festival, a concert, a market, a ceremony, a seasonal moment.
Events can be one-off (a specific date) or recurring (every week, every year, every full moon). Tell us which, and be precise about timing, an event with the wrong dates is worse than no event at all.
The bar an event has to clear: it actually happens, on dates you can state or describe; a traveller could realistically plan around it; and you can say why it's worth showing up for, not just that it exists.
Weak
“Summer festival with music and food.”
Good
“Festas de Santo António, the night of June 12-13: the whole of Alfama becomes one open-air dinner, every doorway grilling sardines, every square a dance floor.”
A note on timing: don't add one-off events that have already passed. For recurring events, give us the pattern (“second weekend of June”) so we can keep them accurate year to year.
A real Ohana entry, event
“Esala Perahera, in Kandy. I planned our whole trip around this, the great decorated elephants moving through the old town after dark, lit only by torchlight. You feel, in that moment, how deeply Buddhism runs through the country and its culture. Well worth the wait, and we left it with new friendships, too.”
Why it works: A precise reason to plan a trip around, the feeling of being there, and genuine respect for what the event means.
06The five principles of good content
- ·Specific, not generic. The detail is the value. Names, hours, the exact corner, the dish to order, the time of day. Anyone can write “lovely atmosphere.” Only you can write “go before 1pm or the supplì sell out.”
- ·Honest, flaws and all. If a place is overrated, say so. If it's worth it only at the right time, say when. If it's touristy but still genuinely good, say that too. Honesty is what makes a recommendation trustworthy, and travellers can feel the difference instantly. Telling someone what not to do is often more useful than another thing to do.
- ·Felt. This is the layer almost no other platform has. Don't just tell a traveller what a place is, tell them how it feels, and who it's for. A place can be serene, or social, or mystical, or playful. The “why it matters” and the mood are not decoration; they're the reason someone chooses your place over a thousand others.
A real Ohana entry, the felt layer
“Ahu Tongariki, at sunrise. I arrived early to catch the full moment the day began, overwhelmed by the serenity and the beauty of the sun rising on another day of exploring, knowing I was about as far from home in Denmark as I could possibly be.”
Why it works: It doesn't describe the stones, it describes how it felt to stand there. That is the difference between a listing and an Ohana place.
- ·Local and authentic. The magic is past where the buses turn around. Favour the places locals actually go over the ones on every list. If everyone already knows it, your job is to add the angle they don't have, the right hour, the right table, the thing they'd otherwise miss.
- ·Current and accurate. A closed restaurant or wrong opening hours costs a traveller real time on a trip they can't repeat. Only add what you know to be true now, and help us keep it true over time.
07Writing each field well
You don't have to fill every field, but the more you add, the more useful and discoverable your place becomes. Here's what we're looking for in each.
- ·Name the real, findable name. No taglines.
- ·Type the closest category. We refine it automatically; you just point us in the right direction.
- ·Short description one or two honest sentences in your own voice. What it is and what makes it worth it.
- ·Why it's special the heart of the entry. Three or four sentences on why this place matters to you. This is the emotional hook a traveller reads and thinks “yes, that one.”
- ·Insider tips the practical edge: when to go, what to order, where to stand, what to skip.
- ·Local etiquette how to behave so a traveller fits in rather than stands out. Especially important at sacred, residential or quiet places.
- ·One thing tourists always get wrong opinionated, memorable, shareable. Often the most-read line you'll write.
- ·Best time / season your personal opinion, not generic info. The hour, the month, the light.
- ·Mood how the place feels (see section 8).
- ·Opening hours / website / phone factual and current. Free-text hours are fine; we tidy the format.
Write the way you'd tell a friend who's going next week. That voice, specific, warm, honest, is exactly right.
08Moods, the felt layer
Ohana matches places to how a traveller wants to feel, not just what they want to do. That's why mood matters. When you think about a place, ask: what does it feel like to be there?
Pick the one or two that genuinely fit. Don't tag a place with every mood to make it show up more, that breaks the matching for everyone, and a place that's “everything” reads as nothing. We'll also suggest moods automatically; you confirm or change them when you validate.
09Photos, what good looks like
A real photo is worth more than any description. We want photos that feel true to the place.
What good looks like:
- ·Candid and in-destination, the place as it really is.
- ·Natural light, golden hour where you can.
- ·Real moments and details, food, streets, people in the background living their lives.
What we don't accept:
- ·Stock photography or generic catalogue images.
- ·Posed, over-edited or heavily filtered shots that misrepresent the place.
- ·Watermarked images, or any image you don't own or have the rights to use (see section 10).
- ·AI-generated images presented as real.
10Honesty, rights and respect
This section is non-negotiable. It's what lets us promise travellers that Ohana is trustworthy.
- ·Only places you know. Add what you've genuinely experienced. No second-hand listings, no fabrication.
- ·Your words, your images. Don't copy descriptions or photos from anyone else. Upload only photos you took or have the clear right to use. If you didn't make it, don't submit it.
- ·If it's yours, say so. If you have a personal or commercial stake in a place, it's your business, your friend's restaurant, tell us. Disclosure protects the trust that makes your other recommendations valuable.
- ·Respect sacred and cultural places. Some sites are sacred, ceremonial or culturally sensitive. Treat them with care, include the etiquette travellers need, and never frame a place in a way that invites disrespect. When unsure, flag it for us.
- ·Protect the fragile. Not every hidden gem should be broadcast. A delicate beach, a quiet local spot, a sacred site can be harmed by the crowds a recommendation brings. If a place could be damaged by attention, describe the experience rather than the exact location, and let us decide together how to handle it. Sharing well sometimes means holding back.
- ·Be honest about access. Note steps, terrain, distances or anything that affects who can comfortably visit. Ohana is for solo travellers, couples and families, and for people from their thirties well into their seventies, honesty about access serves all of them.
11What we'll send back
We review every submission before it goes live. We'll come back to you (not just reject silently) if a place is:
- ·A hotel or short-term rental.
- ·Sponsored, affiliate-linked, or an undisclosed personal interest.
- ·Generic, copy-paste, or clearly not somewhere you've been.
- ·Using photos you don't own, or stock/AI images passed off as real.
- ·Out of date, inaccurate, or unsafe to recommend.
- ·Disrespectful of a place, its people, or its culture.
This isn't gatekeeping for its own sake, it's the quality bar that makes being an Ohana Ambassador mean something.
12How to submit
The flow is simple, and you stay in control the whole way:
- 1Upload - your places using the Ohana template or your own CSV. Just name, address, city, country, and your words, no coordinates needed.
- 2We enrich - location, hours, suggested moods and themes, all added automatically.
- 3You validate - check every place, fix anything, confirm it's right. Nothing skips you.
- 4We review - a quick editorial check for quality and authenticity.
- 5It goes live - and starts matching with travellers.
Submitting sends your places for review; it isn't instant publishing. That final check is how we keep Ohana trustworthy for everyone.
Your places are living. When something closes, changes hours, or a festival moves dates, come back and update it. Keeping your entries current is part of being an Ambassador, and it keeps your places earning.
13Before you submit, quick checklist
- ✓Every place is one I've genuinely been to.
- ✓No hotels or short-term rentals.
- ✓Nothing sponsored, affiliate, or an undisclosed interest of mine.
- ✓Each description is specific, honest, and in my own voice.
- ✓I've said why each place matters and picked the mood(s) that truly fit.
- ✓Photos are mine (or I have the rights), real, and not stock/AI.
- ✓Hours, dates and details are current and accurate.
- ✓I've handled any sacred, fragile or sensitive places with care.
- ✓I've deleted the example row from the template.
14Worked examples
Mirador de Santo Domingo
Viewpoint · Toledo, Spain
- Short description:
- A tiny terrace behind the convent with the whole old town laid out in gold.
- Why it's special:
- Locals come at dusk when the tour buses have gone, and the three old quarters, Christian, Muslim, Jewish, light up one by one. It's the Toledo that postcards never quite catch.
- Insider tip:
- Arrive 20 minutes before sunset for a spot on the low wall.
- One thing tourists get wrong:
- Treating it as a quick photo stop. Stay half an hour and watch the light change.
- Best time:
- Late October, golden hour.
- Mood:
- Serene.
Why it works: Specific, honest, felt, local, and current. You can picture it, and you know exactly when to go.
Festas de Santo António
Festival · Alfama, Lisbon, Portugal
- When:
- Annual, peaks the night of June 12-13.
- Why it's special:
- The whole quarter spills into the street, every doorway grilling sardines, every square a dance floor. It's Lisbon at its most itself.
- One thing tourists get wrong:
- Watching from the edges. Get into the alleys and join a table.
Why it works: Precise timing, a clear reason to show up, and an honest steer on how to actually experience it.
Questions, or a place you're not sure about? Email michael@ohana.place, we'd rather talk it through than have you guess.
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