Most of the harm in this industry comes from two things: listings that are not what they claim, and reviews that quietly disappear. Here is exactly what we do about both.
Not a badge you earn by being popular — a statement of how far we actually checked. It is shown on the listing, and you can filter on it.
Self-listed
The host has created the listing and nothing more has been checked. Hidden from search results by default — you have to opt in to see these.
Host ID verified
We have checked government-issued ID against the person who owns the account.
Address verified
We have confirmed the property exists at the address given and that the host is entitled to let it.
Visited in person
A person from LarkStay, or a local partner we trust, has physically been inside. This is the only tier that proves the photos match the place.
Every completed stay earns a permanent right to review. Not conditional on the host agreeing, not conditional on how the stay ended, and not conditional on whether a complaint was resolved to anyone's satisfaction.
We remove a review only when it is illegal or exposes someone's private information. When we do, the removal is written to a public ledger with a reason code — permanently, where anyone can read it.
This is built into the database rather than into a policy document. Hiding a review is not possible without also writing the public record of having hidden it.
You have paid for cleaning — it is inside the nightly rate, because there is no separate cleaning fee on LarkStay. So no host may ask you to strip beds, run the dishwasher, or carry bins out. If one does, report it in a tap and we refund part of your stay.
If a place is materially not what the listing said when you arrive, we rebook you or refund you in full, decided within four hours. The cost comes out of our fee, not the host's payout, so we have every reason to keep listings honest in the first place.
LarkStay is new. The verification tiers above are real and enforced, but most of our listings have not yet been visited in person — that takes people on the ground, and we are building that up market by market. Where we have not checked, the listing says so rather than implying otherwise.