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How Locallista works

Q: What does the process look like?

The onboarding process will include: After we confirm that all these steps have been successfully completed, the business profile will be listed on the platform and will be available for customers.

The world's best service rating system.

You can either be invited by another registered user, or you can sign up and request access - we normally approve these requests very fast for expats.

Locallista is FREE forever.

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A trusted community

Search by service, read detailed and verified reviews, and choose the right professional with confidence.
Connect directly with the professional. You get the contact details on the site - you don't book through the platform - so you can speak directly, explain your needs, and decide if they're the right fit.
Your only commitment is to rate the service for each service provider you find through the platform. This is how businesses improve and how we maintain a consistently high service standard.
Locallista is paid by the service provider only after the job is completed and paid for.

The Locallista system

Instead of paid placements, random listings, or unverified reviews, we created a system where quality is measured, monitored, and earned. Every professional is screened. Every client is contacted. Every review counts.

Here's exactly how the system works - and why it shifts the power back to you.

Unbiased

1.Service providers displayed only by their score order.
2.We don't allow advertising - no one can pay to appear higher on the list.
3.We never give preference – all businesses in a category pay the same fees to Locallista.
4.Every review gets published - good or bad.
5.A business's total score is the average of all reviews it has received.

Strict

6.We select and screen each business that asks to join.
7.We only list great businesses, based on reviews collected by phone from real clients who hired them in the past.
8.We hold the businesses accountable to very high standards.
9.We contact every Locallista user after they hire a professional to collect a review.
10.Reviews are usually collected by phone to ensure fairness, accuracy, and sufficient detail.
11.Businesses that drop below a score of 8.5 are removed.

The result: the power shifts to the client's hands

12.Because service providers know every client is contacted for a review, they consistently deliver their best work. In practice, this puts real power back in the client's hands.

How are businesses screened

Which businesses can apply?

Locallista only accepts great businesses that are committed to excellence, transparency and honesty. Good is not good enough in this community. We have defined a threshold of an overall review score of 8.5 to allow businesses to remain listed on the platform, and we intend to increase the bar in the future to a minimum average score of 9.

This means that any business that thinks they truly provide great service, that is willing to learn from customers' feedback and keep improving, can apply to list in Locallista.

What are the requirements to be listed on Locallista?

The business will need to meet the following criteria:

Agree that we contact and interview past clients for reference.
Agree to be reviewed after each service provided to a Locallista customer, and that each review will be published on the platform in accordance with our Reviews Policy - good or bad.
Agree to the Locallista Terms of Service and the pledges to the community that each business makes when joining Locallista. These pledges include the business's commitment to:
- High quality services.
- Respect the community - Locallista has zero tolerance for any behavior that makes a customer uncomfortable, including harassment or unprofessional communication.
- Price fairness - businesses will not charge Locallista customers higher prices than those offered through other channels.
- Transparency and honesty.
- Support the community's growth and reputation.
Pass the vetting process - we interview past clients and collect review scores for past jobs. Listing requires meeting the applicable score threshold. These reviews also form the initial score you will be listed on the platform with.
In some categories, businesses will need to:
- Provide a license or certificate and/or pass verification checks.
- Be able to provide the service at one additional relevant language suitable for the community in the relevant city.

What does the process look like?

The onboarding process will include:

1.Online identity verification (applicable for most categories) and in some categories (and where permitted by law), a background check.
2.If applicable to the category, providing a copy of the business license or certification.
3.Providing 5 past client references that Locallista may reach out to for collecting reviews (of which, at least 3 must demonstrate experience serving the expat or international community in the relevant city).
4.Agreeing to the rules and terms of the platform (our Terms of Service, the pledges to the community and the commercial terms applicable to your categories).
5.Completing an online profile page and all necessary details about the business's services to have a strong-performing and compliant profile.
6.The business will be invited to participate in a 45 minute live training session (businesses webinar) in which we will cover the last details to help the business become a successful business on Locallista.

After we confirm that all these steps have been successfully completed, the business profile will be listed on the platform and will be available for customers.

What happens if a business is rejected?

A business that fails the onboarding process may resubmit their application after 6 months and restart the process.

Category limits and waiting lists

We have over 150 different categories of service, primarily oriented for consumers. As we launch more locations, we may start with a limited set of categories and businesses will need to register for a waiting list.

We are limiting the number of businesses in categories and locations in order to maintain a balanced supply and demand marketplace. In case a business applies for a category that does not have available slots, our team may place the business on a waiting list until new spots become available or existing spots are freed up.

Requirements for completing the business profile

We aim to connect businesses with high-quality leads from customers who seek a specific service and value quality service and professionalism. In order for the platform to work, we expect businesses to perform at their best.

The business profile must be:

Reliable and correctly state the business's skills and services that the business is qualified and experienced to provide.
Up to date with service types, availability, service details and other applicable details.
In some categories, the business profile must include a media gallery of your work.

Listing in multiple markets

Locallista aims to build a strong bridge between the expat community and the local community of service providers in each city we operate in.

This means that we may decide to only allow local businesses in some locations at any time and may prioritize local businesses over remote businesses. In case the services of a business are applicable to multiple cities we operate in, we may allow the business to list in multiple locations.

Other information

Being listed on Locallista is a privilege, not a right.

Locallista's commitment is to maintain a reliable platform and community of service providers. We reserve the right to request further information from the business during the onboarding process and to change or add requirements from time to time in order to protect platform integrity, safety, compliance and community standards. This may include inviting the business for a video interview with our quality control team and/or requesting further documents to support the business's onboarding process.

Reviews publishing rules

Updated: 15-Feb-2026

1. The customer's experience comes first

Locallista is committed to operating a trustworthy directory and reviews are a foundational part of that. Our goal is to keep the ratings on our platform accurate and reliable, and to give customers access to current, reliable reviews of the businesses listed on our site, so they can confidently choose the right business for their needs.

If a user shares a negative review, we take it seriously. Our mission is to protect user trust. Businesses must accept responsibility for the outcome of the service they provided.

Reviews help businesses improve. Low ratings are an opportunity to learn and grow. Many top-rated businesses started with mistakes, improved, and later became highly rated.

2. When is a review collected?

(If a situation is not listed below, the review will not be collected or published.)

When can a customer review a business?

The business was paid.
The business solved the problem without payment (even by phone).
An appointment was scheduled but the business did not show up, or cancelled too late for the user to find another solution.
The business started the work but stopped midway.

Special cases when a customer can leave a review for a business even if the work has not yet been completed (all conditions below must be met):

The client provided all required documents and fulfilled their obligations.
The business did not complete the work within a reasonable time for that category.
The business stopped communicating effectively (evidence required).

But in any event, we will not collect a review if:

The user did not receive the service (for example, only received a quote / price proposal).
The business is still actively trying to solve a major issue.
The user says they are not comfortable giving a review.

3. When do we delete, change, or not publish a collected review?

We do not delete honest reviews. If a review is based on a real service and follows the rules below, it will stay on the platform.

We will delete or not publish a review if:

It contains hate speech, threats, discriminatory, defamatory or offensive language, or otherwise includes language that violates applicable law.
It was written by mistake or admitted to be false.
It refers to the wrong business, the user is impersonating another person or entity, or the user cannot prove they used the business.
There are not enough details, or the facts are unclear (we will ask the user for clarification; if no reply, it will not be published).
For humanitarian reasons, such as death, hospitalization, road accident, or government orders preventing the service.
It otherwise violates the requirements in our Reviews Policy.

A review may be edited/changed by the Locallista team if:

It includes personal data (phone numbers, addresses, etc.).

Mediation requests by businesses:

A business may request one mediation per 20 reviews if they believe a review is unfair.
The request is sent through Locallista's team, and our team will ask the user if they are open to dialogue.
Mediation is voluntary for the user. We never pressure users to change a review.
The business may offer a second visit or partial refund. If the issue is resolved and the user is satisfied, they may update their review.

4. Review Updates*

In the future, we may contact users after some time has passed to ask if they would like to update their original review based on their latest experience.

If a user chooses to provide updated feedback, their existing review and rating may be amended and the updated version will be published on the platform. This will not create a new review, but will update the original one.

*This process is not currently active and will be introduced later.

5. Monitoring patterns

Locallista monitors review patterns. If a business receives multiple low reviews on the same issue, we will notify them and may temporarily pause or remove their profile until improvements are made.

How mediation works

We believe that in most cases, when something goes wrong, both sides can reach a resolution they're both comfortable with.

If a customer leaves a negative review, the business may request mediation, asking for the chance to make things right. If that happens, our team will reach out to you to share the business's proposal.

A few things to know:

Mediation is always your choice. We will never pressure you to change your review.
We only facilitate mediation when the issue can actually be fixed and may result in an overall satisfactory experience for you. This can be through a return visit, a repair, or completing unfinished work.
We do not facilitate mediation when the only offer is monetary compensation.
If mediation takes place, once the issue has been corrected by the service provider, we will add a follow-up to your review. Your original review stays on the platform — both versions are always shown.

Join Locallista. Recommend Locallista.

Locallista is powered by your feedback. Your reviews, suggestions and ideas help everyone grow – fellow expats thrive and great local providers get the recognition they deserve.

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