Listing standards
Free, and staying free
Creating, claiming, editing and keeping a listing is free. So is linking to your own booking site. We will never charge a fee to appear in results or a referral fee on bookings you take directly. If we ever offer optional checkout on HikeShenandoah, it will be opt-in with a published fee, and hosts who do not use it will not be ranked lower.
Verified and unclaimed listings
- Verified listings are added or approved by the host after we confirm they own or manage the property. Hosts provide their own photos and descriptions.
- Unclaimed listings show only public facts from the operator's official website, link to that website, carry no photos of the property, are labeled "Unclaimed" and are hidden from search engines. Any operator can claim theirs for free or ask us to remove it.
Verification
We confirm control of a property by email at an official domain, a call to the published phone number, business records, or another document review. Knowing a booking-site URL is not proof. Every approval and change is logged.
Ranking
Order is based on drive time, closeness to the area, verification, completeness, freshness and the traveler's filters, as described on our About page. Paying is not an input. Properties owned by HikeShenandoah's founder are labeled and receive no boost.
Honest information
No invented prices, availability, reviews or endorsements. Availability always reads "check with host" unless a host connects a calendar we can keep current. Locations can be shown approximately at the host's request; access codes, gates and private routes are never published.