A travel app that lists everything is a phone book. We are building the opposite, and this is the rule we hold ourselves to.
Every travel platform grows the same way: more places, more reviews, more stars. The list gets longer, and the traveller does the work of sorting it.
Merani is built on the opposite bet. We list very few places in each town, and every one of them has been visited by someone from our team before it earns the mark.
The Standard
Before we talk to any business, it has to meet a published set of criteria. We call it the Merani Standard. Some of it is about the visit itself — is the menu price the price you pay, is the room the room in the photo. Some of it is about how a place treats people who do not speak the language.
A place either meets the Standard or it does not. There is no three-star version of it.
Two kinds of trust
The green mark means our team has been there. The stars mean travellers have. We keep them apart on purpose: verification is ours to give and ours to take away; ratings are anonymous, one per device, and nobody can buy them.
Trust that expires
A passed audit is valid for twelve months. After that, we go back. If a place has slipped, it loses the mark — quietly — and the listing says so.
We think this is the only honest way to make the promise we make: if it carries the mark, it is worth going to.
What happens next
We are opening with a small pilot in a handful of towns. If you run a place in Georgia and believe it qualifies, tell us. If you are travelling, the app is free — it always will be.