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What makes Travelfish different?

When we tell people that we run Travelfish, it often takes a while to explain why our website is different to all those others out there -- and let's be honest, there's no shortage of travel websites.

So in case you're suffering from the mistaken idea that Travelfish is just another travel website, consider the following:

1) Anywhere that you read about on Travelfish, either myself or Samantha have personally been to, or one of our paid researchers has visited. There is nowhere, not a single place on the entire site (aside from places mentioned on the forum and some hotel properties found via our search of third party listings) that one of us have not been, in person, checking it out for Travelfish.

2) Out in the field we follow a strict no freebies policy. This means we accept no free trips or junkets from anybody, including tourist authorities. Unlike many publishers and websites, we do not accept free accommodation (for any kind of coverage -- positive or negative). The only thing we've ever accepted were a few guidebooks for free to review -- and believe me when I say we won't be making that mistake again.

3) When we're checking out places -- be they guesthouses, hotels, national parks or karaoke bars -- we do so on an anonymous basis. By that we mean we show up, in person, and pretend to be either be a potential guest, or somebody looking for a room for a friend or relative. Where possible we'll inspect at least a couple of rooms. Sometimes people are suspicious and our cover is blown, but this is very rare. The rates you see on Travelfish are what the desk staff told us they were or what were in the brochure when they just told us to quit bugging them and look in the brochure.

4) We list all sorts of places to stay -- not just those that can be booked online. No phone number? It doesn't matter, we'll still review a property. After all, the bulk of travellers just show up anyway, and there are just so many wonderful places in Southeast Asia to stay that aren't really on the grid. We don't accept copy from hotels or guesthouses, so you'll be reading no spin on Travelfish.

5) It costs the places listed nothing. In fact, many probably don't even know they're listed. Working this way, we help small, often family-owned businesses, including many in remote areas, to get the type of exposure online they have never considered even being possible.

6) Over the past few years, we've amassed more than 3,500 independent and totally original reviews of guesthouses, hotels and resorts in Cambodia, Laos, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. It's the largest collection of online original content for this specific region.

If you're an independent traveller, planning a holiday in Southeast Asia, Travelfish is quite simple the most comprehensive resource available online.

So check it out and let us know what you think. We are always delighted to get feedback.