Why Checkerist exists
Travel runs on trust in photos taken by strangers. We add a pair of local eyes.
Booking a holiday rental abroad usually means sending hundreds or thousands of pounds to someone you've never met, for a place you've only seen in photos. Most hosts are honest. Some listings are out of date, flattering, or completely fake, and you only find out when you arrive with your bags.
Checkerist connects travellers with local people who can go and look. A travel agent in Málaga, a tour guide in Antalya, a property manager in Lisbon: people who already know their area and know what a good stay looks like. They visit the property, show you what's really there, and get paid for doing it well.
How we keep it fair
- Checkers set their own prices. Travellers see the price before booking and only release payment when they approve the report.
- Checkers choose their own availability, and early checkers pay no commission for their first year.
- We verify every checker's identity and review their first assignments.
- We don't accept payment from hosts or booking platforms to influence a report.
Where we are now
We're starting with UK travellers heading to Spain, Portugal, France, Italy, Greece, Turkey, the UAE and North Africa, and growing our checker network city by city. If we don't have a checker where you're going yet, we'll say so before you pay.
A note from the founder
I started Checkerist after seeing how many people in travel forums asked the same question: "Is this listing real?" The answers were always guesses. A local person standing outside the door can answer it properly in fifteen minutes. That's the whole idea.
Saif Lajmi, founder
Questions or ideas? Write to contact@checkerist.com.