Disclosures
Who paid for what, and what that bought them.
Some of ReyRoams involves money or goods changing hands. None of it involves anyone approving what I write. Here is the whole arrangement, in the same words every time.
A dot means money or goods changed hands. No dot means it is a judgment.
That distinction holds everywhere on this site, and it is the only thing you need to remember.
The same words every time.
Every post carrying a commercial arrangement says so above the first paragraph — not at the bottom, not in a sidebar. The wording is fixed and it is not rewritten per partner, because a disclosure that gets reworded is a disclosure that eventually gets softened. These are the exact strings the site prints:
{Brand} paid for this post. They had no approval over what it says and did not see it before publication. If the answer had been unflattering, it would still be here.
{Brand} provided this at no cost. No fee was paid, nothing was promised in return, and they had no approval over what appears here — including whether anything appeared at all.
Covers hosted stays, gifted items and press trips. One string, because the arrangement is the same in each.
Some links here earn a commission if you buy through them. It costs you nothing, and it changes nothing about what appears — items only reach this list after surviving a few trips.
Nobody gave me this and nobody paid for it. I bought it, kept it, and it earned its place the same way everything else here did.
No dot, because nothing changed hands.
These are editorial positions, and I am accountable for them.
I would choose it again, and have.
I tried it and would not. Published because the useful half of a recommendation is the half that says no.
Extended use, with a verdict. Not a first impression.
The one post I would open first in that room. Reviewed twice a year.
Where commercial content can and cannot appear.
ReyRoams
Sponsorship, affiliate links and direct advertising are all possible here — always badged, always disclosed above the first paragraph.
Essentials
Affiliate links only. This is the one room where they belong, because it is a list of things to buy.
Insights
Never. No sponsorship, no affiliate links, no advertising, under any arrangement or at any price.
Work, About, Speaking, Contact, home
Never. Same reason. The professional analysis is not for sale, and keeping the two sides structurally apart is easier to trust than a promise that I would know where to draw the line.
What sponsorship does not buy.
- Approval, review, or sight of the draft before it publishes
- Removal of anything unflattering
- A guaranteed verdict, or a guarantee that the post runs at all
- Placement in Insights, or anywhere on the professional pages
- An undisclosed mention anywhere on this site
Categories I don't take
Some sponsorship gets declined regardless of the fee. Not a judgment about anyone’s business — simply that in these categories a recommendation from me would be worth less than what I would be paid for it, and the whole value of this site rests on that not being true.
- Gambling, betting and online casinos
- Cryptocurrency, trading platforms and investment products
- Online lending and short-term credit
- Multi-level marketing and business-opportunity schemes
- Tobacco, vaping and nicotine products
- Alcohol in any form
- Adult content
- Political parties, candidates and campaigns
- Supplements or treatments carrying health claims
This applies to direct advertising as well as sponsored posts, and it is not negotiable at a higher rate. If you are unsure whether something sits inside these, ask — the answer is usually quick.
A photograph is not an endorsement
This list governs money, not subject matter. A casino may appear in a frame of a city at night, because that is what the city looks like. A bar may appear in a Journal entry, because that is where the evening went. Photographing a place, or writing honestly about what happened in it, is documentation. Being paid by it is a different act — and only the second one is covered here.
No display advertising
There is no ad network here. Direct sponsorship only, from a named partner, disclosed by name. Programmatic advertising would pay very little at this size while costing third-party scripts, page speed, and the ability to say what I have just said.
Links
Outbound links inside any sponsored or affiliate post carry rel="sponsored nofollow". That is applied by the template automatically, not by me remembering.
Something look wrong, or a disclosure missing where you would expect one? Tell me — contact. I would rather fix it than have it sit there.
Rey Belen
Marketing executive · Rizal, Philippines