Fair pay, measurable impact, earned trust.
Vetting isn't a checklist — it's a relationship. Most of our suppliers were introduced to us by other suppliers we trust. Every one of them meets our baseline standards on day one, and we grade them against a four-pillar scorecard every six months after that.
- ✦Locally owned or cooperatively run — priority to operators rooted in the community where the trip happens.
- ✦Wages and working conditions documented — we ask for payroll summaries and confirm fair-wage practices.
- ✦Environmental practices in writing — a published sustainability policy, not a marketing page.
- ✦References from peer operators — we call at least two, and we verify the references verified them.
- ✦Willingness to be graded — every supplier signs onto the six-month scorecard before we route a single traveler their way.
What each pillar means at the supplier level.
Our four-pillar framework is how we think. Here's how each pillar shows up when we vet a specific guide, lodge, or operator.
Measurable, not marketing.
We look at waste handling, water usage, energy source, and sourcing supply chain. Verified documentation over claims.
How they treat their people.
Wages, working hours, training budget, hiring practices in the host community. We ask to see the numbers.
Where the money lands.
We map revenue flow: what share stays in the community, what goes to procurement, what goes to ownership abroad (if any).
Right for their place.
What's sustainable in Costa Rica isn't identical to what's sustainable in Mongolia. We grade against place-specific realities.
Every six months. Every supplier. On the record.
The scorecard is the concrete output of the four-pillar framework. It's not a marketing document — it's an internal instrument we share with our partners.
- Pillar score — a 1–5 rating on each of the four pillars, with evidence cited.
- Change since last review — up, down, or stable, with reasons.
- Open questions — what we're still investigating before the next review.
- Action items — what the supplier has committed to improve before the next check-in.
Want to be in our network?
If you run a locally-rooted operation that meets the criteria above, we'd like to meet you. Drop us a note with your website, a short intro, and the names of two peer operators who will vouch for you.