Local Guides can partner with businesses to make their meet-ups more fun and less expensive for attendees. A business might agree to sponsor a meet-up by providing goods or services (for example, a discount to rent a venue, or complimentary snacks). However, it’s important that sponsorships don’t influence contributions on Google Maps.
Below are the guidelines that Local Guides should follow when hosting a sponsored meet-up:
- Local Guides should not accept sponsorship in exchange for contributions on Google Maps. For example, you shouldn’t agree to write positive reviews about a business that sponsors a meet-up — or negative reviews about its competitors. This applies to the Local Guide hosting the meet-up and to all attendees. Attendees should not be required to do anything for or on behalf of the business in order to participate in the meet-up.
- Local Guides should not accept any form of payment in exchange for hosting a meet-up in partnership with a business.
- If a meet-up is sponsored, the host should mention that fact in their meet-up description. For example: “Jason's Ice Cream Shop is sponsoring this meet-up. They'll be providing ice cream for us all to enjoy. They understand that none of us is promising contributions of any kind to the business in exchange for sponsoring the meet-up.”