Volunteer Fair at Yelp
In the spirit of giving back this #GivingTuesday, Yelp hosted its first ever Volunteer Fair in two of its offices, San Francisco, CA and Scottsdale, AZ. Both Volunteer Fairs focused on giving a platform to a diverse range of nonprofit organizations in each city, and gave our employees a chance to learn more about serving… Read more
Yelp Foundation Gives $675,000 in Grants to 15 Local Nonprofits
I am excited to announce the 15 nonprofits that are this year’s recipients of Yelp Foundation “Gives Local” grants totalling $675,000. This year, we targeted nonprofits that were local to San Francisco, Chicago, Washington D.C., New York, and Phoenix. The Yelp Foundation was created in 2011 to support charitable organizations and activities addressing the needs… Read more
Consumer Alerts: We’re on the Lookout
As part of Yelp’s ongoing Consumer Protection Initiative, we’re announcing 232 Consumer Alerts that will serve as notices to our users of extreme attempts to manipulate business ratings and reviews on our platform. These alerts will generally be removed from the affected Yelp business page after 90 days if the offending behavior stops. Since 2004, Yelp’s… Read more
Consumer Alerts: Buyer Beware
Today, Yelp is announcing its latest round of 150 Consumer Alerts to inform the public of extreme attempts to influence business ratings and reviews on its platform. For 90 days, affected Yelp business pages will display a Consumer Alert. Why do we do it? Consumers deserve the best information, allowing them to make well-informed decisions…. Read more
Yelp’s Consumer Protection Initiative: Empowering Our Users
Since 2004, Yelp’s number one priority has been to connect consumers with great local businesses by giving them access to reliable and useful information, and empowering them to make informed decisions. Every day millions of people use Yelp to decide which local business to patronize – whether it’s where to grab lunch, which plumber to… Read more
Not Just Open for Business: Be Open to All
Today we’re excited to announce that Yelp is joining forces with Movement Advancement Project and more than 175 partner organizations on the Open to All campaign to build awareness and understanding of the importance of nondiscrimination laws and defend the bedrock principle that when businesses open their doors to the public, they should be Open… Read more
Bringing Restaurant Hygiene Scores to Yelp Pages Everywhere
For decades, cities have regularly inspected restaurants to ensure food safety, providing this information publicly to citizens. Unfortunately, this information is often buried on clunky “dot gov” websites beyond the easy reach of consumers. Or equally inconvenient, it’s accessible in the offline world, displayed somewhere in the physical business, and not always obvious to the… Read more
Regarding the European Commission’s Guilty Verdict Against Android
Yelp, which employs more than 5,000 people in America, applauds the action of the European Commission to restore competition in the marketplace. Commissioner Margrethe Vestager has removed the straight-jacket Google has placed on innovation with Android. This enforcement action will unlock a potential for incredible benefit for consumers. For example, if a developer wants to… Read more
A Case for the Internet: Hassell v. Bird
The Supreme Court of California today ruled in Yelp’s favor in Hassell v. Bird, a case that had threatened the rights of online platforms that allow people to freely share their thoughts and the billions of people that do so. In 2014, attorney Dawn Hassell sued her former client, Ava Bird, for allegedly defaming her… Read more
Introducing Popular Dishes on Yelp: Taking the Guesswork Out of What to Order
It’s safe to assume that you’re familiar with the hushed restaurant conversation that occurs after a drool-worthy dish arrives at your neighbor’s table. It’s usually followed by a frantic comparison to the menu, and a question to your server while you attempt to discreetly point at a stranger’s meal. We’re all too familiar with this… Read more