Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Withlocals

The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was keep. Withdrawn by nom and a consensus to keep - no need to prolong. (non-admin closure) Britishfinance (talk) 23:28, 5 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Withlocals[edit]

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Company ad-like entry, most of references are blogs, press releases and primary. A few mentions in passing. Some usual startup trivial coverage related to fundraising. There is a piece about it in The Australian Financial Review ([1]) but I don't think it is sufficient to warrant keeping this, but maybe if we look at other sources together (my WP:BEFORE doesn't show anything else that's good) we can find reasons to not delete this... right now IMHO it falls on the wrong end of boderline, but with the AFR piece it at least shows a possibility of not being your garden variety spam (plus, the creator is an experienced Wikipedian I respect :D and not some COI SPI, so AGF on the intent, too). Further thoughts? _{Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus| reply here} 05:22, 22 October 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Note: This discussion has been included in the list of Companies-related deletion discussions. _{Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus| reply here} 05:22, 22 October 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Note: This discussion has been included in the list of Netherlands-related deletion discussions. _{Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus| reply here} 05:22, 22 October 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Keep (Note, I'm article's author).

I have gone through google-scholar today and added 6 academic references to the lead paragraph (tightening that section up in the process). I acknowledge that these academic articles only refer to Withlocals in order to illustrate their wider points but I believe they collectively help demonstrate that the organisation is sufficiently notable to be seen as representative of trends about the 'sharing economy' and 'gastronomic tourism' - particularly in southeast asia, the market where the company focused initially. I would also argue that the "horizon 2020" - from the European Commission grant makes it notable on the basis that they've won a government-funded support 'prize'.

As a side point, given that you took the time to check the edit history you will have noticed that the article had been being expanded daily - I hadn't abandoned it. I'd have appreciated if you would have brought your concerns about the notability of the article to me directly (e.g. pinging me on its talkpage) rather than going straight for the deletion nomination which starts a ticking-clock. Late last week I also asked the organisation itself if they had any other press-clippings they had collected, and if they could provide some free-licensed multimedia, to supplement the article - so that might come in soon too. As you state yourself Piotrus, you know and trust me so you're not claiming this is drive-by spam: my motivation for creating the article is that I recently signed-up to be a local guide on this platform in my home city, and was doing research about it in the process. Witty lama 10:58, 22 October 2019 (UTC)[reply]

I was probably a bit too hasty. The odds are good that this will be kept, but I'd appreciate a third party looking at this before I consider withdrawing my vote. AfD, in the end, are the only place we can count on attracting more editors to comment on such issues. --_{Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus| reply here} 06:25, 23 October 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Relisted to generate a more thorough discussion and clearer consensus.
Please add new comments below this notice. Thanks, 78.26 _{(spin me / revolutions)} 15:02, 30 October 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Keep. There seems to be enough independent coverage to meet WP:SIGCOV.4meter4 (talk) 16:37, 30 October 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Keep per the significant coverage in multiple independent reliable sources.

Coldwell, Will (2016-10-17). "Regional know-how: the best websites for contacting local guides". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2019-11-04. Retrieved 2019-11-04.
Carter, Jamie (2018-08-01). "Three apps and websites that offer travellers a local experience, and make sure money you spend benefits people on the ground". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 2019-11-04. Retrieved 2019-11-04.
Marcela, Ana (2016-01-19). "Withlocals chega a Lisboa e Porto" [Withlocals arrives in Lisbon and Porto]. pt:Dinheiro Vivo (jornal) (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 2019-11-04. Retrieved 2019-11-04.
Verstegen, Gert-Jan (2017-10-11). "Eindhovense startup Withlocals haalt 3,5 miljoen euro op" [Eindhoven startup Withlocals raises 3.5 million euros] (in Dutch). RTL Nieuws. Archived from the original on 2019-11-04. Retrieved 2019-11-04.
O'Hear, Steve (2013-09-16). "Withlocals Raises $500K For Its Local Travel Experiences Marketplace Targeting Southeast Asia". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on 2019-11-04. Retrieved 2019-11-04.

Sources with quotes

Coldwell, Will (2016-10-17). "Regional know-how: the best websites for contacting local guides". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2019-11-04. Retrieved 2019-11-04.
The article notes:
With Locals

More intimate travel experiences can be found through the With Locals site. While Trip4Real is still predominantely focused on Western Europe, With Locals has a big spread in Asia, with activities and tours (mainly food/dining related) to book everywhere from Indonesia to Sri Lanka, Thailand to the Philippines. These include an organic home-cooked meal in a bamboo house in Bali, tea-tasting in Old Bangkok and a riverside picnic in Saigon.
Carter, Jamie (2018-08-01). "Three apps and websites that offer travellers a local experience, and make sure money you spend benefits people on the ground". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 2019-11-04. Retrieved 2019-11-04.
The article notes:
WithLocals

Much like social dining app EatWith, this distinctly Airbnb-style app includes food tours run by local people, but also quirky walking tours and other guided experiences. Examples include “The Only Authentic Cu Chi Tunnels Tour With a Local” in Ho Chi Minh City, “Gordon Ramsay’s Favourite Thai Food Tour” in Bangkok, and “Magical Harry Potter Walking Tour With a True Fan” in London.
For each tour there are extensive descriptions, detailed itineraries, photos and plenty of reviews, and everything can be booked and arranged via the app. What makes this different to EatWith is that for each experience you get a choice of hosts; each provides a short video introduction, and you can even start an online chat with them.
WithLocals offers more than 1,200 experiences in 50 cities in 22 countries, but it lacks a map of the world with its activities plotted, which would avoid the inevitable disappointment of searching for a destination that is not yet covered.
Marcela, Ana (2016-01-19). "Withlocals chega a Lisboa e Porto" [Withlocals arrives in Lisbon and Porto]. pt:Dinheiro Vivo (jornal) (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 2019-11-04. Retrieved 2019-11-04.
From Google Translate:
Learning to make tiles or getting to know Lisbon on a Vespa are two of the offers that the Withlocals network is offering to tourists who want to know Lisbon and Porto, but with a different twist: the experiences are with and organized with the locals. The international network starts in the Portuguese market from this Tuesday.
Portugal is the fifth European country to host Withlocals, being the 15th country in the network founded in 2013 in Asia by two Dutch. ”Portugal was in our expansion plans since we launched in Europe and we have been monitoring how things have evolved in the world. says Madalina Buzdugan, communication manager of Withlocals a Vivo. “With Porto being voted Europe's hidden treasure several years in a row and Lisbon being recommended for its great value and authenticity, it was only natural that it was one of Withlocals' next destinations,” he adds.
...
It all started when Marijn Maas and Willem Maas traveled to Asia. The experiences were different. Honeymooners Marijn Maas made the usual five-star hotel circuit, but the best memories were gathered at a meal at a local family's home, and the stories shared around a table. Willem Maas, after traveling 6 months around the region using local guides, concluded that in this relationship it was the travel agencies, not the guides, who made the most profits.
Verstegen, Gert-Jan (2017-10-11). "Eindhovense startup Withlocals haalt 3,5 miljoen euro op" [Eindhoven startup Withlocals raises 3.5 million euros] (in Dutch). RTL Nieuws. Archived from the original on 2019-11-04. Retrieved 2019-11-04.
The article notes:
The Eindhoven-based company Withlocals, which links travelers to locals, has received an investment of 3.5 million euros. The startup acts as an online marketplace for private tours and activities on holiday.
...
Now Withlocals is active in 24 cities. With the raised investment, 40 cities must be added, including New York and Hong Kong. "We need about three weeks for a new city. We search for guides on Facebook. We have a Skype conversation with those people. Anyone who remains is then looked up, and with that we do a demo tour," Keij tells RTL Z.
...
Withlocals already has strong competition. Airbnb has been offering Airbnb Experiences for a while now. There too you can book activities directly with local residents. The difference lies in the way tours can be personalized.
O'Hear, Steve (2013-09-16). "Withlocals Raises $500K For Its Local Travel Experiences Marketplace Targeting Southeast Asia". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on 2019-11-04. Retrieved 2019-11-04.
The article notes:
Withlocals, a peer-to-peer marketplace for locals to offer travellers various experiences, such as tours, home dining, and other local activities, has raised $500,000 in funding from startup builder and backer Greenhouse Group.
The Netherlands-founded startup will use the investment to launch out of beta this fall and, curiously, target Southeast Asia — a move it says differentiates itself from U.S. competitor Vayable.
One way to think of Withlocals is as an Airbnb for travel experiences (in fact, rival Vayable has partnered with Airbnb). It enables locals to sell travel experiences within three categories: — “EAT Withlocals,” “TOURS Withlocals,” and “ACTIVITIES Withlocals” — the idea being to enable a more authentic travel experience for tourists while enabling locals to make money through the platform.

There is sufficient coverage in reliable sources to allow Withlocals to pass Wikipedia:Notability#General notability guideline, which requires "significant coverage in reliable sources that are independent of the subject".

Cunard (talk) 01:41, 4 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for finding those references Cunard. I've added them in. Witty lama 12:51, 4 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you for adding the sources, Wittylama. Thank you for withdrawing the AfD, Piotrus. Cunard (talk) 09:06, 5 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Withdraw. The consensus seems pretty clear. Thanks for participating in the discussion, hope some further / new sources found can be used to expand this futher. --_{Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus| reply here} 03:09, 4 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]

The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.