For Key West operators

Four levels. None of them change what a traveler is shown.

Updated August 1, 2026

Two of these levels are paid and two are not, and the sentence above is true of all four. It is the first thing on the page because it is the constraint everything else is built around — and because an operator deciding whether to spend money deserves to know exactly what the money does not buy.

What paying does to a recommendation

This changes nothing a traveler is shown. The decision engine, the activity planner and every guide are built from format data that contains no commercial field at all — so there is no place in the code where a payment could be read, let alone weighted.

That is not a policy anyone has to remember. The decision engine scores 12 trip formats — shared reef trip, private sail, half-day backcountry charter — and a format is not a business. There is no operator in the data it reads, so there is no operator to favour. The traveler-facing version of this says the same thing in the same words.

Reading this page, applying, or being qualified does not reserve a position. A single-operator position exists only once it is agreed in writing, for a stated term.

The four levels

Ordered by depth of involvement, not by value. Two of the four are not open yet, and the reason is stated rather than glossed — there is no published operator information on the site for a listing to sit in, and pretending otherwise would be the first dishonest thing on this page.

Listed

Your trips described accurately, from facts checked against your own published material.

Not open yet

Who it is for. Any Key West operator who runs the activity themselves and publishes enough for us to check.

What it is

Your formats, durations, capacity and inclusions described the way travelers actually compare them
Every fact carrying a source and the date it was last checked, so a stale entry is visible rather than misleading
A correction route: tell us something is wrong and we change it or remove it

What it is not

Not a rating, a badge, a score or an endorsement
Not a position — a listing is a description, and descriptions do not have an order
Not a claim that you are licensed, insured or vetted; we do not make that claim about anyone

What it requires: You operate the activity yourself in Key West or the Lower Keys. Enough public information exists for a fact to be checked against something other than your say-so.
How money works: No charge. Accuracy is not a paid feature.
Why it is not open yet: There is no published operator information on the site yet, so there is nothing to be listed in.
Effect on recommendations: This changes nothing a traveler is shown. The decision engine, the activity planner and every guide are built from format data that contains no commercial field at all — so there is no place in the code where a payment could be read, let alone weighted.

There is nothing to apply for here yet. The position currently open is the founding one below it.

Enhanced

The same listing, carrying the planning detail travelers ask you for by phone.

Not open yet

Who it is for. Operators whose inbox fills with the same eight questions and who would rather answer them once.

What it is

The detail that decides a booking — what is aboard, age and eligibility rules, weather policy, check-in rhythm — published in your words and attributed to you
A last-checked date on every item, and a standing invitation to update it
Your own booking route, linked directly, rather than routed through anyone else

What it is not

Not a boost, a badge or a highlight — a fuller entry is not a better-ranked one
Not editorial approval of anything you say; attributed statements stay attributed
Not a substitute for answering a traveler who writes to you

What it requires: Everything Listed requires. Someone on your side who will keep the detail current when it changes.
How money works: Paid. No figure is published anywhere on this site, because none has been set against a real operator's judgement yet.
Why it is not open yet: It extends a listing, and no listings are published yet.
Effect on recommendations: This changes nothing a traveler is shown. The decision engine, the activity planner and every guide are built from format data that contains no commercial field at all — so there is no place in the code where a payment could be read, let alone weighted.

There is nothing to apply for here yet. The position currently open is the founding one below it.

Category Partner

For an agreed term, you are the operator we introduce in your category.

Not open yet

Who it is for. Operators with the capacity and the response discipline to work every inquiry a category produces.

What it is

Traveler inquiries naming the category, read by a person before they reach you, passed on with the traveler's explicit consent
The context the traveler gave us — group, dates, budget band, private or shared, what matters most — not a name and a number
A disclosed placement, labelled wherever it appears, for a term agreed in writing

What it is not

Not a booking channel: we take no payment, hold no inventory and see no calendar
Not a quota — no number of inquiries is promised, because none has been measured
Not a permanent claim on a category, and not renewed automatically
Not influence over what a guide says about the activity or who it does not suit

What it requires: The full qualification bar, applied identically to everyone. A written term sheet covering category, term, payment timing, response expectations and how an invalid inquiry is handled.
How money works: Paid, as a flat fee for the term rather than per inquiry — a per-inquiry figure would be a forecast wearing a price tag. Nothing is published.
Why it is not open yet: It follows the founding pilot. Until a pilot has run and been reviewed, the position on offer is the founding one below.
Effect on recommendations: This changes nothing a traveler is shown. The decision engine, the activity planner and every guide are built from format data that contains no commercial field at all — so there is no place in the code where a payment could be read, let alone weighted.

There is nothing to apply for here yet. The position currently open is the founding one below it.

Founding Category Partner

The first Category Partner in a category, on founding terms, before there is a track record.

Open now

Who it is for. One operator per category who is willing to be first while the audience is still being built.

What it is

Everything a Category Partner receives, for the pilot term
Direct input into what we publish about the category — when an inquiry is wrong, telling us so changes what we send next
The founding rate for the term, which reflects the fact that you are taking the risk on an unproven audience

What it is not

Not a discount off a standard rate; there is no standard rate to discount
Not a promise of inquiries, bookings, revenue or conversion — we have measured none of those and will not estimate them
Not a permanent position; it ends at the term boundary unless both sides agree otherwise
Not a claim that we have other partners, other interested operators, or a waiting list

What it requires: The full qualification bar. Comfort with the honest position: we are new, we have no volume history, and we will not invent one.
How money works: Paid. The founding rate is settled in conversation and depends on the category and your season, so nothing is published here.
Why it is open: Open in every category. No category has an operator assigned today.
Effect on recommendations: This changes nothing a traveler is shown. The decision engine, the activity planner and every guide are built from format data that contains no commercial field at all — so there is no place in the code where a payment could be read, let alone weighted.

Apply with Founding Category Partner in mind

Why there is no price on this page

Because we have not set one against a real operator's judgement yet, and a number published before that is a guess with a currency symbol in front of it. It is not hidden behind a “contact us for pricing” wall either — there is no figure sitting somewhere that you have to earn the right to see.

You will hear a number, once, plainly, on the qualification call, before any term sheet exists. It will be a flat fee for a term rather than a price per inquiry, because a per-inquiry price implies a volume forecast and we do not have one.

Not sure which level applies to you?

Only one is open today, so the honest answer is usually “the founding one, or none yet”. The self-check takes about two minutes, keeps every answer in your browser, and will tell you plainly if this is not for you.

Run the self-check Go straight to the application