Trust & Safety

Safety isn't a feature. It's the platform.

Every part of Gollo — how hosts join, how bookings work, how we handle problems — is built around one goal: you should feel as safe booking with a local host as you would with a friend who happens to be from the area.

Verified hosts

Every host on Gollo has verified their identity. No exceptions. Before a host can list a single tour, we confirm their government-issued ID and match it against their profile.

Beyond that baseline, three tiers signal how established a host is on the platform:

• Verified — ID confirmed. Every active host holds at least this tier.
• Gold — sustained performance: consistently high ratings, low cancellation rate, steady bookings.
• Platinum — long-tenured top performers. Reserved for hosts who've earned it over time.

You'll see the badge on the host's profile and next to their name on tour cards. The colour tells you the tier at a glance — raspberry for Verified, amber for Gold, cerulean for Platinum.

Booking protection

Every booking on Gollo is protected by:

• A cancellation policy set upfront. You see the policy — Flexible, Moderate, or Strict — on the tour page before you pay. Full details: Cancellation policy.
• Automatic full refunds if the host cancels. No matter which policy tier the tour uses.
• Dispute review within 3 business days. If a tour didn't run as described or something went wrong, contact support within 7 days of the tour end date and we'll investigate case by case.
• Refunds go back to your original payment method through Stripe, typically 5–10 business days.

Meeting-point safety

We don't publish exact meeting points on public tour pages. The tour listing shows the general area — city, neighbourhood, sometimes a landmark — so you know roughly where the tour happens.

After your booking is confirmed, you receive:

• The exact meeting-point address
• A photo of the spot so it's easy to find
• The host's contact phone number for day-of communication

This keeps meeting details private to actual travellers, not casual browsers. It also protects hosts from having their personal contact scraped from public pages.

Communication safety

Message hosts through Gollo, not personal channels. The in-app messenger keeps a record of what was agreed, gives us evidence if a dispute arises, and doesn't expose your phone or email until you choose to share them.

If a host asks you to move the conversation off-platform, book off Gollo, or pay outside Stripe, don't. Report it through Help & Support immediately — off-platform transactions are unprotected, and it's often a sign of something we need to look at.

Payment security

Payments run through Stripe, the same processor used by Amazon, Shopify, and Google. Your card details never touch Gollo's servers — Stripe handles them directly under PCI-DSS Level 1 certification.

• All payments are encrypted end-to-end.
• We don't store card numbers, CVVs, or expiry dates.
• Refunds return to the original payment method automatically.

Suspicious charges? You can always raise a chargeback with your card issuer — but contact us first, we can usually resolve legitimate issues faster.

Reporting a problem

Anything that feels wrong — off-platform payment pressure, a listing that doesn't match reality, a message that made you uncomfortable, a review that seems fake — let us know.

The quickest way is Help & Support in the app, or email support@gollo.co. Every report is reviewed by a real person, not an automated filter. We reply within 24 hours.

Your data and privacy

You control your data on Gollo:

• Export it anytime from Account & Privacy in settings — you'll get a full JSON of everything we hold about you.
• Delete your account from the same screen. Deletion anonymises your public profile immediately and permanently removes your personal data after a 30-day grace period.
• Payments are processed by Stripe; email by Resend. See our Privacy policy (coming soon) for the full list of subprocessors.

When something goes wrong

The truth is that travel is unpredictable. Weather changes, plans shift, occasionally something goes wrong. When it does:

• Contact support within 24 hours — we reply within 24 hours.
• Document what happened — screenshots, timestamps, message threads. The more you share, the faster we can resolve.
• We investigate every dispute — we don't automatically side with hosts or travellers. Evidence decides.

For emergencies happening right now (safety, medical, criminal), contact your local emergency services first. Gollo support is not an emergency service — but once you're safe, we're here to help sort out the booking side.

Questions?

Reach us through Help & Support in the app or by email at support@gollo.co. We reply within 24 hours.

Last updated: 3 August 2026