User:W. Frank/Listings

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This page in a nutshell: Use our standardized templates to provide consistent and complete information for business and attraction listings.

Wikivoyage uses standardized formats to list attractions and monuments, activities, shops, restaurants, bars and lodgings under the See, Do, Buy, Eat, Drink and Sleep sections respectively. This page describes those listings.

Adding and editing listings

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The easiest way to add a listing is to select the appropriate listing type from the "Listings" section of the edit toolbar - hover your mouse over each icon, and click on the one that is appropriate. Doing so will add a blank listing template to the edit window that can then be filled out.

Alphabetical order should be used within a sub-section. Whenever lists grow long, split into sub-sections with an appropriate logical order that's helpful to travellers (e.g. price, distance, north-south, day of the week, type of establishment, etc.). Where a non-alphabetical order is used and there is no subheading or it is not self-explanatory, explain as necessary.

Overview

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The following section describes how to manually enter or edit formatted listing templates. These structured attributes make it easier for software to format the listings correctly. Each attribute may be present or absent in different kinds of listing, according to the section it's in.

{{listing | name=... | address=... | content=Some description.}}

Each entry can either be typed in directly or copy/pasted to the correct place in the text in the edit window. Copy/paste is easier to avoid typos which will cause the code to parse incorrectly. Content is then added to each attribute (parameter) that you wish to use. It is not necessary to delete unused attributes, they will not display if there is no content. Leaving the unused attributes intact encourages other editors to fill in the missing content later.

Template parameters

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The following template parameters are used with the listing templates. No parameter is required, but some are recommended to make a listing at all useful.

  • name: the name of the hotel, bar, restaurant, museum, or whatever. Recommended.
  • alt: an alternative name, either in the local language or just an alternative. Optional.
  • address: a street address for finding the attraction, for listings where this is meaningful. Street and number, plus district if applicable. No postal code except in those countries where they offer useful additional precision - currently Argentina (only 8 character CPA or Código Postal Argentino, Argentine Postal Code), Guernsey, Isle of Man, Jersey, Malta, Netherlands, Portugal and the UK, and don't repeat the city name. If the city is different (for example, in a suburb), add that, too. Abbreviate "Road", "Street", "Avenue", etc. Recommended.
  • directions: additional brief directions besides the street address, such as cross streets, nearby subway or bus stations. Optional
  • phone: a phone number for making reservations or getting more information. See Wikivoyage:Phone numbers for formatting guidelines but should be in international format (like "+1 514 555-1000" or, for areas with 10 digit dialling: "+1 514 555-1000"). Recommended.
  • tollfree: a toll-free phone number, if available. Optional.
  • email: an email address for making reservations or getting more information. Optional.
  • fax: a fax number. Optional.
  • url: the URL for the official Web site for this listing (see external links for more guidelines). Include the http://. If there's no official Web site, just leave this part out. Recommended.
  • hours: opening hours of the attraction, when applicable (see Wikivoyage:Time and date formats for formatting guidelines). Recommended.
  • checkin: checkin time, for sleep listings only (see Wikivoyage:Time and date formats for formatting guidelines). Optional.
  • checkout: checkout time, for sleep listings only (see Wikivoyage:Time and date formats for formatting guidelines). Optional.
  • image: specify the filename to show that file as a tiny pop-up image if the numbered icon displayed on a dynamic map is clicked. Optional.
  • price: price of a room, drink, an average meal, or admission, etc. Recommended.
  • lat: decimal latitude (GPS coordinates) for map output. Recommended.
  • long: decimal longitude (GPS coordinates) for map output. Recommended.
    • Note: lat and long should have the same number of decimal places (using trailing zeroes if applicable). If one is present, so must the other be.

Examples

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The following examples provide the wiki syntax used to generate a listing, followed by the listing as it would be rendered in an article.

See

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*{{see | name=Attraction name | alt=local or alternative name | url=http://www.example.com | email=fakeemail@example.com | address=Address | lat=55.94627 | long=-3.19436 | directions=directions | phone=+91 22 2222-1234 | tollfree= | fax=+91 22 2222-1235 | hours=09:00-17:30 | price=₹50 for entrance | content=Stuff about the attraction. }}

Do

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*{{do | name=Activity name | alt=local or alternative name | url=http://www.example.com | email=fakeemail@example.com | address=Address | lat=55.94627 | long=-3.19436 | directions=directions | phone=+91 22 2222-1234 | tollfree= | fax=+91 22 2222-1235 | hours=09:00-17:30 | price=₹50 | content=Stuff to do. }}

Buy

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*{{buy | name=Shop name | alt=local or alternative name | url=http://www.example.com | email=fakeemail@example.com | address=Address | lat=55.94627 | long=-3.19436 | directions=directions | phone=+91 22 2222-1234 | tollfree= | fax=+91 22 2222-1235 | hours=09:00-17:30 | price=₹5 and above | content=Stuff about the shop. }}

Eat

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*{{eat | name=Restaurant name | alt=local or alternative name | url=http://www.example.com | email=fakeemail@example.com | address=Address | lat=55.94627 | long=-3.19436 | directions=directions | phone=+91 22 2222-1234 | tollfree= | fax=+91 22 2222-1235 | hours=11:00-23:30 | price=₹15 and up | content=Stuff about the Restaurant. }}

Drink

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*{{drink | name=Bar name | alt=local or alternative name | url=http://www.example.com | email=fakeemail@example.com | address=Address | lat=55.94627 | long=-3.19436 | directions=directions | phone=+91 22 2222-1234 | tollfree= | fax=+91 22 2222-1235 | hours=11:00-02:30 | price=₹15 and up | content=Stuff about the Bar. }}

Sleep

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*{{sleep | name=Hotel name | alt=local or alternative name | url=http://www.example.com | email=fakeemail@example.com | address=Address | lat=55.94627 | long=-3.19436 | directions=directions | phone=+91 22 2222-1234 | tollfree= | fax=+91 22 2222-1235 | price=₹100 sgl, ₹150 dbl | checkin=14:00 | checkout=10:30 | content=Stuff about the Hotel. }}

price: The rack rate/standard price of a typical double room in the currency in which payment must be made. If there are substantial differences in room types (eg: dormitory beds and single rooms) list brief room descriptions and their respective prices. Do not give a per person price when twin share is necessary to obtain that rate, eg: $20 per person, when a double room costs $40. If the currency is given in non-local units (eg: US dollars in a non-US location), be sure to specify the currency un-ambiguously: eg: "USD150" for US dollars, or "CAD100" for Canadian dollars, or "€150" for euro.

All fields above are optional except for "name" and "price". If you don't know some information, just leave that field empty, then somebody else can add those details later. Please do not delete any unused listing fields, change the name of the fields or add any extra ones. Doing so may create display irregularities and will certainly frustrate future edits and the addition of extra information to the listing.

Email addresses and phone numbers that don't match the sleep listing's website URL-domain name will be viewed with suspicion and may be removed. Include only the official website for the listing where possible to allow verification. If there is an email address associated with the same domain name as the website then use that in the listing in preference to a hotmail, gmail, yahoo or similar address.

Listing

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If the listing doesn't fit into one of the above categories, you can use the "listing" tag for a generic one.

*{{listing | name=Generic name | alt=local or alternative name | url=http://www.example.com | email=fakeemail@example.com | address=Address | lat=55.94627 | long=-3.19436 | directions=directions | phone=+91 22 2222-1234 | tollfree= | fax=+91 22 2222-1235 | hours=Daily 10:00-14:50, Th-Sa 19:40-20:55 | price=₹1,500 and above | content=Stuff about the listed item. }}

Usage guidelines

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Avoid long lists

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See also: Wikivoyage:Avoid long lists

Wikivoyage is a travel guide, not the Yellow Pages. Huge, undifferentiated lists are only marginally useful to the traveller. A general rule of thumb is that lists should contain less than 10 items, and when they exceed that length it is time to consider breaking them up or pruning them.

Listing order

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Alphabetical order should be the norm within each section. If another standard is used, it should be clearly stated so any new listing can be added to the appropriate place. Leading articles, such as "The", or "A", in the accommodation name should be ignored for the purposes of determining the order.

Avoid using images

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The Raffles is an icon of Singapore — the Holiday Inn is not.
Japanese ryokan inns are not your average hotel, but they all look pretty much like this

Images of businesses, including hotels and their bedrooms, are generally not used. The significant exception is if the business is a well-known attraction in its own right, or if the image is of a type of accommodation that is unusual and unique to the region. In the second case, identifying the lodgings where the picture was taken by name is not necessary.

Compilation from external sources

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If one section of a destination articles is empty even after the other sections are complete, you might consider compiling material from external sources.

The name and contact details should be obtained from the official web site.

The description can be derived from an impression of the reviews that you have read, together with some facts from the official page, but you should not copy somebody else's words into Wikivoyage. Avoid listing establishments where the reviews are overly negative.

Here's an idea of what a listing compiled from reviews might look like:

  • Hotel del Sol, 44 Ramblas del sol, ☏ +55 555 55 55. Check-in: 14:30, check-out: 11:15. This hotel rates well with young couples, who like the heated lagoon pool, and basement bar open late. Water pressure is low in the shared showers. The rooms facing the sea are said to have wonderful views, but avoid #29 which is next to a noisy bar. €30-50. 

The origin of the ideas in the listing are clearly from reviews, but the words are not. The detail about the noisy bar could be a close call, but only if the words are copied. The presence of the bar, and its noise levels at night next to a particular room, would be facts which are free from copyright.

Complex attractions

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Some attractions are just too complex to list in the brief format above. There may be interesting historical information, detailed information about different parts of the attraction, or whatever.

Examples might be:

  • Large museums
  • Large parks
  • Monuments with long histories

These kinds of attractions may need three or four paragraphs rather than sentences to treat them appropriately.

The difference here is by how much text is needed, not how important the attraction is. For example, the Manneken Pis is one of the most famous sights in Brussels, but there's only so much you can write about a small statue of a peeing boy. Importance of the attraction and how much text is needed are closely intertwined, but this format is keyed to the latter.

For complex attractions, we make a sub-section of the See or Do section with the following format:

===[http://www.attraction.example.com/ Name of attraction]=== Address (''extra directions if necessary''), ☎ phone number (''email, fax, other contact if possible''), Days and times open. $entryprice (''extra price info''). One to five paragraphs about why this attraction is worth seeing, things to pay special attention to, warnings, notes, historical or other background information.

Complex attractions should go at the end of the See or Do section, after any attractions in the list format above. Otherwise, it will look like the list-format attractions are part of the preceding complex attraction subsection.

A good example of a complex attraction is the Golden Gate Bridge in the Golden Gate district of San Francisco.

The campus of a major university may also be a container for multiple points of interest such as museums, art galleries or historic landmarks which are notable as things to "see" or "do" in their own right. Handling these as complex attractions allows all of these points to be grouped as one large entity:

  • Ivy University - University Avenue at Scholar Street, founded 1066. Organised campus tour daily.
    • Elisabeth Ivy Art Gallery (contact info) Paintings from the 18th and 19th century.
    • University Stadium (location, price) Watch live college sports matches every Saturday, seasonal.
    • Great Hall (location) - Historic clock tower and concert hall built by Queen Victoria herself.

Tour listings

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Tours can be listed on Wikivoyage as long as they constitute a value-added activity. If a traveller could fulfil the substance of the tour on their own, the tour should not be listed.

Here are a few guidelines to assist determining whether a tour should be listed in our guides:

  1. The operator must have a "real world" office with a phone number and address where the tour is operated.
  2. Tours should offer something as a supplement, rather than a replacement for Wikivoyage guides. They should count as an activity available at a destination (e.g., a helicopter tour of a city, or a camel expedition into the Sahara).
  3. If the tour operator is providing a booking service or general travel planning then it should not be listed.
  4. Do not list resellers of tours, only list the actual tour operators.
  5. Always list tour operators if they are requisite to visit a certain area. Examples include tours required by law (e.g., Panmunjeom) and tours required due to exceptional danger (e.g., war zones and extreme environments such as the Amazon, Antarctica, Space, etc).

In practice this policy disallows listing most audio tours, walking tours, and guided tours since the substance of such tours can generally be fulfilled by an independent traveller, and the information provided on such tours should ideally be included in the appropriate Wikivoyage article. If you have a question about whether a tour can be listed, or feel that an exception is warranted, please use the talk page of the appropriate article to discuss your concerns.

Rental listings

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Wikivoyage is neither an apartment-finder service nor a real estate listing service, so in general real estate and rental agency listings are not allowed. The only exception to this rule is for locations where rental properties are a common form of travel accommodation and the following requirements are met:

  1. Consensus must be achieved on the article's talk page that rental listings should be allowed. When trying to build consensus provide some evidence that rental properties are commonly used by travellers to the destination and that their addition will improve the article. Please do not argue the merits of any particular company, but instead focus on the value of such accommodation for travellers to the destination city/region.
  2. If consensus is achieved, rental agency listings must be placed into a separate sub-section of the article's "Sleep" section.
  3. Agency listings must include a local address with a phone number that specifies the physical address at the destination for picking up the keys, managing the property and/or resolving rental issues. This address must also be prominently displayed on the agency web site.
  4. Apartments or cabins must be available for rentals of one week or less - remember, Wikivoyage is a travel guide, not an apartment-finder service.

The general guidelines for accommodation listings apply to these listings as well, that is long lists should be avoided, and information should be concise and relevant to the traveller.

Avoid listing nearest attractions

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Hotel owners frequently give detailed list of attractions that their property is "close to". We don't welcome it here at Wikivoyage:

  • it is difficult to judge which hotel is more convenient to a particular attraction,
  • it overloads listing text with details irrelevant for many travelers,
  • "nearby attractions" lists, such as those found on hotel web sites, are pretty much identical for any given hotel in the same area of a city
  • properties routinely abuse this by listing every attraction in the city, or even other towns in a region, regardless of proximity

By all means, if the hotel is attached to a particular attraction (or, say, inside the airport), mention that—but keep it to just what makes the hotel unique. Instead of writing a long flowery description of the many attractions near the property, contribute detailed latitude and longitude coordinates for the property (see Wikivoyage:Geocoding)—it will be much more helpful for a traveller choosing a place to stay.

Boring stores

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Why write about boring stores?

On Wikivoyage, we prefer to list stores, restaurants and bars that are unique to the destination—why write about a Gap, when you could go to a Gap in any city? It's often useful to briefly mention what major popular chains are in the area, and to note where they are, but avoid spending too much time on them. See Washington, D.C./Georgetown#Clothes for a good example of how to quickly handle popular chain shops next to more detailed descriptions of local boutiques.

While not every Wikivoyager's cup of tea, shopping malls are hugely important travel destinations, often outdrawing major tourist attractions by huge margins. It's a good idea to note particularly important malls that a traveller would want to visit, but don't list every store inside. Instead, give a quick overview of some highlights, and try to also mention a thing or two that does make the mall unique!

Example shopping mall listing:

  • The Shops at Georgetown Park, 3222 M St NW, ☏ +1 202 342-8190. M-Sa 10AM-8PM, Su noon-6PM. An enclosed, expensive shopping mall at the very center of Georgetown. It's an oddly quiet place to walk through, having been outshined by the outdoor competitors. Stores include various upscale mall fare, like Express, H&M, J Crew, Ann Taylor, Sisley, Itermix, White House/Black Market, etc., but also a host of small boutiques and unique import/export stores. The mall has its own parking garage ($18 daily). 

Tools

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Sources for lat/longs

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There are a few web sites that provide useful lat/long information.

  • OpenStreetMap (OSM) – Browse the map, click with the right mouse button on the desired location and select "Show Address". The lat/long value of the location can then be copied from the text field in the upper left part of the website.
    • Nominatim – OSM reverse geocoding
    • If a destination has a geo tag, there will be a map icon at the top right of the article. If you know the area, then you can get co-ordinates for listings by going to that map (of any article), positioning the mouse pointer, then right-clicking to show lat and long info.
  • Wikipedia gives co-ordinates for most articles about places
  • Geomap – search via OSM Nominatim, provides coordinates in WV templates formats
  • Geobatcher is a tool which can take an entire section of Wikivoyage listings, and insert coordinates for up to 100 listings at a time. More instructions in article, How to use dynamic maps.
  • Multimap lets you search for cities in many countries and returns lat/long info (some problems with non ASCII chars in the names)
  • The Getty Thesaurus of Names has lat/long info for most cities in its database
  • The Global Gazetteer from Falling Rain Genomics, Inc. is another database that gives decimal geocode values for many place names around the world.
  • Richard Cyganiak's FOAF mapper – Find co-ordinates using Google Maps.
  • GeoNames - Quick and thorough geocoding

See also Wikivoyage:Dynamic maps Expedition#Sub-expedition: Fill all the latitudes!.

Conversion tools

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See also

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