Yelp has added a set of new features to help local businesses and restaurants survive this worrisome situation due to the coronavirus. In addition to these updates, the company also announced the creation of a $ 25 million relief Fund that will offer free services and products, as well as some discounts on advertising fees. The content moderator will review and remove misinformation about restaurants associated with the coronavirus.
The new features are designed to help local businesses operate in accordance with social distancing laws to reduce the spread of coronavirus. The first feature is the possibility of contactless delivery in partnership with Grubhub, which is already used by many delivery services.
Customers will also be able to check any closures or changes to the clock using the new banners. Yelp also says it will introduce new functionality that will allow companies to indicate whether they are open for delivery or pickup, or whether they offer virtual services such as online consultations, classes, or presentations, with the latter now displayed in search results. Yelp says it will introduce new features soon.
Grubhub also announced a similar release of the relief Fund and announced that it would provide a $ 100 million relief program for restaurants. However, while Yelp promises to provide free access to some Yelp services and free advertising on the search network, Grubhub only promises to defer collecting commissions, meaning restaurants will still have to refund them later, which will be determined later. , Our friends at Eater have compiled a list of charities that are available to restaurants, bars, and food service workers.
Finally, Yelp also says it is introducing new review content guidelines regarding COVID-19, and that it has a zero-tolerance policy for any reviews that claim that people have contracted the disease as a result of certain restaurants. In particular, this has been a problem for Chinese restaurants, as people spread racist rumors that they are to blame for the spread of the virus. Yelp says content moderators will check reviews marked by the community.