How company verification works on ETC

What gets checked

The registration document establishes that there is a company, in a jurisdiction, with a name that matches the listing. The licence establishes that this company is permitted to sell or operate travel services where it says it does — the specific licence differs by country, and we check against the issuing body rather than accepting a scan. The insurance certificate establishes professional liability cover that is current, not expired last spring.

References are the part that catches things paperwork does not. We contact past clients and ask three questions: did the trip run as sold, what went wrong, and how was it handled. Nothing going wrong is not the signal we look for — every operator has a cancelled ferry eventually. How it was handled is the signal.

What the badges mean

• Email verified — the account controls the company domain. The weakest level; the listing is visible but ranks low and receives few leads.
• Verified Company — registration, licence and insurance checked, two references contacted.
• Premium Verified — the above plus a third reference, a review of operational capacity, and a signed service commitment on response time.

What verification does not promise

It does not promise you will like the hotel. It does not promise the cheapest price. It is not a financial guarantee and it is not insurance — if you want protection against operator insolvency, that comes from the package travel regulations in your own country and from paying by a method that carries chargeback rights.

We are explicit about this because a badge that quietly implies more than it verifies is worse than no badge at all. What it does promise is narrow and real: this company exists, is licensed to do what it says, and has done it before for someone we spoke to.

Losing verification

Verification is rechecked annually and immediately on a substantiated complaint. Expired insurance suspends a listing automatically. A pattern of unresolved complaints removes the badge; misrepresenting licence status removes the account.