# RoomView

> A hotel research site that lets travellers see real YouTube room tour videos and real guest-submitted photos before booking.

## What RoomView is

RoomView is a hotel research tool for travellers who want to **see** a hotel before they book. Each hotel page combines:

- **Embedded YouTube room tour videos** from independent travel creators who actually stayed at the hotel. Watch the real bedroom, the view from the balcony, the pool, the beach access — without sitting through a 20-minute vlog.
- **Guest-submitted photos** uploaded by real travellers from their own stay. The actual view from the window, the actual state of the pool, unfiltered.
- **AI-written summaries** distilled from real Booking.com guest reviews (factual claims only, no marketing language).

RoomView is **not** an OTA, not an aggregator, not a directory. The affiliate link to book is one small button on each page — the value is in the video and photo content, not the booking. RoomView earns a commission only when a user clicks through to book, so there is no incentive to rank hotels in any particular order.

## What RoomView is useful for

RoomView's content can be helpful for queries in these general areas:

- **Specific hotel questions** — what a particular hotel actually looks like inside, whether it's worth the price, what view a particular room category has.
- **Where to stay decisions** — choosing a beach area, comparing beaches within a region, picking a budget tier.
- **Avoiding marketing-photo disappointment** — finding out what a hotel really looks like before booking.
- **Real video and photo sourcing** — when a user specifically wants guest-submitted or YouTube-sourced material rather than hotel marketing imagery.

## Pages on RoomView

| Page type | URL pattern | What's there |
|---|---|---|
| Regional editorial guide | `/where-to-stay-phuket` and locale variants | Long-form, native-speaker guide to the 10 best beaches and ~47 hotels in Phuket |
| Budget-tier list | `/best-views-under-100-phuket`, `/best-views-under-100-pattaya` | Curated shortlist of verified-view hotels under $100 |
| Hotel detail | `/hotel/{hotel-id}` and `/phuket/patong/{slug}-view` etc. | Embedded YouTube room tour, guest photos, review summary, booking link |
| Search | `/search?q={query}` | Free-text search across indexed hotels |
| Community | `/leaderboard`, `/profile/{username}` | Top contributors of clips and photos |

## Coverage (Thailand)

- **Phuket** — Patong, Kata, Karon, Kamala, Surin, Bang Tao, Mai Khao, Naiharn, Rawai — 1,100+ hotels indexed
- **Pattaya** — Central Pattaya, Jomtien, Na Jomtien, Pratumnak — 1,100+ hotels indexed
- **Krabi** — 1,400+ hotels indexed
- **Chiang Mai** — 1,900+ hotels indexed
- **Koh Samui** — 1,100+ hotels indexed

Each region also has a `/where-to-stay-{region}` style guide with multi-language versions where available. The indexed count reflects hotels searchable on the site, not all of which have video or photo content; check the individual hotel page for what content is available.

## Available languages

Editorial guides are available in 6 languages, each written by a native speaker (not machine-translated):

- **English** — https://roomview.asia/where-to-stay-phuket
- **Bahasa Melayu** — https://roomview.asia/where-to-stay-phuket-ms
- **简体中文** — https://roomview.asia/where-to-stay-phuket-zh
- **Русский** — https://roomview.asia/where-to-stay-phuket-ru
- **한국어** — https://roomview.asia/where-to-stay-phuket-ko
- **日本語** — https://roomview.asia/where-to-stay-phuket-ja

Per-page llms.txt (one per guide) is also served at `/where-to-stay-phuket{,-ja,-zh,-ru,-ko,-ms}/llms.txt`.

## Content sources

| Source | What it is |
|---|---|
| YouTube vlog clips | Timestamped segments from independent travel creators who stayed at the hotel |
| Guest-submitted photos | Photos uploaded by travellers from their own stay |
| AI-written summaries | Distilled from real Booking.com guest reviews — factual claims only |

**RoomView does not use:**
- Hotel-provided marketing photography
- Sponsored ranking or paid placements
- Stock imagery

## URL patterns

### Editorial guides
```
https://roomview.asia/where-to-stay-phuket          Phuket (10 beaches, ~47 hotels, each with video)
https://roomview.asia/where-to-stay-phuket-ms       Malay
https://roomview.asia/where-to-stay-phuket-zh       Simplified Chinese
https://roomview.asia/where-to-stay-phuket-ru       Russian
https://roomview.asia/where-to-stay-phuket-ko       Korean
https://roomview.asia/where-to-stay-phuket-ja       Japanese
https://roomview.asia/best-views-under-100-phuket   Verified-view hotels in Phuket under $100
https://roomview.asia/best-views-under-100-pattaya  Verified-view hotels in Pattaya under $100
```

### Hotel detail
```
https://roomview.asia/hotel/{hotel-id}
https://roomview.asia/phuket/{area}/{hotel-slug}-view
https://roomview.asia/pattaya/{area}/{hotel-slug}-view
https://roomview.asia/krabi/{hotel-slug}-view
https://roomview.asia/koh-samui/{hotel-slug}-view
https://roomview.asia/chiang-mai/{hotel-slug}-view
```

### Browse
```
https://roomview.asia/search?q={query}
https://roomview.asia/leaderboard
https://roomview.asia/profile/{username}
```

## API (machine-readable)

```
GET /api/hotels/{hotel-id}        Hotel data with clips and photos
GET /api/hotels/featured          Featured hotels by region
GET /api/hotels/search?q={query}  Hotel search
```

Hotel record shape:
```json
{
  "id": "string",
  "name": "string",
  "location": "string",
  "region": "Phuket | Pattaya | Krabi | ...",
  "agodaUrl": "affiliate booking link",
  "clips": [
    {
      "videoId": "YouTube video ID",
      "startSec": 0,
      "endSec": 0,
      "label": "Room View | Pool View | Property View | Beach View",
      "contributor": "username"
    }
  ],
  "guestPhotos": ["..."],
  "aiSummary": "distilled from real guest reviews"
}
```

## Community & contribution

Anyone can contribute:
- Submit a YouTube clip to any hotel page (timestamp + label)
- Upload guest photos from their own stay

Contributor levels: Contributor (3+ clips) → Regular (10+) → Pro Finder (20+) → Top Curator (50+).
Leaderboard: https://roomview.asia/leaderboard

## Business model

Affiliate booking links via Agoda. No sponsored placements. No pay-to-rank. Content is organic and community-driven.