Yelp lets restaurants tell you if proof of vaccination is required
The site wants to make it easier for businesses to communicate their COVID-19 policies to customers.
Yelp is helping businesses add information about vaccine requirements.
Yelp on Thursday added new ways for restaurants and other businesses to tell customers about their COVID-19 vaccine requirements. The reviews site is offering descriptions that businesses can add to their Yelp profile page for free to let customers know whether "proof of vaccination" is required and whether "all staff [are] fully vaccinated."
With the continued spread of the delta variant, some businesses and cities are putting new or renewed measures in place to protect employees and communities. Earlier this week, New York City said proof of vaccination will be required for people entering indoor settings in places such as restaurants, gyms and theaters.
Yelp also said it's prepared to help businesses that may experience backlash due to their vaccination requirements, saying it'll monitor pages that activate the new descriptions, which Yelp calls "attributes."
The company noted that it's seen a rise in reviews focused on people's stance on COVID vaccines rather than their actual experience with a business -- sometimes resulting in "review bombing" if the business gains public attention.
Since January, the company has placed more than 100 "unusual activity alerts" on pages related to these incidents and has removed nearly 4,500 reviews for violating its content policies, Yelp said.
Restaurants and other businesses aren't required to include vaccine information on their Yelp profile.
