Florida Spot is not a list of every business — it is a register of the ones currently earning a 4.8-star or higher Google rating. Nobody can buy their way in, and nobody is grandfathered in. Here is exactly how the gate works.
A listing enters the register only when its public Google Business Profile shows an average rating of 4.8 stars or higher. We don't collect our own reviews and we don't ask you to trust ours — we enforce a threshold on the review system consumers already use. Owners cannot submit themselves past the gate: claiming a profile changes who manages it, never whether it qualifies.
Ratings are re-verified daily against Google. Where the state publishes relevant records, we attach them too: DBPR restaurant inspection results and license status appear on profiles once a human editor has confirmed the match. Staying listed is not a status — it is a streak.
The moment a rating drops below 4.8, the listing is removed automatically — no grace period, no appeal fee, no quiet exception for paying members. It returns the same way it entered: by earning the rating back. No competitor directory revokes automatically; we consider it the entire point.
Some businesses pay Florida Spot for premium tools — photo galleries, lead capture, review widgets, analytics. None of that money can buy a position. Payment does not get a business into the register, does not rank it higher, and does not keep it listed when its rating falls. This is structural, not a promise of restraint: placement is computed from the Google rating alone, and the code that builds these pages has no input for what anyone pays us.
For contrast: lead marketplaces have been sanctioned for deceptive lead marketing, and legacy directories sell placement on the pages they claim to rank neutrally. Our revenue depends on the register staying credible — the incentive points the right way.
The register today: 13,898 businesses across 147 Florida cities.
Questions about a listing or a delisting? Contact us — or read the homeowner guides for how we suggest vetting anyone you hire, including businesses listed here.
