Hi my wayspot was rejected yet it hits all the criteria. The only reason I can think of is the photo which was taken 40ft away from front of restaurant. Could it be the picture that was the reason it was rejected? As I am struggling to fathom why it was not accepted. Picture is very clear and can clearly see restaurant.
Restaurants are not automatically accepted. You have to put a good submission in and the restaurant has to be justified as something more than every other restaurant.
Since restaurants are tricky, anything you do to downgrade the submission will make it a much harder accept. This photo is very poor for a main photo, as you already know, so even if everything else was perfect, this photo would cause a rejection.
It’s possible you would have got a rejection with a perfect photo if the rest of the submission is sub-par. If you want further advice with that, please post the title, description and supporting text.
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Restaurants are not an 100% accept. It is down to you as the submitter to prove that this is a prominent social location.
A quote from these forums I have often repeated is “Why would someone pass a couple of similar restaurants to use this one”. Has it won awards? Top results on review sites? Does it have menu items that no others do?
Good luck.
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Appeals reviewers will often reject restaurants with text like this:
Niantic Note
Thanks for the appeal, Explorer! As per the nomination context, we cannot verify how this business is a hyperlocal hangout and a hotspot significant to your community. We suggest that you add more information explaining why this business is important for the local community in a new nomination. This can greatly increase the odds of this nomination getting approved. We recommend you review the content guidelines before submitting your next Wayspot contribution:
Content Guidelines — Wayfarer Help Center
This is a good baseline for what you need to convey in a restaurant nomination.
I like to mention any special dishes they are known for in the description, awards they have won, anything unique to the area, etc. You can also include links in the supporting section that backs up anything you mention.
What was the rejection reason? If you provide screenshots of the full nomination, we would be in a better position to advise you on whether to appeal, submit again in a new nomination, or give up on this candidate.
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Good day and welcome!
The nomination is not just the photo. All the details available online and what you have provided within the nomination attempt can lean the decision one way or another. This is especially true for restaurants.
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I don’t know if the photo was the rejection reason, but if you resubmit, I would definitely use a different photo. If this is the main photo, it includes a lot of background that has nothing to do with the restaurant. I would focus on just the section of the building that is the restaurant, or maybe even just the sign. I would try not to get the cars in the photo.
Some tips for photos in these situations that I have learned start with taking the photos before you begin your nomination and check them in your gallery first. Then use the existing photo option when you submit. For a situation where there are cars blocking the view, you can sometimes stand in front of them, then choose a zoom setting that makes the photo look farther away than you are. Where there is a lot of glass and you are getting your reflection in the photo, you can get low and aim high. You can also crop the photo. Leave enough around the edge for context, but the point of interest should fill around 75% of the frame. A square crop usually looks the nicest in game.
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Hi all, thank you so much for you’re replies. They are ever so helpful and very much appreciated.
I knew the photo was not the best and went and took a better one,
but when went to edit nomination, it would not let me upload a better picture.
Below is the supporting text I wrote with the submission.
Title: Wara Thai Restaurant
Desc: Melkshams most popular Thai restaurant, where locals come together to socialise and enjoy beautiful Thai cuisine.
Supporting text: Wara Thai is a highly recommended local restaurant. It is popular with locals and a great place to socialise and eat. It is unique being the only Thai restaurant in Melksham.
Latest picture I will re submit with is attached too.
A couple of issues.
You have stated it is the most popular Thai restaurant in Melksham and that it is the only Thai restaurant in Melksham. While these can both be true, they raise an eyebrow, which is not what you want. [Edited to add] I would focus on popular, as Melksham is big enough to have several restaurants and being the “only one of type ABC” is not special.
Secondly, it helps a lot to provide evidence, such as link that takes you to the google reviews.
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yes, you can’t edit a photo or the pin on any nomination, and you can’t edit a nomination at all once it has ever hit the “in voting” or “under niantic review” phase. you can use this photo in a new nomination. i might try cropping that to square, but if you don’t like how the crop looks, this is much better.
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Ah ok, thank you. I did not realise I could attach supporting links.
That photo is better, but could be better still. Get rid of the traffic cone, either by cropping or by physically getting rid of it. It draws the eye towards it, which is a negative.
The restaurant title is too high up to get a good zoomed photo, but one of just the building, without any car park in the foreground but with the seating, would be good.
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Links/URLS only in the supporting text, never the main description.
You will, very occasionally, get a rejection from reviewers who don’t know the rules, because you have a URL in the supporting text. This is definitely offset by the increased acceptances you get by having provided evidence of your claims (and not relying on reviewers to find it for themselves).
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Okie dokie thank you. I really appreciate everyones feedback and help. I’ve taken all on board and will look to resubmit with better info and a better photo once back home. Many thanks to you all 
Hello @KezLeigh
Looks like you are getting some great advice on your nomination. I have gone ahead and moved this from the General area to the Nomination Support area.
Happy to have you here and please let us know the outcome 
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I will do. Many thanks to you all again
I personally would not worry about the cone, cropping it would also get rid of the benches which add an extra point to “Social”. Moving it might get you some funny looks from the owners 
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Move it, take photo, move it back. It’s a restaurant - everything you can do to improve the submission is worth doing and I get the distinct feeling that some reviewers make a snap judgement in the first couple of seconds based on the photo.
I am not concerned about the traffic cone in this case because it shows that the outdoor dining area is not to be accessed by vehicles. With the benches set up in lined parking spaces, I truly believe that it helps in this particular instance.
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This restaurant has 4.7 out of 5.0 on google, which is a very good rating (although ratings always have to be taken with a pinch of salt, since they are ridiculously easy to manipulate). This makes it a decent candidate.
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This now has the restaurant totally as its focus.
As another U.K. reviewer I would minimise the cones appearance, talk to the owner shift it out of the way to take the picture.
The outside seating is not going to be vital for this, concentrate on a good write up. Talking to the owner might give yo a nice nugget of information about the business.
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