The HBB Charter

Eight principles we will not bend. They are the reason our word carries weight.

I
We cannot be bought.
No venue pays to appear in the Library. No fee, no sponsorship and no partnership changes a single word we publish.
II
We do not accept invitations.
We book under our own names, arrive unannounced and pay every bill ourselves. Hosted stays and complimentary tables are declined.
III
Advertising never touches editorial.
Advertisers buy space, never opinions. Commercial and editorial teams never share a decision.
IV
An emblem is earned, never requested.
There is no application for HBB Icons or HBB Recommended. A venue is noticed. It never asks.
V
We prefer silence to compromise.
When an address no longer meets our standard, it leaves the selection quietly. We never publish praise we do not believe.
VI
Only real places, only real photographs.
Every image shows the venue as a guest finds it. No renderings presented as reality, no borrowed glamour.
VII
Rarity is the point.
We would rather publish one hundred certainties than ten thousand opinions.
VIII
Interests are disclosed, never rewarded.
No establishment in which a founder, board member or editor holds an ownership, partnership or advisory interest may receive HBB Icons or HBB Recommended. Where such a venue appears in the Library, the interest is disclosed on its page.

"If a venue wishes to hang the HBB emblem at its door, it cannot buy it. It can only deserve it."

We cannot be bought.