How we work
and how we make a living.
Most directories quietly take a commission, sell placement to the highest bidder, or live off invisible affiliate links. miboda doesn't work that way — at least not today. This page explains how it really works, who's behind it, what conflicts we've declared, and what will happen when something changes.
Who is behind miboda
miboda is run by a small team based in Las Terrenas, Samaná:
- Marvin (founder). Comes from the hospitality world on the north coast. He's a partner in several local businesses — we list them below under "Conflicts of interest" because they matter.
- Ana (operations director, partner). Coordinates vendor verification, couple support, and the follow-up on every request. More than 20 years in events and hospitality.
- Camille Rivera (editor · wedding planner). The editorial voice of the Journal. Coordinates ~25 intimate weddings a year on the peninsula. Lives in Cosón.
The operating company is registered in the Dominican Republic. For formal or legal contact: contacto@miboda.do.
How we make money today
The directory costs no one anything. The only paid thing in all of miboda is wedding coordination with Ana — optional, and only if you want it. Point by point:
- Couples (directory): using the directory, sending a request, receiving quotes, comparing and booking — all free. There is no premium tier.
- Couples (coordination): if you'd rather Ana organized your wedding from start to finish on the Samaná Peninsula, that's a separate paid service. The prices are published — US$200 orientation call, partial from US$5,400, full from US$10,500 — and carry no hidden commission on vendors. See Coordination.
- Vendors: appearing in the directory is free. We charge no listing fee, there is no paid placement, no per-lead commission and no fee on a booked wedding.
- Affiliates: we don't use affiliate links. When we link to the JCE, MIREX, gosamana.com or any external page, we receive no commission.
- Advertising: we don't sell ad space, not now and not on the immediate roadmap.
Keeping the directory free is deliberate while we validate the model. The metric that actually matters to us is how many weddings are confirmed through the directory — not how much we bill. If that ever changes, we'll say it here first.
So how do we cover costs today?
Honestly: today miboda is a bet. The first revenue line is wedding coordination with Ana; the rest of the operating costs are covered by the team through other projects (see "Conflicts of interest") and by the founder's capital. The directory itself bills nothing — and that is the decision. If we don't validate in 12–18 months, it will be obvious and we'll say so.
Conflicts of interest (declared)
The founder is a partner in several local businesses in Las Terrenas. Some could eventually appear as vendors in the directory. We declare it in the open:
- Sienna, ETNO, Atlantique Sud — hospitality projects connected to the founder.
How we handle it: if any of these businesses enters the directory, it goes through exactly the same verification process as any other vendor (see /en/methodology). The listing carries a visible "Team business" label at the top of the vendor page. If a couple sends a request that ends up going to one of these businesses, the lead is handled with the same criteria as any other — no preference, no priority discount against competitors.
What will happen when we start charging
At some point, miboda will have to sustain itself. When that moment comes, here is what we promise:
- We'll say it here, on this page, before anywhere else.
- Curation cannot be bought. Even if one day we charge to appear, the four-step filter will still apply equally to everyone. A vendor who pays does not skip verification.
- There will be no unverified "basic listing." If a vendor appears, it's verified. Period.
- Editorial content is not for sale. The Journal's guides will remain independent of the commercial model. If we publish sponsored content, it will carry a visible label ("Paid content") — our editorial policy says so too.
Whose data is it? And whose leads?
When a couple sends a request, the data travels to our team (to coordinate forwarding it to the vendor) and to the chosen vendor. We don't sell that data to third parties, we don't share it with advertising networks, and we don't use it for remarketing. The full policy, with legal basis, retention periods and your data rights, is at /en/privacy.
Anything else we should be publishing here?
If there's something about how we work that you think we should be stating in the open and aren't, write to us. We take transparency seriously; if we forget something, we want to know.
Last updated: June 2026