Ranking Score Explained

G'day, thanks for your interest in how we calculate an experience's ranking score. It's at the core of Rankers so I'm pleased you're curious.

The ranking score percentage is used to compare and sort experiences in ranking tables. It is not necessarily a direct measurement of the quality of a particular experience as rated by its customers. I've found it a useful tool to allow me to find the best experiences with confidence. But I've also found it important to read the customer reviews before making any final judgements!

We calculate an experience's ranking score using a multi-factor data model instead of a raw data average (mean). This model takes into account several important questions. For instance - is there a trusted body of reviews? What is the age of a review and is the review from a credible source?

Below you'll find details around some of the important factors that went into calculating the ranking score for Seal Swim Kaikoura.

If you have any questions or comments about our ranking score calculation please get in touch at info@rankers.co.nz. We don't believe this is perfect or complete so we're always interested in ways we might make improvements.

Cymen Crick's avatar

Cymen Crick

Rankers Owner

Seal Swim Kaikoura

Valid Reviews

54 Valid Reviews

The Seal Swim Kaikoura experience has a total of 54 valid reviews. There are no invalid reviews that are excluded from the calculation. Reviews can be excluded only when a reviewer is not verified or after an investigation by our team determines the reviewer is not genuine.

Below is the distribution of ratings for the 54 valid reviews:

Rating Count Percentage
10/10 30
56%
9/10 11
20%
8/10 12
22%
7/10 1
2%
6/10 0
0%
5/10 0
0%
4/10 0
0%
3/10 0
0%
2/10 0
0%
1/10 0
0%

92.96% Average

The raw data average (mean) for all the Seal Swim Kaikoura valid reviews is 92.96% and is based on 54 valid reviews. This value is not used to calculate the ranking score and it only provided here as a comparison to the weighted average.

Face-to-Face Reviews

35 Face-to-Face Reviews

The Rankers team meets with travellers while they’re in New Zealand and conducts face-to-face surveys. These reviews, in our opinion, are the most trusted in the industry and represent a critical control sample. To our knowledge, we are the only travel review website in the world that has gone to this extent.

More about face-to-face reviews

Within the 54 valid reviews, the experience has 35 face-to-face reviews collected during interviews by our team.

Below is the distribution of ratings for the 35 face-to-face reviews:

Rating Count Percentage
10/10 14
40%
9/10 8
23%
8/10 12
34%
7/10 1
3%
6/10 0
0%
5/10 0
0%
4/10 0
0%
3/10 0
0%
2/10 0
0%
1/10 0
0%

90.00% Average

The raw data average (mean) for all the Seal Swim Kaikoura face-to-face reviews is 90.00% and is based on 35 face-to-face reviews. This value is not used to calculate the ranking score and it only provided here for comparison purposes.

Weighted Average

93.73%

Rankers calculates a weighted mean as a base average on which we can improve. Individual review's ratings are given a weight based on several factors. The weight of a review determines the overall impact it'll have on the final weighted average.

Recent reviews have more weight as they are more relevant and reflect the experience as it currently operates. Over time reviews become less relevant and loose their impact on the ranking score.

Low rating reviews carry slightly less weight. This dampens the effect of very low ratings for every experience across the board. This is especially important when the experience has few reviews overall and a single negative rating can grossly mischaracterise an experience. Consistent poor reviews will still result in the experience receiving a comparitively low ranking score.

Credible sources provide reviews that can be trusted. If we have verified a reviewer is genuine via a face-to-face meeting then the review carries additional weight.

Reviewer Rating Age Relative Weight
Erica Muir 10/10 1740 days 100%
Peter Leschev 10/10 2165 days 80%
Mietta Feery 10/10 3208 days 42%
Susie Dietz 10/10 3260 days 40%
Valentine de Beer 9/10 3540 days 29%
Stephan Kirchenbaur 9/10 3561 days 29%
Cecile Seramis 8/10 3572 days 28%
Hannes Puediger 10/10 3614 days 27%
Virgil Spruit 8/10 3651 days 25%
Emma 9/10 3932 days 15%
Manuela Opprecht 10/10 3971 days 14%
Amanda Williams 10/10 4052 days 11%
Nica Georgiana 10/10 4325 days 1%
Ali Mitchell 10/10 4325 days 1%
sebastien gairaud 10/10 4325 days 1%
Lara Mroseck 8/10 4354 days 0%
Robert Geissler 10/10 4354 days 0%
Ken 10/10 4752 days 18%
Nigel&Annette Greaves 10/10 4752 days 18%
Rolf Zwahlen 10/10 4759 days 18%
joke 8/10 5380 days 17%
Michael Howat 10/10 5383 days 18%
Veronica Warren 9/10 5383 days 18%
Tyson Burnett 10/10 5394 days 18%
Nicolas 10/10 5394 days 18%
Christine Wirth 9/10 5412 days 18%
Seifert 10/10 5413 days 18%
stowie 10/10 5421 days 18%
efusco 10/10 5421 days 18%
Mark 10/10 5421 days 18%
Ulric 8/10 5780 days 17%
janden 10/10 5832 days 18%
Jane 9/10 5848 days 18%
Kimberly Skyes 8/10 5855 days 17%
Jenny Davies 8/10 5858 days 17%
MichaelS1 9/10 6108 days 18%
JeremyE 8/10 6110 days 17%
LucyT 9/10 6110 days 18%
Lynn White 9/10 6119 days 18%
Greg18 10/10 6123 days 18%
SebastianGermany1 8/10 6127 days 17%
John 7/10 6134 days 16%
Prentner 10/10 6173 days 18%
Anke 8/10 6442 days 17%
purplekat99 10/10 6457 days 18%
Richard Anthony 9/10 6479 days 18%
Claire Masling 9/10 6492 days 18%
Carrie Cook 10/10 6504 days 18%
Stephanie 10/10 6533 days 18%
Tanya 10/10 6535 days 18%
Malena 8/10 6569 days 17%
Andy Chapman 8/10 6694 days 17%
Stefan 10/10 6813 days 18%
Deloraine 10/10 6829 days 18%

Adjustments

Several adjustments to the weighted average are added to improve relevancy and credibility. These adjustments apply equally to all experiences that meet the criteria.

Sample Size Adjustment

No Adjustment

A reasonable number of reviews are necessary in order for the average to be credible and for an experience to take a prime position within the ranking tables. As such, experiences with only a few reviews have a moderated score. This does not mean that the experience or the reviews can't be trusted. The Seal Swim Kaikoura experience has plenty of reviews and does not meet the criteria for any adjustment.

Recent Reviews Adjustment

-4.07% Adjustment

There may be an adjustment if this experience hasn't received any reviews within the last 42 days. However the Seal Swim Kaikoura experience does not meet the criteria for any adjustment.

In addition, an experience's ranking score may be adjusted for each day there is no new ranking. After 1 day the adjustment comes into effect. The maximum number of days that can be adjusted for is 200 days. Due to the seasonal nature of many businesses, this adjustment is applied dynamically throughout the year.

The Seal Swim Kaikoura experience has been adjusted for 200 days. Adjustments are according to the following table.

Days Adjustment
197 -4.01%
198 -4.03%
199 -4.05%
200 -4.07%
201 -4.09%
202 -4.11%
203 -4.13%

Balancing Adjustment

1.05% Adjustment

Every experience's review score is adjusted to balance out the disproportional number of negative reviews that are contributed.

You won't be surprised to learn that disgruntled customers are more likely to leave a review than happy ones. They are motivated to share their experience and warn others. We consider this a good thing and it's why reading the reviews is important. However we've learned it can misrepresent the experience in a more overall sense.

We apply a balancing adjustment to counteract this effect and ensure the ranking score is a more fair representation of the experience. This adjustment is applied equally to all experiences.

Final Ranking Score

91%

The final ranking score once any adjustments, ratings, and rounding has been applied. This value is recalculated each day and a short rolling average is applied. Therefore it may not be precisely accurate based on the other values presented.