Hey, 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 Cougar Line.
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.
Cougar Line
Valid Reviews
89 Valid Reviews
The Cougar Line experience has a total of 93 reviews. There are 89 valid reviews that are included when calculating the ranking score and 4 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 89 valid reviews:
| Rating | Count | Percentage | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10/10 | 57 |
|
64% |
| 9/10 | 16 |
|
18% |
| 8/10 | 11 |
|
12% |
| 7/10 | 2 |
|
2% |
| 6/10 | 0 |
|
0% |
| 5/10 | 1 |
|
1% |
| 4/10 | 1 |
|
1% |
| 3/10 | 0 |
|
0% |
| 2/10 | 0 |
|
0% |
| 1/10 | 1 |
|
1% |
92.81% Average
The raw data average (mean) for all the Cougar Line valid reviews is 92.81% and is based on 89 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
31 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 89 valid reviews, the experience has 31 face-to-face reviews collected during interviews by our team.
Below is the distribution of ratings for the 31 face-to-face reviews:
| Rating | Count | Percentage | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10/10 | 5 |
|
16% |
| 9/10 | 13 |
|
42% |
| 8/10 | 9 |
|
29% |
| 7/10 | 2 |
|
6% |
| 6/10 | 0 |
|
0% |
| 5/10 | 1 |
|
3% |
| 4/10 | 1 |
|
3% |
| 3/10 | 0 |
|
0% |
| 2/10 | 0 |
|
0% |
| 1/10 | 0 |
|
0% |
84.52% Average
The raw data average (mean) for all the Cougar Line face-to-face reviews is 84.52% and is based on 31 face-to-face reviews. This value is not used to calculate the ranking score and it only provided here for comparison purposes.
Weighted Average
97.55%
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annoymus | 10/10 | 141 days | 100% |
| Gregory Munro | 10/10 | 1207 days | 27% |
| Anne Allen | 10/10 | 1237 days | 25% |
| Kaye | 10/10 | 1268 days | 23% |
| Ray Middleton | 9/10 | 1327 days | 19% |
| Gabrielle Johnston | 10/10 | 2910 days | 3% |
| nzthrillseekers | 10/10 | 3274 days | 2% |
| Sandra Wilson | 10/10 | 3305 days | 2% |
| Wolfgang | 9/10 | 3559 days | 1% |
| Robyn Hallowell | 9/10 | 3917 days | 1% |
| Polly Foster | 10/10 | 4158 days | 0% |
| Ben and Morgane | 9/10 | 4224 days | 0% |
| Simon L | 10/10 | 4555 days | 1% |
| Anthony Richards | 10/10 | 4614 days | 1% |
| Yana W. | 10/10 | 4645 days | 1% |
| James Wilson | 10/10 | 4706 days | 1% |
| Shirley Piggott | 10/10 | 4859 days | 1% |
| Howie Weir | 8/10 | 4948 days | 1% |
| Nadine | 8/10 | 4992 days | 1% |
| Sian Harries | 10/10 | 5010 days | 1% |
| Sasha and Sandra Bonavia | 9/10 | 5010 days | 1% |
| Denise Albrecht | 10/10 | 5014 days | 1% |
| svenanka | 10/10 | 5040 days | 1% |
| fayedoig | 10/10 | 5254 days | 1% |
| voyager64 | 10/10 | 5254 days | 1% |
| Jonathan Tuthill | 9/10 | 5270 days | 1% |
| EmmaNewman | 10/10 | 5285 days | 1% |
| Hiro1403 | 9/10 | 5285 days | 1% |
| RichardClough | 10/10 | 5345 days | 1% |
| Michelle | 10/10 | 5345 days | 1% |
| jennyhuckstep | 10/10 | 5345 days | 1% |
| AnneGrange | 10/10 | 5345 days | 1% |
| Rhi | 10/10 | 5345 days | 1% |
| kainga | 10/10 | 5345 days | 1% |
| skphilpott | 1/10 | 5376 days | 0% |
| Cornelia & Josef | 9/10 | 5388 days | 1% |
| SimonPayne | 10/10 | 5406 days | 1% |
| Beachfan | 10/10 | 5437 days | 1% |
| calamityalex | 10/10 | 5437 days | 1% |
| Brian & Di | 8/10 | 5633 days | 1% |
| Janice OConnor | 9/10 | 5634 days | 1% |
| W Groshops | 7/10 | 5640 days | 1% |
| Richard Broughton | 9/10 | 5645 days | 1% |
| nzMuppet | 10/10 | 5651 days | 1% |
| Hartheib Schmid | 4/10 | 5654 days | 0% |
| Katharina Dierkes | 5/10 | 5666 days | 0% |
| Isbabel | 9/10 | 5677 days | 1% |
| didine | 10/10 | 5679 days | 1% |
| grumpy2 | 9/10 | 5710 days | 1% |
| Mattie | 10/10 | 5771 days | 1% |
| Bianca | 10/10 | 5832 days | 1% |
| Vanessa | 10/10 | 5955 days | 1% |
| letstraveltogether | 10/10 | 5985 days | 1% |
| JTT | 10/10 | 5985 days | 1% |
| Theresa | 10/10 | 6004 days | 1% |
| bdgenge | 10/10 | 6016 days | 1% |
| SB | 9/10 | 6018 days | 1% |
| Helen Power | 9/10 | 6039 days | 1% |
| Adriane | 8/10 | 6040 days | 1% |
| chloeA | 10/10 | 6044 days | 1% |
| Markus | 10/10 | 6060 days | 1% |
| Duncan Fea | 10/10 | 6075 days | 1% |
| Heather | 10/10 | 6075 days | 1% |
| Annie | 10/10 | 6075 days | 1% |
| sue pentelow | 10/10 | 6075 days | 1% |
| jenny | 10/10 | 6075 days | 1% |
| lizi | 10/10 | 6075 days | 1% |
| judy | 10/10 | 6075 days | 1% |
| ronella | 10/10 | 6106 days | 1% |
| Barney_Biker | 10/10 | 6136 days | 1% |
| Ruth Kinder | 10/10 | 6167 days | 1% |
| NZJenJen | 8/10 | 6197 days | 1% |
| Tanya | 10/10 | 6320 days | 1% |
| Colleen Doherty | 10/10 | 6320 days | 1% |
| penny hoyle | 10/10 | 6320 days | 1% |
| Esther Craddock-Taylor | 10/10 | 6320 days | 1% |
| Conrad Duden | 10/10 | 6350 days | 1% |
| scottl | 10/10 | 6350 days | 1% |
| BrunoS | 8/10 | 6385 days | 1% |
| Eva Duessler | 10/10 | 6440 days | 1% |
| Groen | 8/10 | 6462 days | 1% |
| Frauke | 10/10 | 6481 days | 1% |
| Caroline Cole | 8/10 | 6727 days | 1% |
| Andy | 8/10 | 6793 days | 1% |
| Lauren | 8/10 | 7057 days | 1% |
| Cohen | 7/10 | 7076 days | 1% |
| Andreas | 8/10 | 7116 days | 1% |
| Elaine | 9/10 | 7128 days | 1% |
| KikiNelissen | 9/10 | 7128 days | 1% |
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 Cougar Line experience has plenty of reviews and does not meet the criteria for any adjustment.
Recent Reviews Adjustment
-1.64% Adjustment
There may be an adjustment if this experience hasn't received any reviews within the last 109 days. However the Cougar Line 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 Cougar Line experience has been adjusted for 138 days. Adjustments are according to the following table.
| Days | Adjustment |
|---|---|
| … | … |
| 135 | -1.61% |
| 136 | -1.62% |
| 137 | -1.63% |
| 138 | -1.64% |
| 139 | -1.65% |
| 140 | -1.67% |
| 141 | -1.68% |
| … | … |
Balancing Adjustment
0.35% 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
96%
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.