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
97.57%
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 | 60 days | 100% |
| Gregory Munro | 10/10 | 1126 days | 33% |
| Anne Allen | 10/10 | 1156 days | 30% |
| Kaye | 10/10 | 1187 days | 28% |
| Ray Middleton | 9/10 | 1246 days | 24% |
| Gabrielle Johnston | 10/10 | 2829 days | 3% |
| nzthrillseekers | 10/10 | 3194 days | 2% |
| Sandra Wilson | 10/10 | 3225 days | 2% |
| Wolfgang | 9/10 | 3478 days | 1% |
| Robyn Hallowell | 9/10 | 3836 days | 1% |
| Polly Foster | 10/10 | 4078 days | 0% |
| Ben and Morgane | 9/10 | 4143 days | 0% |
| Simon L | 10/10 | 4474 days | 1% |
| Anthony Richards | 10/10 | 4533 days | 1% |
| Yana W. | 10/10 | 4564 days | 1% |
| James Wilson | 10/10 | 4625 days | 1% |
| Shirley Piggott | 10/10 | 4778 days | 1% |
| Howie Weir | 8/10 | 4867 days | 1% |
| Nadine | 8/10 | 4911 days | 0% |
| Sian Harries | 10/10 | 4929 days | 1% |
| Sasha and Sandra Bonavia | 9/10 | 4929 days | 0% |
| Denise Albrecht | 10/10 | 4933 days | 0% |
| svenanka | 10/10 | 4959 days | 1% |
| fayedoig | 10/10 | 5173 days | 1% |
| voyager64 | 10/10 | 5173 days | 1% |
| Jonathan Tuthill | 9/10 | 5189 days | 0% |
| EmmaNewman | 10/10 | 5204 days | 1% |
| Hiro1403 | 9/10 | 5204 days | 1% |
| RichardClough | 10/10 | 5264 days | 1% |
| Michelle | 10/10 | 5264 days | 1% |
| jennyhuckstep | 10/10 | 5264 days | 1% |
| AnneGrange | 10/10 | 5264 days | 1% |
| Rhi | 10/10 | 5264 days | 1% |
| kainga | 10/10 | 5264 days | 1% |
| skphilpott | 1/10 | 5295 days | 0% |
| Cornelia & Josef | 9/10 | 5307 days | 0% |
| SimonPayne | 10/10 | 5325 days | 1% |
| Beachfan | 10/10 | 5356 days | 1% |
| calamityalex | 10/10 | 5356 days | 1% |
| Brian & Di | 8/10 | 5552 days | 0% |
| Janice OConnor | 9/10 | 5553 days | 0% |
| W Groshops | 7/10 | 5559 days | 0% |
| Richard Broughton | 9/10 | 5564 days | 0% |
| nzMuppet | 10/10 | 5570 days | 1% |
| Hartheib Schmid | 4/10 | 5573 days | 0% |
| Katharina Dierkes | 5/10 | 5585 days | 0% |
| Isbabel | 9/10 | 5596 days | 0% |
| didine | 10/10 | 5598 days | 1% |
| grumpy2 | 9/10 | 5629 days | 1% |
| Mattie | 10/10 | 5690 days | 1% |
| Bianca | 10/10 | 5751 days | 1% |
| Vanessa | 10/10 | 5874 days | 1% |
| letstraveltogether | 10/10 | 5904 days | 1% |
| JTT | 10/10 | 5904 days | 1% |
| Theresa | 10/10 | 5923 days | 0% |
| bdgenge | 10/10 | 5935 days | 1% |
| SB | 9/10 | 5937 days | 0% |
| Helen Power | 9/10 | 5958 days | 0% |
| Adriane | 8/10 | 5959 days | 0% |
| chloeA | 10/10 | 5963 days | 1% |
| Markus | 10/10 | 5979 days | 0% |
| Duncan Fea | 10/10 | 5994 days | 1% |
| Heather | 10/10 | 5994 days | 1% |
| Annie | 10/10 | 5994 days | 1% |
| sue pentelow | 10/10 | 5994 days | 1% |
| jenny | 10/10 | 5994 days | 1% |
| lizi | 10/10 | 5994 days | 1% |
| judy | 10/10 | 5994 days | 1% |
| ronella | 10/10 | 6025 days | 1% |
| Barney_Biker | 10/10 | 6055 days | 1% |
| Ruth Kinder | 10/10 | 6086 days | 1% |
| NZJenJen | 8/10 | 6116 days | 1% |
| Tanya | 10/10 | 6239 days | 1% |
| Colleen Doherty | 10/10 | 6239 days | 1% |
| penny hoyle | 10/10 | 6239 days | 1% |
| Esther Craddock-Taylor | 10/10 | 6239 days | 1% |
| Conrad Duden | 10/10 | 6269 days | 1% |
| scottl | 10/10 | 6269 days | 0% |
| BrunoS | 8/10 | 6304 days | 0% |
| Eva Duessler | 10/10 | 6359 days | 1% |
| Groen | 8/10 | 6382 days | 0% |
| Frauke | 10/10 | 6401 days | 0% |
| Caroline Cole | 8/10 | 6646 days | 0% |
| Andy | 8/10 | 6712 days | 0% |
| Lauren | 8/10 | 6976 days | 0% |
| Cohen | 7/10 | 6995 days | 0% |
| Andreas | 8/10 | 7035 days | 0% |
| Elaine | 9/10 | 7047 days | 0% |
| KikiNelissen | 9/10 | 7047 days | 0% |
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
-0.70% Adjustment
There may be an adjustment if this experience hasn't received any reviews within the last 105 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 57 days. Adjustments are according to the following table.
| Days | Adjustment |
|---|---|
| … | … |
| 54 | -0.67% |
| 55 | -0.68% |
| 56 | -0.69% |
| 57 | -0.70% |
| 58 | -0.72% |
| 59 | -0.73% |
| 60 | -0.74% |
| … | … |
Balancing Adjustment
0.26% 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
97%
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.