Ranking Score Explained
Hi there, 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
84 Valid Reviews
The Cougar Line experience has a total of 88 reviews. There are 84 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 84 valid reviews:
| Rating | Count | Percentage | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10/10 | 53 |
|
63% |
| 9/10 | 15 |
|
18% |
| 8/10 | 11 |
|
13% |
| 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% |
92.50% Average
The raw data average (mean) for all the Cougar Line valid reviews is 92.50% and is based on 84 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 84 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
96.22%
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 | Face-to-Face | Weight | Relative Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gabrielle Johnston | 10/10 | 712 days | 28.24 | 100% | |
| nzthrillseekers | 10/10 | 1077 days | 5.05 | 18% | |
| Sandra Wilson | 10/10 | 1108 days | 4.97 | 18% | |
| Wolfgang | 9/10 | 1361 days |  |
4.48 | 16% |
| Robyn Hallowell | 9/10 | 1719 days | |
3.78 | 13% |
| Polly Foster | 10/10 | 1961 days | 3.31 | 12% | |
| Ben and Morgane | 9/10 | 2026 days | |
3.18 | 11% |
| Simon L | 10/10 | 2357 days | 2.53 | 9% | |
| Anthony Richards | 10/10 | 2416 days | 2.41 | 9% | |
| Yana W. | 10/10 | 2447 days | 2.35 | 8% | |
| James Wilson | 10/10 | 2508 days | 2.23 | 8% | |
| Shirley Piggott | 10/10 | 2661 days | 1.94 | 7% | |
| Howie Weir | 8/10 | 2750 days | 1.67 | 6% | |
| Nadine | 8/10 | 2794 days | |
1.59 | 6% |
| Sian Harries | 10/10 | 2812 days | 1.64 | 6% | |
| Sasha and Sandra Bonavia | 9/10 | 2812 days | |
1.64 | 6% |
| Denise Albrecht | 10/10 | 2816 days | |
1.63 | 6% |
| svenanka | 10/10 | 2842 days | 1.58 | 6% | |
| fayedoig | 10/10 | 3056 days | 1.16 | 4% | |
| voyager64 | 10/10 | 3056 days | 1.16 | 4% | |
| Jonathan Tuthill | 9/10 | 3072 days | |
1.13 | 4% |
| EmmaNewman | 10/10 | 3087 days | 1.1 | 4% | |
| Hiro1403 | 9/10 | 3087 days | 1.1 | 4% | |
| RichardClough | 10/10 | 3147 days | 0.98 | 3% | |
| Michelle | 10/10 | 3147 days | 0.98 | 3% | |
| jennyhuckstep | 10/10 | 3147 days | 0.98 | 3% | |
| AnneGrange | 10/10 | 3147 days | 0.98 | 3% | |
| Rhi | 10/10 | 3147 days | 0.98 | 3% | |
| kainga | 10/10 | 3147 days | 0.98 | 3% | |
| skphilpott | 1/10 | 3178 days | 0.67 | 2% | |
| Cornelia & Josef | 9/10 | 3190 days | |
0.9 | 3% |
| SimonPayne | 10/10 | 3208 days | 0.86 | 3% | |
| Beachfan | 10/10 | 3239 days | 0.8 | 3% | |
| calamityalex | 10/10 | 3239 days | 0.8 | 3% | |
| Brian & Di | 8/10 | 3435 days | |
0.4 | 1% |
| Janice OConnor | 9/10 | 3436 days | |
0.42 | 1% |
| W Groshops | 7/10 | 3442 days | |
0.37 | 1% |
| Richard Broughton | 9/10 | 3447 days | |
0.4 | 1% |
| nzMuppet | 10/10 | 3453 days | 0.39 | 1% | |
| Hartheib Schmid | 4/10 | 3456 days | |
0.3 | 1% |
| Katharina Dierkes | 5/10 | 3468 days | |
0.29 | 1% |
| Isbabel | 9/10 | 3479 days | |
0.33 | 1% |
| didine | 10/10 | 3481 days | 0.33 | 1% | |
| grumpy2 | 9/10 | 3512 days | 0.27 | 1% | |
| Mattie | 10/10 | 3573 days | 0.15 | 1% | |
| Bianca | 10/10 | 3634 days | 0.03 | 0% | |
| Vanessa | 10/10 | 3757 days | 0.0 | 0% | |
| letstraveltogether | 10/10 | 3787 days | 0.0 | 0% | |
| JTT | 10/10 | 3787 days | 0.0 | 0% | |
| Theresa | 10/10 | 3806 days | |
0.0 | 0% |
| bdgenge | 10/10 | 3818 days | 0.0 | 0% | |
| SB | 9/10 | 3820 days | |
0.0 | 0% |
| Helen Power | 9/10 | 3841 days | |
0.0 | 0% |
| Adriane | 8/10 | 3842 days | |
0.0 | 0% |
| chloeA | 10/10 | 3846 days | 0.0 | 0% | |
| Markus | 10/10 | 3862 days | |
0.0 | 0% |
| Duncan Fea | 10/10 | 3877 days | 0.0 | 0% | |
| Heather | 10/10 | 3877 days | 0.0 | 0% | |
| Annie | 10/10 | 3877 days | 0.0 | 0% | |
| sue pentelow | 10/10 | 3877 days | 0.0 | 0% | |
| jenny | 10/10 | 3877 days | 0.0 | 0% | |
| lizi | 10/10 | 3877 days | 0.0 | 0% | |
| judy | 10/10 | 3877 days | 0.0 | 0% | |
| ronella | 10/10 | 3908 days | 0.0 | 0% | |
| Barney_Biker | 10/10 | 3938 days | 0.0 | 0% | |
| Ruth Kinder | 10/10 | 3969 days | 0.0 | 0% | |
| NZJenJen | 8/10 | 3999 days | 0.0 | 0% | |
| Tanya | 10/10 | 4122 days | 0.0 | 0% | |
| Colleen Doherty | 10/10 | 4122 days | 0.0 | 0% | |
| penny hoyle | 10/10 | 4122 days | 0.0 | 0% | |
| Esther Craddock-Taylor | 10/10 | 4122 days | 0.0 | 0% | |
| Conrad Duden | 10/10 | 4152 days | 0.0 | 0% | |
| scottl | 10/10 | 4152 days | |
0.0 | 0% |
| BrunoS | 8/10 | 4187 days | |
0.0 | 0% |
| Eva Duessler | 10/10 | 4242 days | 0.0 | 0% | |
| Groen | 8/10 | 4265 days | |
0.0 | 0% |
| Frauke | 10/10 | 4284 days | |
0.0 | 0% |
| Caroline Cole | 8/10 | 4529 days | |
0.0 | 0% |
| Andy | 8/10 | 4595 days | |
0.0 | 0% |
| Lauren | 8/10 | 4859 days | |
0.0 | 0% |
| Cohen | 7/10 | 4878 days | |
0.0 | 0% |
| Andreas | 8/10 | 4918 days | |
0.0 | 0% |
| Elaine | 9/10 | 4930 days | |
0.0 | 0% |
| KikiNelissen | 9/10 | 4930 days | |
0.0 | 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
-2.28% Adjustment
There may be an adjustment if this experience hasn't received any reviews within the last 115 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 200 days. Adjustments are according to the following table.
| Days | Adjustment |
|---|---|
| … | … |
| 197 | -2.24% |
| 198 | -2.26% |
| 199 | -2.27% |
| 200 | -2.28% |
| 201 | -2.29% |
| 202 | -2.30% |
| 203 | -2.31% |
| … | … |
Final Ranking Score
94%
The final ranking score once adjustments and rounding has been applied. This value is cached and recalculated each day. Therefore it may not be precisely accurate based on the other values presented.
If you have any questions or comments about our ranking score calculation please get in touch at info@rankers.co.nz.