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 Dark Sky Project.
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.
Dark Sky Project
Valid Reviews
45 Valid Reviews
The Dark Sky Project experience has a total of 45 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 45 valid reviews:
| Rating | Count | Percentage | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10/10 | 16 |
|
36% |
| 9/10 | 12 |
|
27% |
| 8/10 | 6 |
|
13% |
| 7/10 | 2 |
|
4% |
| 6/10 | 2 |
|
4% |
| 5/10 | 0 |
|
0% |
| 4/10 | 0 |
|
0% |
| 3/10 | 1 |
|
2% |
| 2/10 | 3 |
|
7% |
| 1/10 | 3 |
|
7% |
78.67% Average
The raw data average (mean) for all the Dark Sky Project valid reviews is 78.67% and is based on 45 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
24 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 45 valid reviews, the experience has 24 face-to-face reviews collected during interviews by our team.
Below is the distribution of ratings for the 24 face-to-face reviews:
| Rating | Count | Percentage | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10/10 | 10 |
|
42% |
| 9/10 | 7 |
|
29% |
| 8/10 | 4 |
|
17% |
| 7/10 | 1 |
|
4% |
| 6/10 | 2 |
|
8% |
| 5/10 | 0 |
|
0% |
| 4/10 | 0 |
|
0% |
| 3/10 | 0 |
|
0% |
| 2/10 | 0 |
|
0% |
| 1/10 | 0 |
|
0% |
89.17% Average
The raw data average (mean) for all the Dark Sky Project face-to-face reviews is 89.17% and is based on 24 face-to-face reviews. This value is not used to calculate the ranking score and it only provided here for comparison purposes.
Weighted Average
85.00%
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Andrew Hammond | 9/10 | 2544 days | 100% |
| Carl von Horstig | 10/10 | 3227 days | 59% |
| Petr Jesko | 8/10 | 3553 days | 37% |
| Michelle Ouellette | 1/10 | 3730 days | 4% |
| wayne jeskie | 1/10 | 3791 days | 2% |
| Maarten Simons | 8/10 | 3802 days | 22% |
| Michelle | 6/10 | 3807 days | 18% |
| Stan | 10/10 | 3819 days | 22% |
| Timea Bagosi | 3/10 | 3822 days | 6% |
| Denise Ewbank | 8/10 | 4569 days | 18% |
| kellie francis | 2/10 | 4644 days | 2% |
| Tim J | 2/10 | 4644 days | 2% |
| Clay Rush | 2/10 | 4919 days | 2% |
| Craig Jones | 9/10 | 5009 days | 19% |
| Jaap & Susanne | 9/10 | 5293 days | 19% |
| Melanie Mathiak | 10/10 | 5296 days | 19% |
| scottee | 1/10 | 5589 days | 0% |
| Nick Taylor | 10/10 | 5618 days | 19% |
| Jon_and_Family | 9/10 | 5619 days | 19% |
| Kevin Morris | 9/10 | 5622 days | 19% |
| Margit and Corein Groenevelt | 7/10 | 5636 days | 17% |
| Dave Patterson | 9/10 | 5641 days | 19% |
| Andy Johnson | 9/10 | 5641 days | 19% |
| LandJ | 7/10 | 5650 days | 17% |
| Christiane | 8/10 | 5650 days | 18% |
| Natthien Le Gall | 8/10 | 5651 days | 18% |
| Edwards | 9/10 | 5657 days | 19% |
| Robert Smith | 9/10 | 5669 days | 19% |
| Sue Haward | 10/10 | 5673 days | 19% |
| Amanda | 10/10 | 5709 days | 19% |
| Andrew Hammond | 9/10 | 5801 days | 19% |
| confectioneer | 9/10 | 5984 days | 19% |
| pemo | 10/10 | 5984 days | 19% |
| johnandgin | 10/10 | 6015 days | 19% |
| Horst | 9/10 | 6018 days | 19% |
| Loleit | 10/10 | 6036 days | 19% |
| Julie Seakins | 10/10 | 6105 days | 19% |
| Stefanie E | 6/10 | 6112 days | 14% |
| eowyn2k | 8/10 | 6135 days | 18% |
| Dave Ashun | 10/10 | 6356 days | 19% |
| Hamish | 10/10 | 6376 days | 19% |
| Dan | 10/10 | 6422 days | 19% |
| Sally | 10/10 | 6422 days | 19% |
| Mark Coffey | 10/10 | 6470 days | 19% |
| Georgina Mulligan | 10/10 | 6668 days | 19% |
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 Dark Sky Project experience has plenty of reviews and does not meet the criteria for any adjustment.
Recent Reviews Adjustment
-2.36% Adjustment
There may be an adjustment if this experience hasn't received any reviews within the last 110 days. However the Dark Sky Project 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 Dark Sky Project experience has been adjusted for 200 days. Adjustments are according to the following table.
| Days | Adjustment |
|---|---|
| … | … |
| 197 | -2.33% |
| 198 | -2.34% |
| 199 | -2.35% |
| 200 | -2.36% |
| 201 | -2.37% |
| 202 | -2.39% |
| 203 | -2.40% |
| … | … |
Balancing Adjustment
2.33% 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
85%
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.