Hi, 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 Doubtful Sound Overnight Cruise.
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.
Doubtful Sound Overnight Cruise
Valid Reviews
89 Valid Reviews
The Doubtful Sound Overnight Cruise experience has a total of 89 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 89 valid reviews:
| Rating | Count | Percentage | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10/10 | 55 |
|
62% |
| 9/10 | 25 |
|
28% |
| 8/10 | 8 |
|
9% |
| 7/10 | 0 |
|
0% |
| 6/10 | 1 |
|
1% |
| 5/10 | 0 |
|
0% |
| 4/10 | 0 |
|
0% |
| 3/10 | 0 |
|
0% |
| 2/10 | 0 |
|
0% |
| 1/10 | 0 |
|
0% |
94.94% Average
The raw data average (mean) for all the Doubtful Sound Overnight Cruise valid reviews is 94.94% 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
74 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 74 face-to-face reviews collected during interviews by our team.
Below is the distribution of ratings for the 74 face-to-face reviews:
| Rating | Count | Percentage | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10/10 | 44 |
|
59% |
| 9/10 | 22 |
|
30% |
| 8/10 | 8 |
|
11% |
| 7/10 | 0 |
|
0% |
| 6/10 | 0 |
|
0% |
| 5/10 | 0 |
|
0% |
| 4/10 | 0 |
|
0% |
| 3/10 | 0 |
|
0% |
| 2/10 | 0 |
|
0% |
| 1/10 | 0 |
|
0% |
94.86% Average
The raw data average (mean) for all the Doubtful Sound Overnight Cruise face-to-face reviews is 94.86% and is based on 74 face-to-face reviews. This value is not used to calculate the ranking score and it only provided here for comparison purposes.
Weighted Average
95.30%
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jonny Horn | 9/10 | 3316 days | 100% |
| Hazel Norman | 10/10 | 3331 days | 100% |
| James Jackson | 10/10 | 3332 days | 99% |
| Bartlomiej Berger | 9/10 | 4027 days | 31% |
| Ann Wilson | 8/10 | 4283 days | 6% |
| Anne and Steve Bartlett | 9/10 | 4348 days | 0% |
| Abby Rescr | 9/10 | 4662 days | 46% |
| Frederick Dean | 8/10 | 4662 days | 46% |
| Joey Mertzig | 10/10 | 4679 days | 47% |
| Rien | 9/10 | 5019 days | 46% |
| Clausen | 9/10 | 5020 days | 46% |
| kiwifrenchy | 10/10 | 5027 days | 47% |
| Sam | 10/10 | 5031 days | 47% |
| Pete & Pat Etheridge | 10/10 | 5036 days | 47% |
| Mike & Jennie | 9/10 | 5038 days | 46% |
| Stefes Wencke | 10/10 | 5040 days | 47% |
| Uwe Henze | 10/10 | 5041 days | 47% |
| Manuela Weber | 10/10 | 5041 days | 47% |
| Thyg Lingdal | 10/10 | 5055 days | 47% |
| caro | 10/10 | 5087 days | 47% |
| Dean | 9/10 | 5102 days | 46% |
| Anna Bret | 8/10 | 5127 days | 46% |
| Jaime Castells | 9/10 | 5127 days | 46% |
| Gary Koehler | 10/10 | 5384 days | 47% |
| jlgavin | 6/10 | 5393 days | 40% |
| Verheyen | 10/10 | 5397 days | 47% |
| Chris Darlington | 10/10 | 5401 days | 47% |
| Dieter Uhlmann | 9/10 | 5404 days | 46% |
| Angi Otti | 10/10 | 5412 days | 47% |
| Jackie Morris | 10/10 | 5412 days | 47% |
| Samuel Prechel | 10/10 | 5413 days | 47% |
| David Glover | 10/10 | 5415 days | 47% |
| Claus Olsen | 10/10 | 5416 days | 47% |
| H Schepers | 9/10 | 5417 days | 46% |
| georgiarose89 | 10/10 | 5452 days | 47% |
| chrissie2011 | 10/10 | 5452 days | 47% |
| Chris | 10/10 | 5671 days | 47% |
| Sabine | 10/10 | 5671 days | 47% |
| Kevin & Chris | 9/10 | 5691 days | 46% |
| davidm239 | 9/10 | 5697 days | 46% |
| Margie | 10/10 | 5736 days | 47% |
| Agnes | 8/10 | 5737 days | 46% |
| Graeme + Jane Ryan | 10/10 | 5748 days | 47% |
| Westermann | 10/10 | 5749 days | 47% |
| Peter Brown | 10/10 | 5754 days | 47% |
| johnandgin | 10/10 | 5758 days | 47% |
| Angela | 10/10 | 5759 days | 47% |
| T. Timmers | 9/10 | 5772 days | 46% |
| Loleit | 10/10 | 5779 days | 47% |
| David Valentine | 10/10 | 5780 days | 47% |
| Annette Schmitt | 9/10 | 5780 days | 46% |
| Jeremy & Sarah Rind | 10/10 | 5785 days | 47% |
| Jessica | 9/10 | 5791 days | 46% |
| ChristinaO | 10/10 | 5817 days | 47% |
| Simon Jones | 9/10 | 5817 days | 46% |
| Jerry | 10/10 | 5848 days | 47% |
| HairyHaggis | 9/10 | 5878 days | 46% |
| Suzanne | 10/10 | 5909 days | 47% |
| Traveller Girl | 10/10 | 6062 days | 47% |
| Switz | 10/10 | 6076 days | 47% |
| DanielGermany | 10/10 | 6084 days | 47% |
| CornelissenS | 9/10 | 6109 days | 46% |
| Inger | 10/10 | 6109 days | 47% |
| Robert | 9/10 | 6123 days | 46% |
| Theresa | 9/10 | 6129 days | 46% |
| Sue | 9/10 | 6131 days | 46% |
| Inger Skov | 10/10 | 6135 days | 47% |
| Ruben | 8/10 | 6165 days | 46% |
| Claire | 10/10 | 6178 days | 47% |
| C Digby | 9/10 | 6182 days | 46% |
| Adam | 10/10 | 6223 days | 47% |
| Stephanie Schikora | 10/10 | 6235 days | 47% |
| Sue Stewart | 10/10 | 6342 days | 47% |
| James Gibbs | 8/10 | 6434 days | 46% |
| Helen | 9/10 | 6442 days | 46% |
| Menashe | 10/10 | 6462 days | 47% |
| George Jeffs | 10/10 | 6471 days | 47% |
| Paul Weston | 9/10 | 6485 days | 46% |
| Marian Mckinney | 10/10 | 6485 days | 47% |
| Charles Price | 8/10 | 6496 days | 46% |
| Vicky Elliott | 10/10 | 6503 days | 47% |
| Anne Mainwaring | 10/10 | 6511 days | 47% |
| Kilsby | 10/10 | 6520 days | 47% |
| Dupre | 8/10 | 6561 days | 46% |
| dieter | 10/10 | 6579 days | 47% |
| Rene Schotvanger | 10/10 | 6694 days | 47% |
| Pat Brewster | 10/10 | 6694 days | 47% |
| Paul Yacoumis | 10/10 | 6820 days | 47% |
| Sandra | 10/10 | 6829 days | 47% |
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 Doubtful Sound Overnight Cruise 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 Doubtful Sound Overnight Cruise 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 Doubtful Sound Overnight Cruise 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
0.84% 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
92%
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.