Ranking Score Explained

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 Akaroa Harbour Nature Cruises.

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.

Cymen Crick's avatar

Cymen Crick

Rankers Owner

Akaroa Harbour Nature Cruises

Valid Reviews

58 Valid Reviews

The Akaroa Harbour Nature Cruises experience has a total of 58 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 58 valid reviews:

Rating Count Percentage
10/10 14
24%
9/10 19
33%
8/10 14
24%
7/10 6
10%
6/10 0
0%
5/10 2
3%
4/10 1
2%
3/10 1
2%
2/10 0
0%
1/10 1
2%

83.28% Average

The raw data average (mean) for all the Akaroa Harbour Nature Cruises valid reviews is 83.28% and is based on 58 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

48 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 58 valid reviews, the experience has 48 face-to-face reviews collected during interviews by our team.

Below is the distribution of ratings for the 48 face-to-face reviews:

Rating Count Percentage
10/10 8
17%
9/10 17
35%
8/10 14
29%
7/10 6
13%
6/10 0
0%
5/10 1
2%
4/10 1
2%
3/10 1
2%
2/10 0
0%
1/10 0
0%

83.13% Average

The raw data average (mean) for all the Akaroa Harbour Nature Cruises face-to-face reviews is 83.13% and is based on 48 face-to-face reviews. This value is not used to calculate the ranking score and it only provided here for comparison purposes.

Weighted Average

92.03%

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
Sabrina Saunders 10/10 1024 days 100%
Stefano Clerici 10/10 2335 days 10%
Sue Milne 10/10 2826 days 7%
Fran and Ben 10/10 2837 days 7%
Patricia 8/10 3163 days 6%
Ceri Eaton 9/10 3192 days 6%
Thomas Zilio 4/10 3935 days 1%
JoMary Smith 9/10 3977 days 2%
Marco Schmidt 10/10 4262 days 1%
Christian Schumacher 10/10 4262 days 1%
Karin Genyn 10/10 4359 days 0%
N Zitscher 5/10 4376 days 0%
Peter Harden 9/10 4378 days 0%
Jenny McTigue 8/10 4658 days 2%
Mike & Jennie 8/10 4659 days 2%
Stefes Wencke 10/10 4661 days 2%
Johan Kroese 9/10 4688 days 2%
Herbert 8/10 4690 days 2%
Michael 9/10 4997 days 2%
Richard Dudfield 10/10 5000 days 2%
Louise van der Hyden 9/10 5012 days 2%
elmoandjoey 10/10 5104 days 2%
Tim 10/10 5134 days 2%
Conny 9/10 5313 days 2%
Victoria Slater 7/10 5353 days 2%
Risch & Seybold 9/10 5361 days 2%
Schumacher 9/10 5366 days 2%
Greg Kennedy 9/10 5426 days 2%
csziegler 10/10 5453 days 2%
stephenb 8/10 5463 days 2%
carsteng 7/10 5463 days 2%
Kathrin Thomas 9/10 5481 days 2%
james masura 10/10 5499 days 2%
Steve Drake 1/10 5560 days 1%
Andrea 7/10 5633 days 2%
stephen 9/10 5715 days 2%
NatasjaV 8/10 5731 days 2%
JimmyK 8/10 5731 days 2%
JohannaB 7/10 5732 days 2%
Peter Bowen-Simpkins 9/10 5733 days 2%
eatc 9/10 5744 days 2%
Daniel 3/10 5750 days 1%
schenk 8/10 5764 days 2%
groenewold 8/10 5778 days 2%
Karen 8/10 5785 days 2%
Ducolq 7/10 5786 days 2%
Rebekka 5/10 5786 days 2%
Mary Hamilton 10/10 5878 days 2%
Esther 8/10 5920 days 2%
Jim Summers 8/10 5962 days 2%
Stewart 8/10 6096 days 2%
angela 9/10 6096 days 2%
Bauer 7/10 6111 days 2%
Kenneth and Mette 8/10 6113 days 2%
Knol 9/10 6114 days 2%
Dorris Schwarz 9/10 6159 days 2%
Eleanor Adams 9/10 6205 days 2%
Fred 9/10 6443 days 2%

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 Akaroa Harbour Nature Cruises experience has plenty of reviews and does not meet the criteria for any adjustment.

Recent Reviews Adjustment

-4.05% Adjustment

There may be an adjustment if this experience hasn't received any reviews within the last 43 days. However the Akaroa Harbour Nature Cruises 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 Akaroa Harbour Nature Cruises experience has been adjusted for 200 days. Adjustments are according to the following table.

Days Adjustment
197 -3.99%
198 -4.01%
199 -4.03%
200 -4.05%
201 -4.07%
202 -4.09%
203 -4.11%

Balancing Adjustment

1.30% 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

89%

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.