Operator FAQs

FAQs For Tourism Operators

Ranking Rules

  • Can I rank myself or ask work colleagues, friends, family or associates to rank me?

    No. Anyone that may have reason to be influenced in their review shouldn’t rank you. Rankings must be 100% genuine and free from any influence.

  • Can I rank my competition?

    Operators and people affiliated with operators cannot rank their competition. All fraudulent rankings are taken very seriously and this is the biggest no-no of all.

  • Can I ask my previous customers to rank me?

    Yes, this is an important part of generating rankings. Rankers is an up to date website so we ask that you have customers rank you that have recently experienced your product.

  • What constitutes the experience of your product?

    Once the operator has confirmed a booking with the customer then a contract has been formed and the operator can be reviewed. In some cases, if the customer has done all that is asked of them to place a booking, but the operator has failed to communicate fairly, then this also constitutes an experience.

  • Can I influence a review by offering rewards?

    No. Operators can ask customers to rank them after they leave their premises but are not allowed to offer incentives, discounts, upgrades, or special treatment on current or future experiences in exchange for positive reviews. Operators cannot penalise customers financially for leaving a poor review.

  • Can I have a computer on premises that encourages people to rank us on site?

    We ask that you don’t do this as it could influence the ranking. It's best if reviews are made from a personal device.

  • What should I do if I think my competitor is writing dodgy reviews – either about themselves or about me?

    Please contact us. Our commitment - and our energy - is to ensure rankings are genuine. We know how damaging a dodgy review can be.

    Let us know the date of the review plus any other info that could help our checks. All investigations are treated with strict confidentiality and we encourage operators to help us out in this process.

  • Can I post reviews from say a comments book?

    No can do. Travellers must post their own rankings. Operators cannot enter any rankings on behalf.

Credibility

  • Where do rankings/reviews come from?

    There are three places rankings come from – through our website, via our Official Camping NZ app, and manual collection from travellers on the road.

  • How can I trust the information on Rankers?

    We can guarantee the validity of the information because we collect a great deal of the rankings offline ourselves. Our online ranking process has been developed to make fraudulent rankings difficult. Each Ranker needs email verification to create a profile and can then only rank each given experience once. All rankings are checked as they come in. Further checks are also made that we think are best not to make public. Trusted, unbiased reviews are the cornerstone of Rankers - we’ll make sure it stays that way.

  • What checks does Rankers undertake to ensure the validity of the reviews?

    Although we're a transparent business, we think it's in everybody’s interest that we don’t explain all our checks in detail. What we will say is:

    • Each and every ranking is checked.
    • When certain flags are raised we investigate further.
    • In the case of a poor ranking, we will initially take the side of an operator, as we know how damaging a false ranking can be. The ranking will not be public until we are certain it is 100% genuine.
    • Over 50% of the reviews on Rankers have been collected ourselves. These rankings serve as a ‘control’. If online rankings don’t match our control then a flag is raised.
    • A flag is also raised if the review doesn’t reflect the ranking or if the ranking score is either very high or very low.

    We take review fraud very seriously and are committed to keeping Rankers a trusted source of genuine, independent information.

  • Can I respond to my customers' reviews?

    Yes, you have right-of-reply. We've been in the operator shoes ourselves, and know the importance of recourse. Every operator has the right-of-reply, and can give comment on reviews posted about their business by travellers on Rankers.

    Operators must sign up for the free plan to acquire an operator account. The free operator account provides the ability to log in and respond to your company's reviews.

    Remember that everyone has a right to their opinion – independent information is the hub of Rankers. However, contentious comments will need to be fact based if they are to remain public on the site. Every ranking is checked. Extremely high or low rankings often raise flags that require further investigation by us.

  • How can I respond to my customers' reviews?

    Every operator in NZ can sign up for our free plan, which means you will have a Rankers username and password so you can login and reply to reviews.

    Any response to a customer review is posted publicly. The operator right-of-reply is a way for you to show the world you have listened to feedback and give your side of the story, or show you have improved your service. It's a great way of turning a negative perception into a positive one.

    Responses must be free of personal insults or threats. If you feel the customer is in the wrong then keep it clean. If you think the ranking is dodgy then contact us so we can look into it.

    Your login details are provided at the bottom of our regular email newsletters to tourism operators. Please contact us if you don't have a record of your login details.

    Once you're logged into your operator account…

    1. Look for the ‘Respond to Reviews’ heading in the ‘Manage’ section.

    2. Enter your response to the review.

    3. Check your response carefully as it will be live to the world once submitted.

Business Benefits

  • How can Rankers work for my business?

    It all starts with rankings. Courtesy emails to past customers are very effective in generating rankings. Then place a Rankers badge or ratings widget in a prominent place on your website so travellers can see your independent feedback. Trust is then formed and bookings flow in as a result.

    Further leverage this trust by signing up for one or our paid plans.

  • How can I encourage independent reviews for my business?

    Traveller reviews are Rankers' currency. Without reviews, visitors to the Rankers website would never have an opportunity to find out what you’re about. Get some rankings and get seen!

    • Your customers are more likely to write a review if they’ve had a moving and memorable experience. Over 95% of rankings are positive.
    • Introduce Rankers and travel reviews at a personal level while your clients are with you. Then later send a personal email asking them to write a review – it's the most effective method of all for generating rankings.
    • We’ve found that simply asking people to write reviews, or handing them physical reminder cards when they leave doesn’t work as well as catching them at their computer with a personalised post-trip email. Remind them what a good time they had, explain the Rankers process and send them the appropriate links to make it really easy.

    Below is an example you might want to use, it's the most effective way to get reviews. Just copy and paste it and then fill in the blanks.

    Example Email

    The personality and character you add to the email is up to you. The more personal the message, the more inclined your clients/guests are to take the time and make a ranking. They are responding to the experience you gave them initially – a ranking is often their opportunity to thank you in return. Use their names, your names, and continue what began when they visited your place.

Operator Login Accounts

  • What is an operator account?

    Every tourism operator can apply for an operator account. This is part of our free plan. The operator account enables you to respond to a customer's review (right-of-reply), and install Rankers widgets and badges on your website. The free plan differs from sector to sector.

    Operators that have signed up for a paid plan can use their operator account to manage their company's content - edit descriptions, photos, products and marketing message.

  • How do I get an operator account?

    Every operator in NZ can have their own Rankers username and password so they can login and reply to reviews, receive statistics and install widgets on their website. The operator account is part of our free plan.

    If you've received an email newsletter in the past then you'll find your login details at the bottom of the newsletter.

    You can sign up for our free plan to receive an operator account.

  • How do I log into my operator account?

    Operators can log into their account using the same login page as a regular 'traveller' user might.

    1. Click on the ‘Sign In’ link at the top right of any page.

    2. Enter your username and password (password can be changed to something more memorable once you log in).

    If you've forgotten your password then use the 'Forgot Password' page. If your current Rankers account doesn't give you access to your company then contact us and we'll sort it all out for you.

  • Is my information secure?

    One of the main jobs of the Rankers crew is to look after information that the Rankers community entrusts us with. All contact details and sensitive information are respected and kept secure. For more information read our privacy policy.

Statistics

  • What is the average Ranker demographic?

    To ensure the feedback covers the whole spectrum of travellers we collect rankings from various sources. The majority of rankings currently come from Campervan and Rental Car users. Most of our users are international, from traditional markets - Australia, Europe, and Nth America; with a quickly growing number from Asia.

Help and Support

  • What help and support do you offer?

    Rankers has an open door. We're ex-operators and aren't internet geeks either, so we understand these techie things can be confusing. If you need any help or have any questions then please contact us. We're a NZ tourism service and we look after other NZ tourism operators with personal and direct support.