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 Ultimate Descents New Zealand.
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.
Ultimate Descents New Zealand
Valid Reviews
51 Valid Reviews
The Ultimate Descents New Zealand experience has a total of 51 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 51 valid reviews:
| Rating | Count | Percentage | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10/10 | 28 |
|
55% |
| 9/10 | 10 |
|
20% |
| 8/10 | 9 |
|
18% |
| 7/10 | 3 |
|
6% |
| 6/10 | 1 |
|
2% |
| 5/10 | 0 |
|
0% |
| 4/10 | 0 |
|
0% |
| 3/10 | 0 |
|
0% |
| 2/10 | 0 |
|
0% |
| 1/10 | 0 |
|
0% |
91.96% Average
The raw data average (mean) for all the Ultimate Descents New Zealand valid reviews is 91.96% and is based on 51 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
16 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 51 valid reviews, the experience has 16 face-to-face reviews collected during interviews by our team.
Below is the distribution of ratings for the 16 face-to-face reviews:
| Rating | Count | Percentage | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10/10 | 4 |
|
25% |
| 9/10 | 5 |
|
31% |
| 8/10 | 6 |
|
38% |
| 7/10 | 0 |
|
0% |
| 6/10 | 1 |
|
6% |
| 5/10 | 0 |
|
0% |
| 4/10 | 0 |
|
0% |
| 3/10 | 0 |
|
0% |
| 2/10 | 0 |
|
0% |
| 1/10 | 0 |
|
0% |
86.88% Average
The raw data average (mean) for all the Ultimate Descents New Zealand face-to-face reviews is 86.88% and is based on 16 face-to-face reviews. This value is not used to calculate the ranking score and it only provided here for comparison purposes.
Weighted Average
92.90%
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| S Weslake | 10/10 | 2485 days | 100% |
| Tamsin Banks | 10/10 | 3312 days | 44% |
| Antoine | 9/10 | 3955 days | -2% |
| Louison Laissus | 9/10 | 3955 days | -2% |
| Inga Memmen | 10/10 | 3972 days | -3% |
| Howell Davies | 8/10 | 4685 days | 3% |
| Frank & Margot Best | 8/10 | 4994 days | 3% |
| Weez18 | 10/10 | 5011 days | 7% |
| Cory Wornell | 8/10 | 5031 days | 3% |
| Coral Last | 8/10 | 5042 days | 3% |
| Maite Severins | 8/10 | 5061 days | 3% |
| aggiemary04 | 10/10 | 5193 days | 7% |
| jameyg | 10/10 | 5315 days | 7% |
| That_Guy | 10/10 | 5346 days | 7% |
| Tony Dodds | 10/10 | 5376 days | 7% |
| Patti S | 7/10 | 5407 days | 5% |
| Alain Deslandres | 6/10 | 5448 days | -1% |
| hobbes193 | 10/10 | 5466 days | 7% |
| ChristinaO | 8/10 | 5466 days | 6% |
| Grainne Ahern | 10/10 | 5466 days | 7% |
| Chidlebyte | 10/10 | 5466 days | 7% |
| paulj | 9/10 | 5482 days | 3% |
| micha_de | 10/10 | 5497 days | 7% |
| Debs NZ | 10/10 | 5497 days | 7% |
| Julie Seakins | 10/10 | 5497 days | 7% |
| Tash | 10/10 | 5741 days | 7% |
| Jason | 10/10 | 5741 days | 7% |
| scott lomill | 10/10 | 5744 days | 7% |
| Sam | 10/10 | 5762 days | 4% |
| mnk | 10/10 | 5772 days | 7% |
| John | 9/10 | 5782 days | 3% |
| Laura | 10/10 | 5789 days | 4% |
| Jenny | 8/10 | 5790 days | 3% |
| Dave | 9/10 | 5790 days | 3% |
| Cliff | 10/10 | 5797 days | 4% |
| petra | 7/10 | 5800 days | 5% |
| anette brown | 10/10 | 5800 days | 7% |
| Ciaran Doyle | 9/10 | 5804 days | 7% |
| niall stephenson | 8/10 | 5804 days | 6% |
| pcoll | 9/10 | 5831 days | 7% |
| Matthias Hinnrichs | 9/10 | 5850 days | 7% |
| Georgina Mulligan | 10/10 | 6061 days | 7% |
| Laura H | 9/10 | 6070 days | 7% |
| Shane O'Mahony | 9/10 | 6070 days | 7% |
| Eric Scott | 7/10 | 6087 days | 5% |
| Rose M | 10/10 | 6093 days | 7% |
| russell_mahar | 8/10 | 6093 days | 6% |
| kevoc9 | 10/10 | 6117 days | 7% |
| Lindsey_Morriss | 10/10 | 6200 days | 7% |
| cmorriss | 10/10 | 6200 days | 7% |
| Travis Brennan | 10/10 | 6200 days | 7% |
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 Ultimate Descents New Zealand experience has plenty of reviews and does not meet the criteria for any adjustment.
Recent Reviews Adjustment
-4.04% Adjustment
There may be an adjustment if this experience hasn't received any reviews within the last 41 days. However the Ultimate Descents New Zealand 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 Ultimate Descents New Zealand experience has been adjusted for 200 days. Adjustments are according to the following table.
| Days | Adjustment |
|---|---|
| … | … |
| 197 | -3.98% |
| 198 | -4.00% |
| 199 | -4.02% |
| 200 | -4.04% |
| 201 | -4.06% |
| 202 | -4.08% |
| 203 | -4.10% |
| … | … |
Balancing Adjustment
1.16% 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
90%
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.