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 Seal Swim Kaikoura.

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

Seal Swim Kaikoura

Valid Reviews

54 Valid Reviews

The Seal Swim Kaikoura experience has a total of 54 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 54 valid reviews:

Rating Count Percentage
10/10 30
56%
9/10 11
20%
8/10 12
22%
7/10 1
2%
6/10 0
0%
5/10 0
0%
4/10 0
0%
3/10 0
0%
2/10 0
0%
1/10 0
0%

92.96% Average

The raw data average (mean) for all the Seal Swim Kaikoura valid reviews is 92.96% and is based on 54 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

35 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 54 valid reviews, the experience has 35 face-to-face reviews collected during interviews by our team.

Below is the distribution of ratings for the 35 face-to-face reviews:

Rating Count Percentage
10/10 14
40%
9/10 8
23%
8/10 12
34%
7/10 1
3%
6/10 0
0%
5/10 0
0%
4/10 0
0%
3/10 0
0%
2/10 0
0%
1/10 0
0%

90.00% Average

The raw data average (mean) for all the Seal Swim Kaikoura face-to-face reviews is 90.00% and is based on 35 face-to-face reviews. This value is not used to calculate the ranking score and it only provided here for comparison purposes.

Weighted Average

94.58%

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
Erica Muir 10/10 1361 days 100%
Peter Leschev 10/10 1786 days 29%
Mietta Feery 10/10 2829 days 17%
Susie Dietz 10/10 2881 days 17%
Valentine de Beer 9/10 3161 days 14%
Stephan Kirchenbaur 9/10 3182 days 13%
Cecile Seramis 8/10 3193 days 13%
Hannes Puediger 10/10 3235 days 13%
Virgil Spruit 8/10 3272 days 12%
Emma 9/10 3553 days 9%
Manuela Opprecht 10/10 3592 days 9%
Amanda Williams 10/10 3673 days 8%
Nica Georgiana 10/10 3946 days 5%
Ali Mitchell 10/10 3946 days 5%
sebastien gairaud 10/10 3946 days 5%
Lara Mroseck 8/10 3975 days 4%
Robert Geissler 10/10 3975 days 5%
Ken 10/10 4373 days 0%
Nigel&Annette Greaves 10/10 4373 days 0%
Rolf Zwahlen 10/10 4380 days 6%
joke 8/10 5001 days 6%
Michael Howat 10/10 5004 days 6%
Veronica Warren 9/10 5004 days 6%
Tyson Burnett 10/10 5015 days 6%
Nicolas 10/10 5015 days 6%
Christine Wirth 9/10 5033 days 6%
Seifert 10/10 5034 days 6%
stowie 10/10 5042 days 6%
efusco 10/10 5042 days 6%
Mark 10/10 5042 days 6%
Ulric 8/10 5401 days 6%
janden 10/10 5453 days 6%
Jane 9/10 5469 days 6%
Kimberly Skyes 8/10 5476 days 6%
Jenny Davies 8/10 5479 days 6%
MichaelS1 9/10 5729 days 6%
JeremyE 8/10 5731 days 6%
LucyT 9/10 5731 days 6%
Lynn White 9/10 5740 days 6%
Greg18 10/10 5744 days 6%
SebastianGermany1 8/10 5748 days 6%
John 7/10 5755 days 5%
Prentner 10/10 5794 days 6%
Anke 8/10 6063 days 6%
purplekat99 10/10 6078 days 6%
Richard Anthony 9/10 6100 days 6%
Claire Masling 9/10 6113 days 6%
Carrie Cook 10/10 6125 days 6%
Stephanie 10/10 6154 days 6%
Tanya 10/10 6156 days 6%
Malena 8/10 6190 days 6%
Andy Chapman 8/10 6315 days 6%
Stefan 10/10 6434 days 6%
Deloraine 10/10 6450 days 6%

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 Seal Swim Kaikoura 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 Seal Swim Kaikoura 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 Seal Swim Kaikoura 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

0.93% 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

91%

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.