Booking.com is all about helping travelers find the perfect place to stay. But how do we make sure the reviews you read are accurate and helpful? Let’s take a look at how we gather, manage, and display reviews.
The magic of numbers: Every review score on Booking.com sits on a scale of 1 to 10. We calculate the overall score by adding up all the individual scores and dividing by the total number of reviews.
We’re always innovating! Currently, we’re testing a new, weighted review system in certain areas like Malta, Iceland, Australia, Greece, Brazil, and North Carolina. This system gives more weight to recent reviews, allowing for a more up-to-date picture of a property.
More than just a number: We also encourage guests to provide subscores in specific categories, like location, cleanliness, staff, comfort, facilities, value for money, and free Wi-Fi. This helps you understand the strengths and weaknesses of a property in detail.
Your voice matters: You can write a review if you’ve stayed at a property booked through our platform, even if you only checked in but didn’t end up staying. If you need to edit a review you’ve already submitted, just reach out to our Customer Service team.
Keeping Reviews Honest and Safe
We understand that trustworthy reviews are essential. That’s why we have a dedicated team working hard to ensure that only genuine reviews make it to our website. We employ both human experts and automated systems to sniff out any suspicious activity.
Spotting the fakes: If we detect a fake review, we remove it immediately and take appropriate action against those responsible. You can also help us out by reporting any suspicious reviews to our Customer Service team. They’ll pass the information on to our Fraud team for investigation.
Review Guidelines: Maintaining a High Standard
We want to create a space where everyone feels comfortable sharing their experiences. To achieve this, we have a few simple guidelines to ensure all reviews are:
- Relevant: Reviews should focus on your travel experience. No personal opinions or political commentary, please!
- Respectful: Treat everyone with courtesy. Offensive language and hate speech are strictly prohibited.
- Authentic: Reviews should reflect your honest opinion. Don’t post reviews on behalf of others or try to influence the score of a competitor.
- Private: We take privacy seriously. We make sure to hide any personal details, like email addresses or phone numbers.
Finding the Perfect Review for You
When you see multiple reviews, the newest ones are shown first, but we also take into account your preferred language, reviews with text, and non-anonymous reviews. You can also sort and filter reviews to find what you’re looking for based on time of year, review score, or traveler type.
Transparency is key: We sometimes show external reviews from other reputable travel websites, clearly indicating their origin.
These guidelines and standards help us keep Booking.com a place where travelers can find helpful, honest, and engaging reviews. We believe that sharing both positive and negative experiences is crucial for everyone to make informed decisions about their travels.
