We want to make sure you get the most accurate information about accommodations on Booking.com. Here’s how we calculate those helpful review scores.
Each review is assigned a score from 1 to 10, reflecting the guest’s overall experience. To arrive at the overall score you see for a property, we add up all the individual scores and divide by the total number of reviews.
We’re always looking for ways to improve, and in some regions like Malta, Iceland, Australia, Greece, Brazil, and North Carolina, we’re currently experimenting with a weighted review system. In these areas, more recent reviews have a larger impact on the final score.
This helps ensure that the score reflects the most up-to-date experiences.
Diving Deeper: Subscores and Guest Feedback
Guests also have the opportunity to give separate scores for key aspects of their stay, such as:
- Location: How easy was it to get around?
- Cleanliness: How clean was the property?
- Staff: How helpful and friendly were the staff?
- Comfort: How comfortable was the room or property?
- Facilities: Were the facilities well-maintained and usable?
- Value for Money: Did the price reflect the quality of the stay?
- Free Wi-Fi: Was the Wi-Fi reliable and easy to use?
Importantly, these subscores are independent of the overall score. Guests choose their overall rating based on their overall impression, and their individual ratings for specific aspects don’t influence the final score. This ensures that every aspect of a property is considered and evaluated fairly.
Making Sure Reviews are Reliable
We strive to provide you with the most honest and accurate reviews. To ensure that every review is genuine, we employ a combination of human reviewers and automated systems to detect and remove fake reviews.
If we detect a suspicious review, we take action. This may include deleting the review and even taking disciplinary action against the individual responsible.
We also encourage you to report any suspicious activity. Simply contact our Customer Service team, and our dedicated Fraud Team will investigate the issue.
What We Don’t Allow
Our goal is to publish every review, both positive and negative. But, there are some things we won’t allow in our reviews, such as:
- Impersonation: A review claiming to be written by someone other than the actual guest.
- Violation of our review guidelines: Any review that doesn’t adhere to our community standards.
Keeping Reviews Current and Relevant
To make sure reviews are fresh and applicable, we may only accept reviews submitted within 3 months of a guest’s check-out date. We may also stop displaying reviews after 36 months or if there’s a change of ownership at the property.
Adding Your Voice: Leaving a Review
You can leave a review for any property you book through Booking.com, whether you stayed there or not. If you need to edit a review you’ve already submitted, just contact our Customer Service team.
Understanding Review Display
When you see multiple reviews for a property, the most recent ones will be at the top. Other factors that may influence the order include the language of the review, whether it includes text or just a rating, and whether it’s anonymous or not.
You can also sort and filter reviews by time of year, review score, type of traveler, and more.
Transparency and External Reviews
Sometimes we may display external reviews from other travel websites, making it clear that these reviews are from a different source.
Our Review Guidelines: Ensuring Quality and Fairness
We’ve created these guidelines to ensure the content on Booking.com is accurate, relevant, and family-friendly. While we encourage the expression of honest opinions, certain types of content are not allowed.
Here’s what we ask of our reviewers:
- Keep it travel-related: Focus on your experience at the accommodation, offering helpful details that will guide other travelers.
- Avoid personal opinions: Please don’t include personal, political, ethical, or religious commentary in your reviews.
- Be respectful: Your reviews should be suitable for a global audience. Avoid using profanity or discriminatory language.
- Be genuine: Your contribution should be your own unique experience. Do not post on behalf of others, offer incentives for reviews, or attempt to manipulate reviews of competitors.
- Respect privacy: We will make efforts to obscure any sensitive information, such as email addresses and phone numbers.
Remember, the opinions expressed in reviews are those of Booking.com customers and properties and not of Booking.com. We are not responsible for the content of any reviews or responses.
Keeping You Informed
We strive to make our review system as transparent and helpful as possible. We regularly evaluate our review system and processes, and we welcome your feedback.
