Booking.com uses a straightforward method to determine the overall review score for each accommodation. We add up all the individual review scores and then divide that number by the total number of reviews received. This provides a fair and accurate representation of the overall guest experience.
We are constantly striving to enhance our review system and are currently experimenting with a weighted review system in several countries, including Malta, Iceland, Australia, Greece, Brazil, and North Carolina. In these regions, the newer the review, the greater its impact on the overall score calculation. This approach gives more weight to recent feedback, providing a more current picture of the accommodation.
Sharing Your Thoughts: Writing Reviews on Booking.com
Share your experience! You can write a review for any accommodation you booked through Booking.com, whether you stayed there or just visited the property. To ensure the accuracy and relevance of our reviews, we encourage you to submit your review within three months of checking out.
We want to hear your honest opinions, both positive and negative. But, to protect the integrity of our review platform, we have a few guidelines in place:
Keeping It Real: Our Review Guidelines
Our review guidelines are designed to ensure a safe and respectful environment for all users. We strive to maintain the relevance and family-friendliness of our content without limiting the expression of genuine opinions. These guidelines apply to all comments, regardless of their sentiment.
Here’s what we don’t allow on Booking.com reviews:
- Impersonation: Reviews must be genuine, with writers using their own identities.
- Violations of Our Guidelines: Reviews should adhere to our community standards, which prohibit inappropriate content.
We also limit the display of reviews that are:
- Submitted beyond 3 months of checkout.
- Older than 36 months.
- For properties that have changed ownership.
Remember:
- We’re here to help! If you find a review that seems suspicious, you can report it to our Customer Service team. They’ll investigate and take appropriate action.
- We want to hear from you! Share your thoughts and experiences with other travellers. Your reviews help people make informed decisions about where to stay.
Maintaining a High Standard: Review Content Expectations
We strive to ensure that all reviews are relevant, helpful, and respectful of others. We encourage you to:
- Focus on travel-related experiences.
- Provide detailed insights that help others make informed choices.
- Keep your contributions objective and avoid personal, political, ethical, or religious commentary.
Promotional content and issues regarding Booking.com’s services should be directed to our Customer Service or Accommodation Service teams.
We believe in fostering a global community where everyone feels comfortable expressing their opinions. This means adhering to a high standard of decorum in our reviews. We ask that you:
- Avoid using offensive language or profanity in any language.
- Refrain from using hate speech, discriminatory remarks, threats, sexually explicit content, violence, or the promotion of illegal activity.
Transparency and Authenticity: Our Commitment to Trust
All content should be genuine and unique to the guest. We encourage original and unbiased contributions to ensure the value of our reviews. Booking.com property partners are not permitted to post on behalf of guests or offer incentives in exchange for reviews. We will not tolerate attempts to manipulate reviews or unfairly lower the rating of competitors.
Respecting everyone’s privacy is paramount. We will make an effort to obscure personal information such as email addresses, phone numbers, website addresses, social media accounts, and similar details.
Booking.com acts as a distributor, not a publisher, of reviews. We do not take responsibility for the content of reviews or responses. The opinions expressed in contributions belong to Booking.com customers and properties, not to Booking.com.
Navigating Our Reviews: Making It Easy for You
We believe in presenting clear and helpful information to our users. Therefore, reviews are typically displayed in chronological order, with the newest reviews at the top. We use several additional factors to determine the order, such as the language of the review, the inclusion of text comments, and whether the review is anonymous.
We offer various sorting and filtering options to help you find the reviews that are most relevant to you. You can sort reviews by time of year, review score, type of traveler, or other criteria.
We may sometimes display external review scores from other reputable travel websites. We clearly indicate when these scores are included, providing you with a comprehensive view of the accommodation’s ratings.
We’re constantly striving to improve our review system and make it more user-friendly. We hope these guidelines and standards contribute to a positive and informative experience for all Booking.com users.
