Welcome to Booking.com! We believe in the power of honest feedback, and we want to make sure you understand how our review system works. This information will help you navigate and interpret the reviews you see on our platform.
How We Calculate Overall Scores
Every review you see on Booking.com is assigned a score between 1 and 10. To get the overall score, we add up all the review scores we receive and divide that total by the number of reviews. Simple, right?
But we also want to make sure recent feedback matters most. So in some regions, like Malta, Iceland, Australia, Greece, Brazil, and North Carolina, we’re testing a weighted review system. This means the more recent a review is, the bigger its impact on the overall score.
We also go beyond the overall score and allow guests to provide separate scores for specific aspects of their stay, such as location, cleanliness, staff, comfort, facilities, value for money, and free Wi-Fi. These subscores provide a more detailed picture of the property and can help you make an informed decision.
Making Sure Reviews Are Reliable and Relevant
We take review integrity very seriously. That’s why we have dedicated teams and automated systems working tirelessly to detect and remove fake reviews. If we spot any, we’ll delete them immediately and take action against the person responsible. You can also report suspicious activity to our Customer Service team for further investigation.
We strive to publish every review, good or bad. But to ensure reviews are relevant and family-friendly, we don’t display reviews that contain:
- Impersonation (claiming to be someone else)
- Violation of our review guidelines
We also understand that fresh feedback is most helpful. That’s why we may only accept reviews submitted within 3 months of checking out and may stop showing reviews that are older than 36 months, or if the property has a change of ownership.
Engaging with Reviews: Your Voice and the Accommodation’s Response
Accommodations can choose to respond to reviews, giving them a chance to address feedback and show they care about their guests’ experiences.
When you see multiple reviews, the most recent ones are typically at the top. You can sort and filter these reviews by time of year, review score, language, and more! We may also show external reviews from other trusted travel websites, clearly indicating their source.
Keeping Reviews Honest and Helpful
Our guidelines aim to keep the reviews on Booking.com relevant, family-friendly, and unbiased. We want to encourage honest opinions without allowing harmful or inappropriate content.
Here’s what we ask of our reviewers:
- Focus on travel: Share your experiences and insights about the property and your trip.
- Keep it real: Avoid personal, political, ethical, or religious commentary.
- Be respectful: Avoid profanity, hate speech, discriminatory remarks, threats, sexual content, violence, and promotion of illegal activities.
- Be original: Your contribution should be your own, not copied from another source or influenced by incentives.
- Respect privacy: We protect personal information, blurring out email addresses, phone numbers, and other sensitive details.
Understanding Responsibility
Remember, the opinions expressed in reviews are those of the guests and the property, not Booking.com. We do not take responsibility for the content of reviews or responses. Our role is to provide a platform for sharing experiences and encouraging open communication.
Navigating Reviews with Ease
We want to make it easy for you to find the information you need. Reviews are sorted by date and other factors, like your language preference, to show you the most relevant content. You can also further refine your search by using the various sorting and filtering options.
We may use translations powered by Google, but we are not responsible for the accuracy or reliability of these translations.
By following these guidelines, we work together to create a safe and informative space for sharing travel experiences and helping others make informed decisions about their next adventure.
