How does Booking.com calculate the review score?

Understanding how your review score is calculated can help you improve your property's ratings. Here's a detailed breakdown of Booking.com's review scoring system.

How the Review Process Works on Booking.com

1. Review Invitation

After guests check out of your property, Booking.com sends them an email inviting them to leave a review. Guests have 90 days from their checkout date to complete their review.

2. Overall Score Calculation

Your overall Guest Review Score is based on individual scores submitted by guests over the last 3 years. The calculation uses a weighted system, meaning more recent reviews have a greater impact on your final score than older reviews.

Guests rate their experience on a scale of 1 to 10, and this overall score is the only mandatory field required to submit a review. This single rating becomes the foundation of your property's review score.

3. Optional Subcategory Ratings

In addition to the overall score, guests can optionally rate specific aspects of their stay:

• Cleanliness
• Comfort
• Value for money
• Facilities
• Location
• Staff

These subcategory ratings provide valuable insights into different aspects of your property but do not affect your overall score. They are completely independent and reflect only the guest's opinion on those specific elements.

Understanding Your Overall Score

Your overall score is neither an average nor a sum of the subcategories. It represents the guest's personal, holistic impression of their entire stay at your property.

The optional subcategories selected by Booking.com may not cover every aspect of the guest experience. Guests often consider factors not included in these categories, such as design, family-friendliness, or other personal criteria. These considerations are reflected in their overall score rather than in the subcategories.

This means a guest may provide a positive overall score while rating individual categories lower, or vice versa, depending on what mattered most to them during their stay.

Key Takeaway

Focus on delivering an excellent overall guest experience. While subcategory ratings offer helpful feedback, your overall score—which is weighted toward recent reviews—is what impacts your property's rating most significantly on Booking.com.