How ratings work
Every score on this site is arithmetic you can check, not a vibe we sell. Five categories, five public weights, one formula — the same one that ranks The Charts. Here it is, end to end.
The formula
Everything is on a 1–10 scale. The five categories catch the details; the overall rating catches the gut feeling the details miss. Averaging the two keeps either one from steamrolling the other. The weights below sum to 18, and they never change per listing — no place gets a friendlier formula.
· marks the subcriteria required in a full rating. “Photogenic” is recorded but deliberately never scored — a place being pretty on camera is information, not quality.
A real example
Japan
The arithmetic, written out
The 9.20 is the community’s overall rating — the “how did it feel” number averaged in alongside the category math.
Try the math yourself
The weight playground
On the big sites, ranking is partly sold; here you can literally run the math. These are Tokyo's fixed category scores — drag the weights and watch the score answer honestly.
Weighted score
Σ(score × weight) ÷ 18. Same inputs, your priorities.
Two ways to rate
Quick Rate
Simple 1–10 score with an optional note.
Thirty seconds at the gate. Your overall still feeds the blend — honesty shouldn’t require homework.
Globetrotter
Full detailed rating across every criterion.
Every category, every subcriterion. For the travelers who keep spreadsheets and are right to.
The seven traveler personas
A 9.1 means different things to different travelers. Pick a persona and the Persona Lens re-reads every community score through it — a stable, deterministic adjustment per (place, persona) pair, so “8.9 for foodies” means the same thing tomorrow. It never touches the underlying score; it’s a second opinion, not a new number.
Comfort-first
Great beds, great service, zero friction.
Budget nomad
Maximum world per dollar.
Food-driven
The itinerary is a menu.
Culture-driven
Museums, ruins, rituals, neighborhoods.
Adventure-driven
If it raises the pulse, book it.
Slow traveler
Fewer places, longer stays, deeper roots.
Family captain
Logistics hero for the whole crew.
The Honest Travel Pledge
- Every price is the all-in price — taxes, fees and resort charges included up front.
- No pay-to-play. Rankings come from the rating formula alone; placement cannot be bought.
- No fake urgency. You will never see a countdown timer or an invented “only 1 left!” here.
- Reviews carry context — who traveled, when, and as what kind of traveler — so a score always means something.
What we’ll never do
- Pay-to-play. No listing can buy a rank, a badge, or a better spot on any chart.
- Urgency timers. No countdowns, no “3 people are looking at this”. Travel decisions deserve a calm room.
- Drip pricing. The first price you see is the price you pay — no fees materializing at checkout.
- Burying the fee. Resort fees, cleaning fees and taxes sit in the headline number, itemized, in the open.
See the formula at work on The Charts — no sponsored rows, ever.