Throughout the site we use a simple 5-point rating system to indicate overall visitor "satisfaction"' with the business or feature. Overall satisafaction is taken to mean a combination of quality, standards, service and price; in fact the visitors' overall satisfaction with the entire experience. Low scores indicate low satisfaction; high scores high satisfaction.
The Reader Satisfaction Rating (RSR) icon shown in the listings/articles is the combined total of all votes cast to date. However, the final figure displayed is weighted to increase the probability of the final result. It would be unfair, for example, to grant a business with just 1 vote of 5-points a final score of 100%. Surely a business with a high number of votes, but with a slightly lower average score, would represent a far more reliable choice and should therefore be awarded a higher RSR score?
Therefore, in order to increase the reliability, or 'probability' of the score, the system utilises Bayesian statistical weighting techniques. Factors that influence the final score include the total number of votes cast, the age of the votes and the consistency of votes where they deviate from the average. Properties with a high number of votes are not as influenced by the weighting; whereas properties with only a small number of infrequent, or highly-rated, votes are more likely to have a weighted score adjusted back towards the current average accommodation score (currently 4.01). Votes made more than two years ago are largely ignored.
The final weighted RSR is displayed through a series of 13 5-bar icons, coloured purple, red, orange, tourquoise and green representing the 5-star voting system we utilise. By colouring the bars, we can provide an easy visual representation of a wider range of scores, as shown below. It is important to remember that the average score awarded across all our RSR polls is between a low of 3.5 (70%) for Restaurants to a high of 4.2 (84%) for tour guides.
In summary, you would be advised to give VERY serious consideration before choosing businesses/features with a purple or red RSR score. Properties/businesses/features with an orange RSR icon are in the 'okay' bracket - nothing to write home about possibly, but you should be able to expect a reasonable experience. For the optimum holiday experience, however, you are best looking at the properties with turquoise/green RSR icons.
Hope that makes it a little clearer. The above information is also available at
http://www.myTobago.info/rsr.php