booking dot com logo as they bring in their new review score update in 2025

Booking.com’s 2025 review score update introduces a new scoring approach that emphasizes recent guest feedback, offering a more accurate reflection of each property’s current guest experience.

NB: This is an article from Mara

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This update is designed to increase transparency for travelers and encourage continuous improvement among hotel partners.

In this article, we’ll explore what these changes mean for hotels. From the shift in scoring to the new weighting by recency, we’ll outline how the update can impact visibility, guest expectations, and operational outcomes for properties on Booking.com.

What is the Booking.com 2025 review score update?

The 2025 update to Booking.com’s review score system introduces a “recency-weighted” approach, prioritizing more recent guest reviews in calculating overall ratings. As a result, newer feedback will have a greater influence on a hotel’s score, allowing properties that have made recent improvements to see these reflected more promptly in their ratings.

According to the guide Booking.com sent to partners like MARA, this update serves a dual purpose: to better represent the current guest experience and to motivate properties to continuously improve. “By weighting recent reviews more heavily, we aim to align review scores more closely with the present experience of each property,” says Booking.com. This focus on recency also aims to enhance transparency, providing prospective guests with more accurate, up-to-date insights into the property’s offerings and service quality.

The recency-weighted system benefits both travelers and hotels. Guests gain a clearer picture of what they can expect, while hotels can see positive changes reflected faster – encouraging a cycle of improvement and responsiveness that aligns with guest expectations.

What does “weighted by recency” mean for hotels?

The “weighted by recency” approach in Booking.com’s 2025 review score update shifts the review system to prioritize recent feedback, offering a more current and representative snapshot of each property’s guest experience. Here’s how the weighting works over the span of three years:

1. Year one: heaviest weight

Reviews from the past year are given the highest weight, meaning that the most recent guest feedback will significantly influence the overall review score. This approach allows improvements or declines in service to be reflected promptly, providing potential guests with the most relevant assessment of the property.

Additionally, Booking.com has observed that motivated accommodation partners often see tangible results in improving their scores after implementing successful guest experience campaigns, with an average uplift achieved in just 2.5 months. This demonstrates the system’s responsiveness and the positive impact of focused efforts on guest satisfaction.

2. Year two: moderate weight

Reviews from one to two years ago have a moderate influence on the overall score. While still relevant, their impact is reduced compared to year-one reviews, ensuring that older experiences don’t overly skew the current perception of the property.

3. Year three: lightest weight

Reviews from two to three years ago are given the least weight in the scoring calculation. Although they remain part of the score, their minimal impact reduces the likelihood that outdated information will influence a property’s rating, especially if substantial changes have occurred in recent years.

booking low recent score

Hotels like these with low scores on recent reviews might experience fluctuations in their Booking.com visibility.

Implications for different review volumes

Booking.com now has over 350 million verified guest reviews. The recency-weighted system affects properties differently based on their review volumes:

Read the full article at Mara