# How the Roost Score is calculated

The Roost Score is a 0–10 number computed from a hotel's guest rating, the number of
reviews behind it, and the rating distribution of its country.

## Step 1 — weight by evidence
`bayes = (v / (v + 50)) * rating + (50 / (v + 50)) * countryMean`
where `v` is the review count. A 9.8 from six guests is not better than a 9.2 from
six thousand, so thin evidence is pulled toward the country baseline.

## Step 2 — re-base by country
`score = 0.70 * bayes + 0.30 * (bayes - countryMean + 7.0)`
Guests in different countries do not use the same scale, but normalizing entirely
would erase real quality differences. Seventy per cent absolute, thirty per cent relative.

## Not included
Price, star rating, and editorial opinion are all excluded. There is no promoted
placement and no listing fee.

## Known limits
The score inherits guest-review bias, including unusually warm ratings at very small
properties. Country baselines shift slightly as coverage grows. Unreviewed hotels are
not scored and never appear in a ranking.

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Source: HotelRoost — https://hotelroost.com/methodology
Retrieved: 18 September 2026
Scoring method: /methodology