WARNING: This scoring has been deprecated and is no longer applicable              View update

Similar to the way Google is constantly adding new variables to improve the accuracy and usefulness of their search rankings, we are constantly looking for new ways to do improve the HT Score.

At the end of March we will be rolling out several updates centered around building additional quality signals into the HT Score to increase its robustness and accuracy. Most of these variables were introduced into this year's HotelTechAwards (view scoring methodology) and now will be built into the HT Score algorithm as of the end of March.

Below we will cover (1) What are the new variables and (2) How to improve your HT Score/rankings.

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I. How the new bonus variables/quality signals are weighted in the total HT Score calculation

The majority of the HT Score 90%+ is entirely based on customer reviews and always will be. The below Please note that these are relative percentage weights, not raw points in the HT Score.

Verified customer reviews & ratings variables make up 85% weighting of the HT Score algorithm with additional quality signals making up the additional 15%.

• Customer reviews related variables (85%): Customer reviews (80%, includes quantity, quality and recency of reviews), Customer advocates bonus (2.5%), Global reach bonus (2.5%)
• Additional quality signals: Partner recommendations bonus (3%), Verified customer support bonus (3%), Integrations bonus (2%), Company staying power (3%), Company resources (3%)

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II. What are the new variables

👏 Customer Advocates Bonus

• What is it: Top 3 products with the most reviews (aka customer advocates) in the category will receive additional points
• Why is it important: The current HT Score only looks to identify if company meets the category average number of reviews; however, it doesn't fairly reward top companies with extremely high customer engagement.
• How to earn points: Most reviews // 2nd most // 3rd most
• Weight: up to 2.5%

🌏 Global Reach Bonus

• What is it: Bonus for products who have 5 or more verified reviews from at least 3 countries
• Why is it important: Scaling to, and maintaining, a global presence is resource intensive and requires strong product market fit, experienced leadership and strong business fundamentals each of which are strong success indicators. Hotel Tech Report's audience is also global and therefore the probability of best-fit matches for users increases for companies with a global presence.
• How to earn points: >3 countries // >5 countries // >7 countries
• Weight: up to 2.5%

📞 Certified Support Bonus

• What is it: Verified customer support certification achieved based on the Global Support Certification Standards
• Why is it important: Customer support is one of the most critical decision factors when hoteliers are selecting new vendors but is also one of the most difficult to assess in the buying process. Companies who have opened their systems and invested into tools and processes to help their clients succeed and have achieved HTR's GCSC Customer Support Certification earn additional points.
• How to earn points: Level I // Level II // Level III // Level IV
• Weight: up to 3%

🤝 Partner Recommendations Bonus

• What is it: Products who have at least 5 partner recommendations.
• Why is it important: Partner recommendations are a strong quality indicator and vote of confidence from industry experts that speak to the product, team and company

• How to earn points: >5 recommendations // >10 recommendations

  // >15 recommendations

• Weight: up to 3%

🔌 Integrated Vendor Bonus

• What is it: Products who have at least the average number of verified integrations relative to other products in their category.
• Why is it important: Integrations are one of the most critical elements to increase tooling efficiency, time savings and the ability to leverage data while reduce redundancies, manual entry and disparate data.
• How to earn points: Meets category average // Most integrations in category
• Weight: up to 2.5%

👬 Company Resource Bonus

• What is it: Companies with at least 15 employees 
• Why is it important: Having more resources means a company has more to invest in their product, R&D, customer support and growth. Since many companies' funding rounds are not publicly available or they are funded by cashflow, number of employees serves as a proxy for resource availability.
• How to earn points: Company size
• Weight: up to 3%

⏰ Company Staying Power Bonus

• What is it: Companies who have been in business for at least 3 years.
• Why is it important: When choosing technology vendors, hoteliers are looking for a partner that will be around for the long haul. More years in business is a strong indicator of a stable and sustainable company that will be around for more to come.
• How to earn points: Years in business

• Weight: up to 3%

  
  

💬 Minimum Review Threshold Update

• What is it: Previously, the category average was calculated based on the average number of reviews for products in the category with >10 reviews but will now only factor in products with >30 reviews.
• Why is it important: As categories develop and have higher review volumes, products with <30 reviews were given an unfair advantage despite have 1/3 or even less the number of reviews and being able to compete side-by-side. The minimum review threshold will remain in place to ensure a level playing field for smaller companies who don't have as many clients to get reviews from but will also fairly compensate companies who have drastically higher review volumes and customer advocates by increasing the requirements for the category average.
• How to earn points: Check the minimum review threshold for your products in your vendor dashboard and make sure you are above the category average.

III. How to improve your HT Score/rankings

Below are 6 simple ways to improve your HT Score or you can check out our more in-depth guide in the help center here.

1. Get more reviews Learn more
2. Get more partner recommendations Learn more
3. List and verify your integrations Learn more
4. Get more reviews from clients in other countries Learn more
5. Earn the GCSC Customer Support Certification Learn more
6. Review the bonus variables to identify more opportunities Learn more

Want to get custom recommendations to improve your HT Score? 

Write in via the live chat on Hotel Tech Report and we'll send you your current standing and how to improve as shown in the screenshot below.

WARNING: This scoring has been deprecated and is no longer applicable