Method

How we review

The criteria, the scale and the rules that produce every number on this site. Published in full so a score can be argued with.

Last updated 12 September 2026

The four criteria

Every platform is assessed against the same four questions, weighted equally. A product that is excellent at one and hopeless at another lands in the middle, which is usually the honest answer.

Total price at checkout — the number on the payment screen, including service fees, resort fees, card and currency markup, and what the cheapest rate's cancellation terms actually allow.
Inventory and coverage — whether the platform lists properties, seats or tickets a traveller could not easily find elsewhere, or simply resells the same stock behind another logo.
Failure handling — overbookings, closures, cancelled tours and refund disputes. We read the published policy and weigh it against the documented pattern of outcomes.
Ranking honesty — whether the default sort is paid placement, whether that is disclosed, and whether a reader can switch it off.

The scale

Scores run from 0 to 10 and are published to one decimal place. The scale is absolute, not relative to the section: a 7.0 in hostels means the same thing as a 7.0 in car hire.

9.0 – 10Best in its category with no material reservation. Rare, and we have not awarded it lightly.

8.0 – 8.9Strong. Recommended for most travellers, with specific caveats named in the review.

7.0 – 7.9Good at a defined job. Use it for that job and compare elsewhere for the rest.

6.0 – 6.9Works, but something material counts against it — fee load, thin coverage or poor dispute handling.

4.0 – 5.9Only worth using when nothing else covers your route, dates or destination.

Below 4.0We would not book through it. The review says why.

Evidence

Prices, fees and policy details are taken from the operator's live site or its published terms, on a stated date. We name the plan tiers and the actual numbers rather than describing them as “competitive”. Where a figure varies by market, we say which market we checked.

Screenshots are captured from the live site and are rejected automatically if the page returns an error, is effectively blank, or serves a language other than English. We would rather publish a review with two images than one with an invented third.

Independence

No platform reviewed here pays us, and no link on this site carries an affiliate tag or a tracking parameter. We accept no free stays, media rates, review units or event access from the companies we cover. Nobody outside the editorial desk sees a review before it publishes.

Updating and rescoring

Travel platforms change their fees more often than they change their homepages. A review is rescored when a fee structure, cancellation policy or ownership change makes the old number wrong. The new score replaces the old one and the change is noted at the foot of the review.

Limits of a review

A score describes a platform, not your booking. Availability, price and protection vary by country, by date and by the property or operator behind the listing. Nothing on this site is personalised financial, legal or medical advice, and travel insurance, visa and health decisions should be taken with a qualified professional and the relevant official source.