The Charming Score
The full formula behind our 0-10 selection score: six weighted components, how each is calculated, and what the score does not mean.
The Charming Score is not a guest rating and it is not a measure of hotel quality in the abstract. It answers one question: how strongly does this property perform inside our selection logic?
We publish the formula because a score nobody can check is just a number with a decimal point in it.
The six components
| Component | Weight | How it is calculated |
|---|---|---|
| Guest rating | 45% | Booking.com guest score, scaled so 7.5 = 0 and 10.0 = 1 |
| Review confidence | 20% | Review volume on a log scale from 100 to 1,000 reviews |
| Property quality | 10% | Star classification out of 5; unclassified properties are held at the midpoint |
| Amenity fit | 10% | Share of seven tracked amenities present: spa, pool, restaurant, bar, terrace, pets, wifi |
| Character | 10% | 60% independence (no chain or soft-brand match) plus 40% property-type weighting, with inns and B&Bs weighted highest |
| Price positioning | 5% | Position of the indicative rate within the collection; lower rates score higher at equal quality |
How the number you see is produced
The six components combine into a single weighted value between 0 and 1. That value is then rescaled once, linearly, onto a 7.5 to 9.9 display range, anchored on the lowest and highest composite in the qualifying collection of 9,184 properties. There is no curve, no manual adjustment and no second pass.
So a Charming Score of 9.4 does not mean “94% good”. It means this property sits near the top of a collection that has already had 97% of the US market removed from it. The score is always relative to that collection - it is not a claim about the whole hotel market.
In practice the collection centres on 8.5. Roughly three properties in a thousand reach 9.6 or higher, and the lowest score you will ever see on this site is 7.5, because everything below our entry threshold is simply not here.
One ordering rule sits on top of the score
Shortlists are ordered by Charming Score, but independent properties are listed before chain-managed ones. Two thirds of the qualifying collection are chain brands or chain soft brands, and without that rule a city shortlist stops being a shortlist. The rule changes the order things appear in; it never changes the score itself. It is explained in full under how we select hotels.
What the score deliberately does not do
- It does not predict whether you personally will enjoy a stay.
- It does not measure service, cleanliness or breakfast - the guest score already carries those, and it is the single heaviest input.
- It does not reward price. Character weighs twice as much as price, which is why small independent inns frequently outrank far more expensive hotels.
- It cannot be bought, and no commercial arrangement changes it.
Limits we would rather state than hide
Review counts in our export are capped at 999, so a property with 4,000 reviews and one with 999 look the same to the confidence component. Star classification is missing for some properties. Indicative rates are a snapshot, not a quote. None of these break the score, but they do put a ceiling on how precise it can honestly claim to be - which is why we publish it to one decimal place and no further.
Common questions
Is the Charming Score the same as the Booking.com guest score?
No. The guest score is the largest single input at 45%, but the Charming Score also weighs review volume, star class, amenities, independence and price positioning.
Why does the score never go below 7.5?
Because the collection it ranks has already been filtered to properties scoring 8.5 or higher with at least 100 reviews. The score positions properties within that group, not against the whole market.
Can a hotel pay to raise its Charming Score?
No. See our affiliate disclosure.