How are tours ranked, and how does the algorithm influence this ranking?

How are tours ranked, and how does the algorithm influence this ranking?

Info
Our algorithm determines the order in which tours appear when a traveler searches on the platform, ensuring our offer matches their interests.
It works in two steps: Initial Filters and Tour Score.

Initial Filters:

These take precedence over the score calculation.

  • Language: Tours in the traveler's selected language appear first.
  • No penalties: Penalized tours are ranked lower.
  • PRO: PRO tours have priority.
  • Availability: Tours without availability in the next 72 hours or on the selected date are ranked lower or not shown.
  • No debt: Tours with a negative balance are placed lower.
  • Available spots: Tours that are nearly full lose priority.
  • Large bookings: For large group reservations, we prioritize tours that don’t require upfront payment.

Idea
The algorithm is designed to help users find what they’re looking for, even if that means a Hobby tour appears before a PRO tour or a tour with an “acceptable” rating ranks higher than one with an “excellent” rating. Quality does not directly influence the algorithm.

Tour Score: How the algorithm score is calculated

The algorithm score is visible in the tour list, above each tour, and is only visible to gurus. It allows sorting tours once the previous filters have been applied.

  • CTR: How much interest travelers have in my tour (out of those who see it, how many click on it).
  • Conversion: How many of those interested actually go on to book my tour.
  • Booking size: How many people usually book per reservation (whether they are individuals, couples, or groups).
  • Attendees: The number of people who actually attended my tour, compared to the total number who booked.
  • Recurrence: If travelers who take my tour return to GuruWalk for another destination, my recurrence factor will score higher in the next 30 days.

Tiebreakers

If two tours are in a tie (based on filters and algorithm score), they will be ranked based on:
  1. The average rating of the last 100 reviews.
  2. If they are still tied, the newest one will appear first.

How can I influence the algorithm score and improve my ranking?

Info
There are certain factors of the algorithm that you can influence more, while others apply equally to all tours.
  1. CTR:
    1. Creating an appealing ad, with an attractive title and cover photo that catch attention.
    2. Avoid overloading the ad with emojis and exclamations that make your tour seem less professional.
    3. Maintaining high quality, which is also a key factor helping travelers decide between tours.
  1. Conversion:
    1. Writing a well-crafted and consistent tour description that aligns with the tour title.
    2. Offering a good variety of time slots and scheduling them frequently.
    3. Booking size: How many people usually book per reservation (whether they are individuals, couples, or groups). You can improve this by accepting larger group bookings. You can configure this in the tour editing section.

  • Attendees:
    We assume a certain percentage of travelers won’t show up (due to reasons beyond your control). The goal is to maximize the number of travelers arriving at the meeting point. To do this, it’s important to:

    • Set up automatic messages correctly, especially the reminder message that the tour starts in a few hours. If you don’t know how to do this, you can check out this article.
    • Ensure that the meeting point is easy to find. Sometimes, travelers don’t have constant internet access. You can recommend they download the map in your reminder message to avoid getting lost.
    • Avoid crowded meeting points. Sometimes, travelers get lost in the crowd or mistakenly join other tours.
    • Prevent cancellations by offering alternatives (either on your tour or with another collaborator’s tour).

  • Recurrence: If travelers who take your tour come back to GuruWalk for another destination, your recurrence factor increases.
    To influence this factor, you can:

    • Provide an excellent experience so they’ll want to return with GuruWalk in another destination.
    • Recommend or share other GuruWalk tours, even in another destination, to earn points for recurrence.
      Keep in mind that if they don’t return with GuruWalk, this factor won’t count toward your score.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does my tour appear lower than another one?

Probably the other tour better meets the initial rules or has a higher algorithm score.

Why does my tour have a better rating but appear lower?

Probably because the algorithm first sorts tours by filters, and it's possible that your tour is not in the language the traveler is looking for, or there is limited availability for your tour. It could also be because you don't offer availability in the next 72 hours.

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Why does the score I see on the website not match the one I calculate?

The values we display are rounded, but the algorithm uses exact numbers, which can result in small differences.

Why doesn't my tour appear if I have availability in the coming days?

For your tour to appear, you must have availability within the next 72 hours.

Example:
If it's 10 AM on Monday and you don't offer a tour until Wednesday at 12:30 PM, your tour won't appear.