Stars or numbers: which rating format drives more bookings

A research team led by Deepak Sirwani, Shrishti Kumar, and Manoj Thomas has just published analysis on something that seems trivial but moves real money: how the format of guest ratings affects traveler booking behavior.

The question is straightforward but uncomfortable. When a potential guest sees your property on Booking, Expedia, or Google Hotels, is their choice influenced more by a star system (five stars, average 4.3) or by numerical score (8.7 out of 10)? The study shows the answer is not neutral, and this carries real implications for how distribution channels present your property and how you should think about direct sales.

The core finding is that these formats are not interchangeable. Travelers process information differently depending on presentation format. This means if your preferred OTA displays your score in a format that doesn't help you, or if you use the lower-converting format on your own website, you're self-sabotaging. This isn't complex technology or AI. It's pure consumer psychology with direct impact on occupancy.

For distribution managers and revenue managers, the lesson is clear: audit right now how your property appears across each channel. How does Booking display your score? Google? Your own website? If there's inconsistency or if you're in the lower-performing format, you have a conversion lever that costs nothing to pull, only attention. This is the kind of optimization that delivers fast ROI and most hotels overlook because it seems cosmetic. It isn't.