How we rank and review

Version 0.1 Effective

In short

  • The default “Recommended” order is based on relevance to your search and filters, rating, price and, where it applies, paid placement.
  • Anything that appears because someone paid for it is always labelled “Sponsored”.
  • Every rating shows its source. Partner ratings are marked as such; reviews from verified bookings on Dubai Activity will be marked as verified.

Why we publish this

EU consumer law, as updated by the Omnibus Directive (Directive (EU) 2019/2161, implemented in Romania by Government Emergency Ordinance 58/2022), requires websites that rank products to explain the main parameters that decide the order, and to say whether and how reviews are checked. This page does that in plain language.

Lists of activities, attractions, hotels and other listings are sorted by Recommended by default. This order combines the following main parameters:

  1. Relevance: how well a listing matches what you are looking at or searching for, including the page category, your search words and any filters you applied (for example duration, time of day, private or shared, free cancellation, suitability for children or wheelchair accessibility).
  2. Rating: the average rating available for the listing and, where known, how many ratings it is based on.
  3. Price: the indicative price compared with similar listings, as a measure of value for what is included.
  4. Paid placement: a partner or operator may pay for extra visibility. A paid listing can appear higher than it otherwise would, and it is always labelled “Sponsored” on the card and in the list.

The commission we may earn from a partner is not one of the ranking parameters. Listings we cannot link to reliably (for example because a partner link is broken or a product is no longer available) may be hidden until they are fixed.

Other ways to sort

You can change the order at any time with the sort control next to the results, for example to sort by price from low to high, by rating or by duration. These options sort strictly by the value you choose. Sponsored listings keep their “Sponsored” label whichever order you use.

A listing is labelled “Sponsored” (or “Ad”) whenever it is shown or placed higher because a partner or operator paid for it. Sponsored listings are otherwise subject to the same content and review rules as everything else, and payment never changes the rating or the reviews shown. More about how we earn money is in our affiliate disclosure.

Where ratings and reviews come from

Next to every rating or review we say where it comes from:

Partner ratings
Shown as, for example, “Rating provided by [partner name]”. This is the aggregate rating that the partner platform publishes for the product, displayed only where the partner’s programme terms allow it. We have not checked the individual reviews behind it; they are collected and moderated by the partner under its own rules. We do not copy reviews from other websites.
Reviews on Dubai Activity
When we sell bookings directly in the future, customers will be able to review what they booked. Those reviews will be marked “Reviews from verified bookings on Dubai Activity”, because we can check that the reviewer actually booked the product.

If a review is not marked as coming from a verified booking, you should not assume it has been verified.

How we handle reviews

  • Negative reviews are not hidden. We publish reviews whether they are positive or negative.
  • Moderation removes only content that is illegal, offensive, or not about the actual experience, following our public review and content policy.
  • Fake reviews are forbidden, including reviews that are bought, written in exchange for incentives without disclosure, or written by the operator, its staff or our own staff.
  • Operators may reply publicly to reviews; they cannot edit or remove them.

Our own editorial assessments

Our guides and “best of” selections are written by our editorial team based on research, what is included, price, location, practical information and, where available, first-hand experience. Each guide shows when it was last reviewed, and we review guides at least every six months. Our editorial choices are independent from commissions, as explained in our affiliate disclosure.

Questions or concerns

If you think a listing is ranked or labelled incorrectly, or a review breaks our rules, please tell us through our contact page.