Open methodology
How venues are
ranked on TPDR.
The order venues appear in across TPDRisn't a black box. It's one credibility score, built from four signals, and this page sets out exactly how it's calculated — so diners can trust the order and venues can see precisely how to climb it.
One principle first
You cannot buy your way to the top of an organic page on TPDR. Ranking is earned on merit — on accolades, on the quality of the listing, on being a verified business, and on looking after the diners who enquire. A venue can pay to win a featured slot, but a featured slot is a separate, clearly marked band; it never moves a venue above a more credible competitor in the main list. Editorial credibility first, paid placement second — structurally, not just as a promise.
The four signals
Each venue gets a credibility score out of 100. Four signals feed it, each weighted by how much it should matter. The weights below add up to the whole score.
- 35%
Accolades
Good Food Guide hats, Gourmet Traveller awards, World's 50 Best, Michelin where relevant, and other independent editorial awards. A three-hat venue scores higher than a one-hat venue; a venue with no accolades scores nothing here — and still has the other 65% to win on.
- 30%
Listing completeness
How thoroughly the listing is filled in — description, photography, contact details, and every bookable space with its capacity, pricing and images. This is the signal a venue controls outright: the honest, earnable path up the order, accolades or not.
- 15%
Verified & claimed
Whether the venue is a real, engaged business that has claimed its listing — and, more strongly, been verified by TPDR staff. It rewards venues that have stepped up to manage their own presence on the platform.
- 20%
Responsiveness
How reliably a venue replies to the enquiries it receives. Until a venue has an enquiry history this sits at a neutral midpoint — it neither helps nor hurts a new listing. Proven fast responders climb; venues that leave diners waiting slip.
How a venue earns its completeness score
Listing completeness is 30 of the 100 points, and it's the part entirely in a venue's own hands. It's a plain checklist — fill in more of it, score higher. Here is the whole list, scored out of 100 and then weighted into the credibility score.
The venue
- A description of real substance+15
- A hero photograph+15
- A tagline+5
- A phone number+5
- An email address+5
- A website+5
- Tagged with at least one occasion+5
The spaces
- At least one bookable space listed+15
- Seated capacity set on every space+10
- Pricing set on every space+10
- A photograph on every space+10
A venue that lists no bookable spaces can't score the space points — there's nothing to book — so a complete profile always means real spaces, properly described.
Accolades decay over time
An award counts for more the more recently it was earned. A hat won this year contributes its full weight; the same hat a decade later contributes nothing. The aim is to show diners what's good now — not what was good once. It also means accolades are something to defend, not coast on.
When the score updates
The moment a venue edits its listing — a new photo, a fuller description, another space — its score recalculates straight away. On top of that, the whole catalogue is re-scored once every day, so award decay and responsiveness stay current even when nothing is edited. There is no manual override and no way to request a higher position.
Featured placement is a separate thing
Venues can win a featured slot — a dedicated, clearly labelled card placement at the top of a city, suburb, cuisine or category page. It is extra visibility, allocated by monthly auction, and it is kept structurally apart from the organic order. A featured slot never reorders the main list, and it never lifts a venue above a more credible competitor there. The two systems do not touch.
Run a venue?
Every point above is earnable. The fastest climb for most venues is completeness — claim your listing, fill in your spaces, add your photography.