How Does Expedia's Rating Actually Work?

The single most important structural fact is the same shape as Booking.com’s, even if the wording differs: Expedia "take[s] reasonable steps to ensure that only those who have booked or provided a travel service ... can post a review of their experience." Reviews must be submitted within six months of the stay, Expedia can ask for proof of the stay, and an owner or manager may not review their own property. There is no public review form and no way for a business, competitor, or third party to add a review from outside that closed loop.

Reviews don’t appear everywhere at once. A new review posts first on the specific Expedia Group site the guest actually booked through, then rolls out across the rest of the marketplace — Expedia.com, Hotels.com, and other Expedia Group sites — after about 90 days. Reviews generally remain visible and count toward the published score for roughly three years, though Expedia keeps older reviews up longer for properties that don’t yet have enough reviews to give travelers a useful picture.

Because reviews are guest-verified by design, Expedia’s guidelines separately state that partners "may not request a positive review in exchange for refunds or ask a guest to revise a review in order to receive additional compensation," and may not submit or solicit negative reviews aimed at a competitor.

• A simple average, not a weighted one — every eligible published score counts equally toward the displayed number for as long as it stays on file, so it doesn’t decay in influence the way Booking.com’s recency-weighted score does.
• A 1–5 guest input, doubled for display — travelers rate a stay on a 1–5 scale, and Expedia converts that to the out-of-10 number shown on its sites.
• A closed, verified-stay system — only travelers who booked and completed (or attempted) a stay through Expedia Group can leave a review; owners and managers can’t review their own property.
• A staggered, roughly three-year rollout and retention window — a new review posts on the original booking site first, reaches the rest of the Expedia Group marketplace after about 90 days, and generally keeps counting toward the score for about three years (longer for properties with too few reviews).
• Guideline compliance — reviews Expedia removes for failing eligibility (timing, no proof of stay, self-review) or violating content guidelines (fake content, hate speech, exposed personal information) don’t count toward the score.