Frequently asked questions
If your question isn't here, feel free to email support@plushrate.com.
Service
What does Plush do?
A review service focused exclusively on hotel bed softness. Board / Firm / Balanced / Plush / Cloud verdicts let you compare sleep feel objectively.
Just bed softness?
Yes. Booking.com and Google Maps cover "clean", "great location" and similar overall ratings well, but tend to skip sleep feel. Plush fills that gap thoroughly.
Coverage?
In alpha we cover 7 Japanese cities (Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Sapporo, Fukuoka, Yokohama, Kyoto) and 3 international cities (New York, London, Paris). Filterable down to ward / borough; you can also request new areas.
How scores work
How is the score determined?
We aggregate user-submitted reviews and an AI (Claude) extraction from Google reviews, then compute the median per weight band.
Why per-weight?
Even on the same mattress, a 50 kg and a 90 kg sleeper sink differently. Surfacing reviews from your weight band first gives a more accurate signal.
How reliable are AI-inferred scores?
They're aggregated at half weight (0.5×) of user reviews. As real reviews accumulate, the relative impact of AI naturally drops.
Trust system
What is trust?
Cumulative count of how often a reviewer's posts have been voted helpful. High-trust reviewers carry more aggregation weight and are surfaced higher in hotel detail.
How can you have trust if everything is anonymous?
Names aren't displayed, but internally each post is tied to an account. Weight depends on "are past contributions useful", not on identity.
Can I vote on my own reviews?
No. RLS (Row-Level Security) blocks self-voting at the DB level.
What's the weight range?
1× to 4× depending on trust. AI-inferred is always at 1× equivalent (same as low-trust reviewers).
Privacy
Will my identity be visible?
On public pages everything shows as "Guest" or "Google review". Poster names are never displayed.
Is the actual weight number stored?
No. Just one of 4 bands (under 50 / 50–70 / 70–90 / over 90 kg) — never specific numbers.
Can I delete my reviews?
Yes. From the post history on My page, open the per-row menu → Delete.
Posting
What do I need to post?
Just a Google account sign-in. Takes about 30 seconds.
How quickly is my post reflected?
Instantly. A Postgres trigger recomputes aggregates on each post — your contribution shows on the hotel detail and rankings within seconds.
Can I post multiple times for the same hotel?
Technically yes, but only the latest entry per (user × hotel) is used in aggregation.
Are posts immediately visible?
Yes — Postgres triggers re-run aggregation immediately, and hotel detail / rankings update within seconds. Right after posting you can verify yours from My page.
Recommended comment length?
Up to 200 characters. Specific 30–80 character notes (a softness keyword + a body sensation) tend to collect the most helpful votes.
How do I edit my post later?
The sticky CTA on the hotel detail page switches to "Update your review". Tapping opens the form pre-filled with your previous values; submit to update aggregation as the latest single entry.