What the Cedar Score actually measures (and what it doesn't)

The Cedar Score is not one number. It is seven independent scores, one for each sensory dimension that tends to make or break a stay for neurodivergent and sensory-sensitive travelers. There is deliberately no overall rating, because a single average would hide the one thing you actually need to know.

Why there is no overall score

Sensory needs do not average out. A silent forest cabin and a lively design hotel might land at the same blended number, yet one could be perfect for you and the other unbearable. If noise is your dealbreaker, a high "overall" rating built partly on great food and gardens tells you nothing useful. So we never blend the dimensions together. You read the categories that matter to you, and ignore the ones that do not.

Seven independent dimensions

Each property is scored from 0 to 100 in each category, and the categories stand alone:

Sound covers nighttime quiet, insulation between rooms, proximity to bars and traffic, and whether you can open a window without letting the street in.

Visual covers room darkening, control over artificial light, the quality of natural light, visual simplicity, and whether spaces rely on harsh or cluttered surroundings.

Space covers room spaciousness and how likely you are to meet dense groups of people, in common areas, at breakfast, in hallways, and in the surrounding area.

Nature measures access to natural elements: gardens, green views, natural materials, water, and daylight. Natural environments support nervous system regulation.

Air evaluates ventilation, temperature control, air quality, and scent, so you are not stuck choosing between street noise and a stuffy, fragranced room.

Predictability measures how easy it is to know what to expect: clear communication, consistent rooms, reliable check-in, and how much you can adjust your own environment.

Food covers allergen transparency, kitchen access, flexible meal times, and quiet places to eat.

Categories that do not apply simply do not appear. A property with no restaurant gets no Food score, rather than a misleading zero. And a low score is never a verdict that a place is bad: it means the place is not the right match for someone highly sensitive in that one dimension. A lively beach resort scores low on Sound and high on Nature. That is honest, and it is useful.

What the Cedar Score does not measure

Price. A strong profile might be a 90-euro pension or a 400-euro boutique hotel. We do not factor cost, because sensory needs do not scale with budget.

Your personal triggers. The scores reflect common sensitivity patterns, not your exact profile. Someone wrecked by fluorescent light but unbothered by moderate noise should weight the Visual category for themselves.

Consistency over time. Hotels change: staff turnover, renovations, new management, seasonal crowds. We update as we learn, but there is always a lag.

Subjective atmosphere. The pace of the staff, the quality of silence, the way light falls through a window. We try to capture this in the written profile, because it is beyond what any number can hold.

Why we publish the method

Trust requires transparency. When you can see exactly what each category measures, you can judge for yourself whether a property fits your needs. The Cedar Score is a starting point, not a verdict. It exists to save you the hours of review-reading and map-checking that sensory-sensitive travel currently demands for every booking. It will not be perfect, but it should be useful.