It does not seem like a bayesian equation is used to sort ratings on my site http://www.kimberley.co.za
If you check http://www.kimberley.co.za/places/northerncape/kimberley/accommodation/?sort_by=overall_rating_desc
There are 8 places with 1 to 4 reviews with an overall of 5 stars which is displayed above the listings of “Hillcrest Guesthouse” and @7a Jameson Guesthouse who respectively have 4.5 stars with 8 reviews and 4.5 starts with 47 reviews.
For reference I quoted a reply from another thread below
From another thread
Paolo, Site Admin
Hi,
that’s because we use a weighted algorithm for the rating system, based on the bayesian equation. (which is what most rating system do today).
The whole point is to avoid that a new listing with only one or two 5 stars rating, could be on top of a listing with 45 5 stars and 5 4 stars for example.
When you have few rating it can look awkward, but it’s the best system once you start having more reviews.
Thanks”