How we score happy hours
HH Score is HH PHX's own ranking, from 0 to 100. A higher score means a stronger price, more to order, more hours, and information we trust. It is not a paid placement.
Value · 35 points
Each price we have — beer, wine, well drinks, cocktails, the cheapest drink, and the cheapest food — is compared with the typical price for that same category across Phoenix. The typical price is the median. Lower than typical scores higher. That result is scaled by how many of the six prices we know, so one cheap drink cannot outrank a full menu of typical prices. When a place has no prices, we use the percent off drinks and the percent off food instead. A deal written as dollars off never becomes a price. If there is no price and no percent off, each counted drink deal and each counted food deal adds 1 point, up to 4 points a side.
Breadth · 20 points
A happy hour that covers both food and drinks scores higher than one that covers only one side. More listed deals add points, up to a cap so a long menu cannot run away with the score.
Availability · 20 points
More happy-hour hours in a week score higher. Weekend hours and hours after 9 PM get a bonus. If the structured schedule is missing or empty, that place gets a small partial score when the written hours include a time, and it is not shown as open now. We do not guess the hours by reading the written schedule. When a structured schedule is present, open now follows it. An all-day special counts from midnight to midnight, and it counts as open now for that whole day. When the listing runs from opening until a set end, and the opening time is not stored, we count from the later of 11 AM and three hours before the end. Open now uses that same window. A block that ends at midnight joined to a block that starts at midnight the next day is one stretch, so late night and starting later today continue through the morning.
Data confidence · 10 points
A street address, an official website, a happy hour menu link, and a recent check all raise confidence. The words "unknown" and "verify" count as missing. A check from the last month scores higher than one from last year. Only the verified date counts. If that date is missing, the place is not verified, even when a note mentions another date. Guessing an opening time costs 1 confidence point.
Community · 15 points, coming later
This slice is reserved for ratings, favorites, and photos. It is 0 for every venue today, and it is left out of the math. The other four parts add up to 85. We scale those points to a 0–100 HH Score, so a place that aces the live parts can still reach 100. Your stars and saves do not change HH Score yet.
Featured spots cannot buy rank
Some venues are labeled Featured. That label means the placement is paid, and you can always see it. Featured or sponsored status never changes HH Score. It does not change Best or Best right now. A featured spot can still rank low, and an unpaid spot can rank first.