What is the Genius programme from Booking.com?
Discover Booking's Genius programme
November 2024
You may already advertise your holiday home on Booking.com, as it’s one of the most popular holiday rental portals around. Not every host knows about the Genius programme, though. This loyalty scheme is designed to reward frequent travellers, but it can also help holiday rental landlords maximise profits. Here’s how you can benefit from Genius booking.
What is Genius on Booking?
In a nutshell, Genius is Booking.com’s loyalty programme. Everyone who signs up on Booking.com as a traveller is automatically enrolled in the scheme, and they will level up as they book more nights:
- Genius Level 1: open to everyone, with no minimum requirements. Travellers get a discount of at least 10% on accommodation.
- Genius Level 2: for travellers who have booked at least 5 stays over a 2-year period. The minimum discount increases to 15%.
- Genius Level 3: for travellers who have booked at least 15 stays over a 2-year period. The minimum discount increases to 20%.
The benefit of using Genius for travellers is clear. The discounts are a great incentive —and the more they travel, the bigger the discounts. They may also find extra perks to incentivise them to stay in a property, such as late checkouts, free breakfasts, room upgrades and more.
There’s another bonus for guests: only properties with an average rating of at least 7.5 out of 10 can join the Genius programme. This helps filter out bad accommodation and should —in theory— guarantee quality.
What’s more, savvy travellers can filter Booking.com searches to only show Genius properties. This means that if you’re not part of Booking Genius, your property will appear in fewer searches, which can hurt your bottom line.
If you use Booking.com as a holiday rental website, you’ll find that the Genius programme can be incredibly useful. According to Booking, hosts who join the Genius programme see an increase of 70% in search result views, 45% in bookings and 40% in revenue. Landlords who don’t sign up for this programme may well be missing out.
Is Genius Booking free for hosts?
Hosts can sign up for the Genius programme for free, but there is an important caveat: you will need to cover the Genius booking discount. If nobody books your property, you won’t be charged a penny. However, when someone books at a discount price, you’ll receive less immediate profit than you would if they booked at the full rate.
In order to sign up to Genius, you’ll need to meet three criteria:
- Your property can be booked on Booking.com.
- Your property has received at least three reviews from guests.
- Your property has an average review score of at least 7.5.
In some exceptional cases, the final point may be relaxed. If your property is in an area where average scores are unusually low, but yours is above average, you may still be able to get into the Genius programme. The booking team handle that on a case by case basis.
When you sign up for the programme, Booking will automatically apply a 10% discount to your property. This discount is only valid on your cheapest and most popular room or unit. However, if you want to rent out a holiday flat or cottage, the discount will apply across your entire property, as you don’t have separate rooms available like a hotel.
Advantages and disadvantages of the Booking.com Genius programme for hosts
As a holiday home landlord, you want to protect your bottom line. How does the Booking.com Genius programme help that?
Well, as mentioned above, you’ll appear in more search results when you sign up for the Genius programme. According to Booking.com’s own statistics, hosts who are part of Genius have significantly higher revenue —and that’s even after taking the discount into account.
On the other hand, using the Genius programme can cause some problems if you advertise your holiday home on multiple platforms, including your own website. Savvy guests may search around and find your property available at a lower price on Booking.com. This can undermine your marketing on other platforms, which is particularly worrying if you’re spending money to advertise elsewhere. You might find that Booking.com is capturing most of your sales —and remember— you’ll need to pay a commission on reservations made through Booking.com. Some hosts find that other forms of marketing are more effective.
If you’re trying to build customer loyalty, you might find that the Genius programme isn’t that helpful. It encourages customers to be loyal to Booking.com rather than to specific hosts or properties. Repeat customers can be extremely valuable to a holiday rental business —and Genius doesn’t necessarily bring them.
Can I opt out of the Booking Genius programme?
Yes. You can sign up for the Genius programme, but that doesn’t mean you’re locked in forever. Hosts can easily opt out at any time.
You also have the option to suspend your membership for up to 30 days a year. Those days don’t have to be consecutive. This allows you to create your own dynamic pricing system. For example, if you have a seaside property, you may have no problems filling it during the summer. You might choose to suspend Genius during this time and enjoy full-price bookings. Once the busy period is over, you can reactivate the programme to encourage guests to visit out of season.
What happens if my average reviews drop below 7.5?
Genius depends on Booking reviews. If your average drops, you’ll be automatically removed from the programme until you can bring it back up. This can be a real danger to hosts, so you might want to plan for this eventuality. Remember, you can sign up for the Genius programme with just three reviews. You might prefer to wait until you have a few more before signing up. The fewer reviews you have, the more damage a negative one can do to your average score.
Keep in mind that the programme only relies on reviews on Booking.com. You might have fantastic reviews elsewhere, but that’s irrelevant to your participation in the Genius programme.
The bottom line: should I join the Booking.com Genius programme?
Ultimately, as a holiday landlord, it’s up to you. Some hosts find the programme very useful, while others don’t care for it. If you’re getting most of your reservations through Booking.com, it’s a useful tool. On the other hand, if you prefer to use other holiday rental platforms and direct marketing, you might not enjoy its effects. Remember, you can always try it, and if you don’t like it, simply opt out.