Booking.com's truly genius loyalty programme

It’s not a secret that one of the main goals of any company is having as many loyal customers as possible. What is a loyal customer? Loyal customers are those who are likely to come back to you, even if your product or service is not on sale, and will recommend your business to others. Let’s take a look at what Booking.com - a Dutch online travel agency for lodging reservations - is doing about this matter.

Personally, I am a very proud Booking.com supporter, in fact when it’s time to plan a stay somewhere, you will find me with the Booking.com app already open in my hands. But it hasn’t always been like that. What was the game changer for me? It was the (most) Genius Loyalty Program.

I have subscribed to Booking.com in 2017, made one reservation and rarely used in the following years afterwards. In May 2020, after a last minute change of plans, I found myself downloading Booking.com again. Without too much thought, I shortly made my second reservation. By doing so, I unconsciously unblocked Genius Level 1. Completely unaware of their loyalty program, I dug into what were the requirements to achieve the next level. It’s needless to say that, in 2020 only, I made another 6 reservations and hence accessed Genius 2. As a Genius Level 2 member, I will forever benefit from 10-15% discounts on many stays, free breakfast and free upgrades. 

How does Genius work?

The main reason why I am such a Booking.com enthusiast is that, to access the loyalty benefits, discounts and exclusives, I was not forced to spend extensive amounts of money in a very short time, like often many other companies (also outside the booking industry, take as example the airline industry) do. 

The length and amount of money of any of the stays I made did not matter, so sometimes even a cheap one-night stay at a hotel helped me achieve the bonus.
Now, even when I can use other platforms such as Trivago or AirBnB, I stick to Booking.com because I know it offers me deals that I can’t find anywhere else or, for the same price, I will have access to upgrades such as free breakfast. In addition, I have recommended Booking.com to all my acquaintances and many followed my advice. 

Hence, my question for you today for you would be: What are you doing to keep your customers coming back to you? What is your Genius? 

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By Rosa.