Do you book hotels with Booking? This interests you… if you are a regular traveler you probably already know some of these tricks but not others… I hope to surprise you with some… Booking is the largest hotel reservation platform and it really works very well. I am not saying that I do not compare in other sites but in general it is the web that I use to reserve accommodation. Thanks to my experience I can share some tricks so that you can get the most out of the platform … don’t miss it!
The 10 Best Tricks to get the most out of Booking:
1. Get GENIUS at all costs:
What is Genius? In short, the Booking loyalty program. How do I get to be a Genius? Very simple, you need to make at least 5 reservations with them (from the same account). As a trick, if you have a 7-day trip, you can make 2 or 3 reservations instead of one and thus reach the goal of 5 minimum reservations earlier. In principle there is no minimum reservation amount but there are 5 independent reservations. Once you are a member of the program, Click on the .genius tab to see the accommodations with this promotion first, likes this:
What are the advantages of being a Genius?
There are several advantages and other specific promotions. 10% discount, late check-out, free parking, welcome drink… that also depends on the hotel. Each hotel can put different Genius advantages either by price or by additional services. And who doesn’t like the extra free services? It’s already taking time to get it.
2. Look for the BOOKING BASIC Rate:
The rates booking. Basic we appear when Booking detects best prices in other agencies. Currently they do it with the inventory and exclusive prices of other travel agencies such as LBN Hotels and Ctrip.
These prices usually have a good discount but come with conditions such as: payment in advance, no refund, no possibility of exchange and more limited customer service. There is also no immediate confirmation, you have to wait for the reservation to be confirmed (maximum period of 24 hours).
With all this I think that on many occasions it is worth reserving this rate, you will detect it when you see the Booking. Basic logo next to the price:
3. Book with a DISCOUNT “Coupon”:
Surely if you have already used booking you will be familiar with the possibility of earning an extra discount by booking through a link in your friends program. In addition to this, they sometimes launch special promotions or discount coupons. They are usually on very specific dates so you have to be vigilant. Most of the time they are reimbursement promotions, that is, you pay the full price of the stay and once the stay is over, the amount of the discount is credited to your card. To not miss any discount, sign up for the Low Cost Guide Telegram channel, it’s free!
4. Share your “Coupon” and Earn MONEY:
Did you know that you can earn money by recommending Booking? well yes, and it is not very complicated. If you are registered in Booking you may already know the discount coupons for friends. Once you are a customer and you have already made some reservations, Booking provides you with a link to share with your friends and family. Every time someone books on Booking with your link, they will pay you a commission. You can win up to € 1,150!
5. Use the MINIMUM PRICE Guarantee:
The guaranteed minimum price is a great asset of Booking to get customers and earn their loyalty. This guarantee gives us confidence and sometimes we relax thinking that they always have the best price in booking mmm ERROR! Use this guarantee and once you make your reservation, look for the same accommodation in other online agencies or met search engines (sky scanner or kayak). If you find the cheapest hotel, quickly fill out the guaranteed minimum price booking form. You can see the conditions in the link that is always available when booking, which says: “We match the price”:
Once you have reserved, click on the link of your reservation that says: Have you seen this cheaper room elsewhere? And start the process by copying the link of the web where they offer the same cheaper hotel.
They will refund the difference. It may seem little to you for a stay of 1 or 2 days but if you go to New York for 10 days I assure you that the difference can be very big!
IMPORTANT: always do the “PRICE REVIEW”, that is: If you have booked a long time in advance in Booking, CHECK the hotel price before traveling (a few weeks or more). If it has dropped you can cancel and rebook if you have the option of free cancellation (or contact Booking for the lowest price guarantee). Price variations for hotels are more frequent than you think and although they usually go up when the date approaches, it is not always like this….
6. Small Discount in “Novatos” Hotels:
All hotels need good opinions on Booking and new accommodations, of course, do not. At this point we can offer to leave a complete opinion on Booking, Tripadvisor and social networks in exchange for a small discount on our stay, I REPEAT: SMALL DISCOUNT, NO FREE STAYS OR CHANTAGES. Hotels are interested in having the first opinions on Booking and for a small discount they may accept. It is not necessary to be a blogger or anything like that; anyone can leave a rating on Booking.
How do we do it? The first thing is to locate the new hotels. Use the Booking filters and mark: “no score” and also with “free cancellation” (so you don’t have to pay when booking). Then we choose several hotels in that situation and get in touch with them.
It is important to have on your Booking profile opinions towards other hotels as well as on Trip advisor so that hotels see that it is a trustworthy profile, and if you have a blog, Instagram, YouTube … etc., then better than better.
An option to consider, although the hotels with no opinions are few, it is possible that in little tourist destinations you will find quite a few. You will have to contact several and it is possible that none will accept your proposal. You never know, by searching we don’t lose anything, right?
Example, I just found a5 star hotel in Kiev with no opinion on Booking , do you see it? It is not impossible. Now only the complicated part remains get in touch and ask if a discount is possible in exchange for a rating on Booking (as long as everything has gone well). If they do not accept it does not matter, for trying it does not remain…
7. Earn AVIOS by Booking in Booking:
We all want Avios… and how many more the better… we can accumulate Avios by booking from the Iberia accommodation platform. You will earn 1 Avios for every euro you spend on Booking . Important : You must enter your Iberia Plus number after entering the payment method and before confirming the reservation. Book through LBN Hotels You can also get it at VUELING. If you have a Vueling Club account you can get 5 Avios for every euro spent. Book through Vueling
8. EXTRA discount if you are from Caixabank or EVO:
If you belong to one of these two banks you can have an extra discount of 4% . It’s cumulative with the 10% Genius discount so great. You can see their promotion here at Caixabank or at Evo Banco .
9. Become (easily) a Host and Earn Money with Booking
For some time, Booking has allowed access to its platform to apartment-type accommodation in addition to hotels. In this way, in less than 15 minutes we can become hosts to receive travelers and start earning money. We only have to rent accommodation for travelers, be it a flat, a house, a chalet or a room.
10. If you have any problem Claim:
This is not frequent but it can happen to you … I’ll explain my case. I had a reservation in Booking and the hotel canceled my reservation. I complained to Booking and they returned the price difference with the new accommodation. They can also relocate you in another place themselves but in my case what I did is a new reservation and a claim.
