Any thoughts or experiences with the Preferred Partner Program on Booking.com?

Question

We qualify for the program and do a significant amount of business through Booking already.  I am a little bit leery of anything that adds fees, but Booking does seem to deliver some value through their programs, so I am torn.  Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

Alex Scattareggia · Answer

@Michael Baum I only recommend it if someone is looking to fill holes in their calendar.  We price Booking significantly higher than the other OTA´s to account for the hassle associated with the site and because we would prefer to do more business through the others.

Cancelation policy is 100% refund outside of 30 days with no exceptions. But I have never had any issue with payment across over 200 bookings.  They make you jump through some obnoxious hoops with their fee payment but once you do it a few times it´s not so bad.

Alex Scattareggia · Answer

@JD Martin Booking has a couple of ¨partner¨ programs on the host side and the guest side, its comparable to Superhost on Airbnb.

The guest program is called Genuis, these are basically guests who have completed a certain amount of stays and have been model guests.  As the host you can choose to accept what is called Genuis bookings.  Essentially you get access to this pool of renters and in exchange you are required to offer them a discounted stay.  I was very skeptical but I talked to a friend who runs a huge portfolio with STR and boutique hotel and he it leads to a big uptick in bookings.  We raised our prices a bit and began accepting Genuis bookings and saw about 150% more traffic and bookings.  So I am a believer in that program and as hosts we can obviously offset the discounts by just raising our prices congruently.

The one I´m asking about (Preferred Partner) is the host side.  Similar to Superhost you have to hit certain revenue and review targets to qualify.  The difference is that you are required to give up an undisclosed amount more in fees.  I think the verbiage is ¨a slightly higher commission¨ but they promise 30% more bookings.  I have a few emails to their support but haven't heard anything back yet so I was curious if anyone had experience with it or knew the fee structure and if it pencils out.

JD Martin · Answer

Thanks for the explanation. As the bulk of my business is long term rentals I'm certain I wouldn't qualify but it's interesting to know about anyway.

Brooklyn McCarty · Answer

I would just be wary. Booking still has some bugs to work out, but if you already use it then you’re one step farther than me

Account Closed · Answer

if you can avoid booking do it. They are a nightmare. No respect to hosts whatsoever.

Michael Baum · Answer

I am curious myself. I have avoided Booking.com due to it's being completely guest based with little to no support for hosts. Plus the nightmare stories of people simply not being paid, last second cancellations and chargebacks with no recourse.

Alex Scattareggia · Answer

Definitely true.  The cancelation policies and customer support are abysmal.  But we do generate about 20% of our revenue from Booking and its almost always a guest profile that we don´t reach on the other OTAs.

They also have some really cool features on the site as far as lead generation and targeting certain markets (couples, family, certain countries, mobile bookings etc). I would definitely give it a look if you have any gaps in your calendar.

JD Martin · Answer

I'm not familiar with it at all, and I do use booking now that I've finally got them collecting payment on my behalf. What's it all about?

Any thoughts or experiences with the Preferred Partner Program on Booking.com?

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