How boutique hotels and bagel-making classes can help you earn rewards with Booking.com

Social media icon Brooklyn Peltz Beckham, a photographer and chef who also happens to be the son of a Spice Girl and one of the world's most famous soccer players (you know, Victoria and David Beckham), wants you to take a trip to New York City.

"I think New York's one of the most gorgeous places," Beckham, who once called NYC home, told TPG, adding that he's also a big fan of the city's most famous foods. "I'm a big pizza lover. I'm a big bagel lover."

On a recent trip to NYC, Beckham teamed up with Booking.com to record a tongue-in-cheek commercial about the company's loyalty program, Genius. In the commercial, the star pokes fun at himself and his various "professional" careers, starting the video by hyping himself up — "You're a great chef. A great photographer." — before being asked, "So, you're a professional traveler now?"

"I'm quite a genius," he says in the commercial before comically delving into the benefits of booking a trip through Booking.com and the perks that come with the Genius program and its three loyalty levels.

"Once you've completed the required number of bookings and unlocked a new level, it's basically yours to keep for life," Beckham explained to TPG. "I'm obviously Level 3 Genius. So, you know, I got a free breakfast, I got a free room upgrade and 20% off The Dominick Hotel [in New York City.]"

Like most loyalty programs, Genius is a free program with multiple tiers, called levels, that members work their way up through to unlock rewards and perks. You can earn Level 1 perks, like a 10% discount on select stays and rental cars, simply by signing up. After completing five bookings within two years, you'll earn free breakfast and room upgrades on select stays, plus bigger discounts. After completing 15 bookings, Level 3 members earn 10% to 20% discounts at participating hotels, priority support, free breakfast and room upgrades on select stays and 10% discounts on select car rentals.

Related: Getting started with points, miles and credit cards to travel

"While many loyalty programs can be confusing and limiting, simplicity is key to Booking.com's Genius loyalty program," Ben Harrell, managing director, U.S., at Booking.com, told TPG. "Genius members don't have to track and redeem points with unclear value or worry about being downgraded each year. And unlike many other loyalty programs, where status has to be maintained annually, members of the Genius program enjoy lifetime access to exclusive travel rewards across the world."

And while TPG recommends booking a hotel stay directly through a brand's loyalty program (i.e., booking a Marriott property through Marriott Bonvoy), there are certainly times when programs like Genius make sense, such as booking boutique hotels without loyalty programs at a discount, like Beckham did at The Dominick Hotel in New York.

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You might also be surprised to learn that you can book activities, tours and experiences through Booking.com — and those activity bookings count toward progress in the Genius program.

"There [are] so many attractions," Beckham said about Booking.com, including an activity he participated in: learning the art of bagel-making. "The whole process was amazing," Beckham said of learning how to make bagels from scratch from folks who have been doing it in New York for generations. "Just the way that they do it and how perfect and precise they make these bagels is absolutely amazing to see."

People are turning to loyalty programs to save

According to a recent Booking.com survey, 70% of American travelers now pay more attention to travel discounts offered through loyalty programs to save as much money as possible. A different survey commissioned by Booking.com showed that 54% of Americans plan to participate in a travel reward or loyalty program in 2024.

With that in mind, people should remember that different loyalty programs fit different needs; for some travelers, having instant savings is the key, while others might want a loyalty program that comes with rewards for booking more than just flights or hotels.

"One common misconception is that if you book through an OTA (online travel agency), you won't receive perks," Harrell said. "The Genius program offers great perks like free breakfast, free room upgrades, plus discounts on places to stay and rental cars."

Just so you know, booking through an OTA like Booking.com often means you won't receive credit with a loyalty program affiliated with that particular hotel, like an elite night credit in Hilton Honors or World of Hyatt points. You also will likely not receive elite benefits from other rewards programs if you have them.

But for people who don't necessarily stay at enough hotels each year to work their way up the loyalty ladder with one specific program, the occasional reward through a program like Genius can be a great benefit. Personally, I just used Booking.com and my Genius account to book a boutique hotel stay in Tokyo at a cheaper rate than booking directly.

So whether you're a "professional traveler" like Beckham heading to NYC and want to learn how to make bagels, or someone who travels occasionally and is looking for ways to save, enrolling in Genius is a great idea. And, best of all, once you move up a tier, it's yours for life.

And if you do happen to make it to New York City, Beckham wants you to remember that while Manhattan's great, his favorite place in the city is the borough he shares a name with: Brooklyn.