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Hello I am booking a trip to SE Asia and am seeing very good prices for hotels on Agoda.com – around 30% cheaper than quotes from the hotels directly. I am not familiar with Agoda – are they are reputable platform or one to avoid? Thanks.
They seem reputable, they’re also on Cashback sites. That was from the research I did whilst booking a hotel in Mauritius for October, so I hope I’m correct!
Used them once with total success. They were selling a room somewhere that was otherwise sold out – and at a discount to normal prices.
They are the same group as Booking.com.
Use them regularly for non IHG / Hilton bookings in SEA.Their best price guarantee also works.
Previously claimed twice for price changes for the same booking in Samui and paid out quite efficiently.Thanks very much that is very helpful. I will go ahead and book with them.
I get the ear worm every time I see them on the price comparison sites.
#Push pineapple shake a tree
They have some good deals but few points to note:
1. Prices are sometimes displayed excluding taxes so click through to see the final price.
2. Pay attention to the currency Agoda proposes to charge you in as their Fx is terrible (ie 5% mark up!). Once booked MLE hotel whilst physically in USA, and both hotel currency & currency displayed on screen were USD. Confirmation came through to say will charge in GBP (probably due to my login) using Agoda exchange rate. I didn’t think much as Ebooker/Expedia usually apply reasonable rates but apparently not. I complained and Agoda eventually refunded the 5%).
Many top hotels in Asia use Agoda to discount, often rather clumsily, so their cheap prices are a very useful stalking horse for an informal BRG discussion, particularly if the BRG policy takes 25% off the Agoda price.
They were founded in Singapore and are strong in Asia. That is why Booking Holding bought them. I’ve used them a few times without issue
For Asia Hotels they’ve often had pricing and hotels not seen on other sites. I’d never book a hotel in Asia without checking them unless it was for a loyalty scheme target.
If booking.com have grabbed them though, I’d be interested to know if they continue like this.
I’ve used them a few times (always in Asia).
Had a bit of an issue where I’d used Agoda credit as part payment for a flexible booking and they were arguing about refunding the credits. Took a while to sort out, but they did it eventually.
Otherwise no other negative experiences and would use again if booking a non Hilton or non IHG hotel.Thanks everyone – I feel more confident about booking with them now. I had not realised that they are part of Booking.com. Interesting that the rates for some of the same hotels are much higher on Booking compared to Agoda for the same dates!
Just booked a three night stay in Japan using Priceline. They were £100 cheaper than anyone else. Never used them before. Terrible reviews on Trust Pilot, but mainly for flights.
Reassured to see they are the same company as Booking.com
Should I be worried? The price I have paid says breakfast included. I suspect it may not be! In which case, it will cost the same as booking through Hotels.com, but no cashback.
I used Agoda a lot in Japan where their pricing was always more competitive than others (including Booking!)
Never really had issues with hotel bookings using OTA, it is flights that I tend not to book with them (which is ok as long as all goes well).
Assuming it’s a refundable rate or one where the most you lose is a very small deposit, get the booking confirmation email the hotel to check the terms of the booking.
That’s what I do with D2 who a long time back were guilty of bait and switch.
Many thanks for the advice!
I always use Trivago. Then put selected hotel into Google to then get an even greater list of suppliers. Our last stay, Moxy, Edinburgh airport was 20% cheaper with a site called “Go Splitty” than booking direct or anywhere else.
Hi – I used Agoda to book a hotel in Bali last summer and no problems whatsoever. It was a flexible booking and full payment was taken from my card by Agoda a few days before arrival. The Agoda rate was much lower than booking directly with the hotel and also lower than on Booking.com. You could email the hotel direct and ask them to confirm the terms of the booking that you have made with the OTA.
You can get an extra 10% off Agoda’s rate via HSBC Premier World Elite card.
Agoda prices change depending on how you land on the site, whether you use the app, or enter promo codes (not necessarily for the better).
I’ve used Agoda many times in Asia, with no problems,
Also used Destination2, they are very competitive around the world.
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