Agoda hotel descriptions/prices warning

[Big Boy]

Actually, for this weekend, I clicked on Kayak because they were $10 cheaper per night than Agoda. I actually got an Agoda page up, displaying the Kayak price.

[buksida]

So it does redirect you to booking agents and you just pick the best deal at the time. Must be a pain registering for them all though.

Would be good to have a single "go-to" agent, just like Agoda used to be before it went south.

[sateeb]

I know they all piss in the same pot but my go to is Hotels.com. More often than not I need to change dates etc so I go for the book now pay at hotel option. I know it costs a bit more but it suits me. Depending which country you are travelling to I've always had no problem with the hotel's own webbie with Eng options.

[Jack_Batty]

About two or three years ago I had some questionable bookings via Agoda. This was all pre-COVID, mind you, and there were some disappointments that led me to book on some other websites. I have subsequently booked hotels in Singapore and Japan on Agoda and it has been very good. No complaints.

[caller]

I have used Expedia in the past. But probably not the cheapest. For Thailand, it was cheaper not to use the Thai site.

[Dannie Boy]

I tried BB’s suggestion of using Google Maps and against any given hotel you might get 8-10 different sites offering varying rates - I assume you can pick your favourite or the cheapest or any other criteria

[Big Boy]

So it does redirect you to booking agents and you just pick the best deal at the time. Must be a pain registering for them all though.

Registering for them all? Why? You choose your room rate, and follow a single link. It couldn't be simpler. Try it and be impressed. If you can find something easier, please share.

[Jack_Batty]

I tried BB’s suggestion of using Google Maps and against any given hotel you might get 8-10 different sites offering varying rates - I assume you can pick your favourite or the cheapest or any other criteria

I used Google Maps to find my hotel after reading reviews, but I then go and book on Agoda. Agoda usually is the cheapest.

[Big Boy]

Actually, for this weekend, I clicked on Kayak because they were $10 cheaper per night than Agoda. I actually got an Agoda page up, displaying the Kayak price.

Jack, in the above example, Kayak was displaying a price $10 cheaper than Agoda. When I clicked the Kayak link, I was redirected to Agoda, but it was the cheaper price being displayed. Try it.

As for Agoda being cheaper, my recent experience just North of Cha-Am proved booking direct with the hotel was cheaper than booking via Agoda.

[pitsch]

I often use Google Maps to find a hotel and 90% of the time Agoda is the cheapest. You can also go to Tripadvisor and enter a hotel name. Then Agoda is also the cheapest, often cheaper than using Google Maps. You will also get a different price if you go directly to the Agoda website and a different price in the Agoda app. I usually only book when it's cancelable and then check again several times to see if I can find a cheaper price for the same hotel.

[2dandan]

I use trivago.com who compare hotel prices from multiple sites.

When the results come up don't automatically click on the green “view deal” button as the buttons below often give you cheaper prices.

https://www.trivago.com/

[Jack_Batty]

Actually, for this weekend, I clicked on Kayak because they were $10 cheaper per night than Agoda. I actually got an Agoda page up, displaying the Kayak price.

Jack, in the above example, Kayak was displaying a price $10 cheaper than Agoda. When I clicked the Kayak link, I was redirected to Agoda, but it was the cheaper price being displayed. Try it.

As for Agoda being cheaper, my recent experience just North of Cha-Am proved booking direct with the hotel was cheaper than booking via Agoda.

I’ll give that a try. I’ve only used Kayak to book my flights thus far. Thanks for the tip.

[buksida]

Agoda is definitely not the cheapest for where I'm looking, if it has any availability at all (hence the quest for alternatives).

Thanks for the other suggestions though, will try those.

[Big Boy]

I must admit, I used to think Agoda were cheapest, and together with their lowest price guarantee thought I was on to a winner.

First problem, I tried to claim on their lowest price guarantee - I hadn't booked the room at the right price to enable the guarantee to kick in. Surely shooting themselves in the foot, because if I'd booked the higher price, I could have immediately claimed on their lowest price guarantee because they, themselves were selling at a lower price.

pitch talks about multiple prices booking the same room with Agoda. Where is the transparency when combined with their lowest price guarantee?

During my recent stay just North of Cha-Am, Agoda were telling me they had cheapest rates if I extended my stay, and yes, it was 150฿/night cheaper than I'd paid originally. When I had to extend, I thought I'd try asking at reception first - 300฿/night cheaper with no haggling.

I don't think you can ever be sure you've got the best deal using Agoda.

[buksida]

Never seen any "lowest price guarantee" on the site and their prices on the website and mobile app do vary a lot. I even have a "Platinum VIP" membership but am done with Agoda, had too much bullshit with them in the past. The particular hotel I looked at was 40% more on Agoda than the hotel's own website, but their booking engine doesn't function and they don't respond to emails so the search goes on!

Will look into Hotels.com, Kayak, Trip.com, Expedia, and Trivago instead, cheers