2 hours ago, Dazinoz said:

I have been a member of expedia Australia a long time and and have lived Thailand 10 years. Often check prices locally and find expedia.au is often cheaper. Sometimes not. Same with local flights.

Realistically - its all a bit of a mishmash...  no one site or one single method or booking is consistently better priced than the other... 

 

Agoda is good for browsing, narrowing down your choice and getting an idea of the price range etc...   once the search has been narrowed down, sometimes the same hotel / same deal can be found on another site (or direct if calling) for a better price...  

 

 

2 hours ago, WhatMeWorry said:

21 hours ago, BenStark said:

I wouldn't want to be seen dead with an Apple product

 

BTW. if you have anti tacking enabled in your browser I think they can't see what device you use, as it hides your digital footprint

????

Same here, no proprietary, grossly overpriced Apple product for me.

How has this turned into an apple bash ???....      sites don't price based on the brand of device you are using... thats just some nutty paranoia...

5 hours ago, BenStark said:

More pedantic misinformation

 

You know very well that 90%  of AirBnB renters don't have a licence

I don't know that and neither do you .

What I do know is a significant number of the Airbnb hosts have low room capacity and outside the licence requirements. It is only those that own in a condo block that may be in breach of the requirements. The court ruled that in the case of a condo block all rooms in the block should be taken into consideration.

Of course on this forum that ruling has been taken to mean all Airbnb, condo block or not, licence or not, are seen to be illegal.

21 hours ago, Lacessit said:

We are only looking to stay for five days.

Hi, try the booking.com site. They post the rates with the options of breakfast, pay on arrival. Etc. Choose the cheapest , you can always add breakfast on when you’re in hotel. I use this site a lot because of the very good photos ( bigger/ clearer). Never had a problem . Agoda, Altho the same company i think, is not very reliable.  Don’t forget holiday dates are more expensive, but once you put your stay dates in, that should be the fixed price ! Check the photos of the hotel you saw and see if it’s a private house and not a bonafide hotel. Private owners can do what they like. ( also booking has good follow up on their hotels, reviews, location etc).

3 hours ago, Irish star said:

Booking and Agoda same company , just use google and will tell you all the prices on every site 

I am well aware they both belong to the same holding company Booking Holdings. The websites however are separate and in particular for owner controlled settings which may well be different as they would be set up individually.

For privately owned listings the owner can edit the private fees as and when, a mistake on one doesn't mean it will be reflected on another.

28 minutes ago, srowndedbyh2o said:

How do you change the settings to get the fully inclusive price?

On the Agoda Website - you can select your preferred currency (at the top of page), in that pop-up you can select:

- Base price per night

- Total price per night

 

On the Agoda App its slightly different with three options, select preferred currency (at the top of page)... options are: 

- Total Stay (includes taxes fees)

- Average Price Per night (includes taxes fees)

- Base price per night (room rate only)

 

 

(I never knew about this until this thread).

Agoda can be a hassle if you need a refund for any reason. Booking ? no questions asked and it's done immediatly.

1 hour ago, pomchop said:

booking.com owns agoda and they share hotel inventory

Booking.com and Agoda are both subsidiaries of Booking Holdings, along with several  others. Booking.com is just seen as the flagship of the organisation.

 

Booking Holdings is the world’s leading provider of online travel and related services, provided to consumers and local partners in more than 220 countries and territories through six primary consumer-facing brands:  Booking.com, Priceline, Agoda, Rentalcars.com, KAYAK and OpenTable, as well as through a network of subsidiary brands including  Rocketmiles, Fareharbor, HotelsCombined, Cheapflights and Momondo, bringing greater value to both our customers and partners around the world.

The mission of Booking Holdings is to make it easier for everyone to experience the world.

https://www.bookingholdings.com/about/factsheet/

11 minutes ago, Middle Aged Grouch said:

Agoda can be a hassle if you need a refund for any reason. Booking ? no questions asked and it's done immediatly.

Not true Agoda gave me back 70,000 b after Cancellation after the date , Centre Point Hotel agreed 

8 minutes ago, Sticky Rice Balls said:

as is boom boom......luckily for me as all the thai ladies say im hansum too much! ????

 

I actually posted a room  for rent on airbnb here but then again im a scofflaw.....

You book 30 days it’s legal , I’ve been doing it for 3 years , I stay different condos 

38 minutes ago, mancub said:

If you pay by card, you are offered the choice of which currency you want the booking to be charged in.

In my case I book and pay in Australian dollars and if I pay there and then I'll pay the same amount in AUD.

If I choose the pay later option they convert the amount due into a different currency e.g. USD at time of booking. When the date for payment comes they charge me by converting the USD amount back to AUD at the exchange rate at that time. So I am still charged in AUD but the amount can differ if the exchange rate to USD has changed. That's all fine. The part I don't like is they add 5 per cent to that without making it clear at the time of booking. 

22 hours ago, Lacessit said:

I start the process of booking a hotel via Agoda, in Jomtien.

My price point is 500-800 baht/night.

I find a nice looking resort, 630 baht.

When I get to the payment stage, the cost has suddenly inflated to over 1500 baht.

Various add-ons, just like the airlines.

Included is a cleaning cost of 750 baht.

The hotel management presumably pays a maid 300-400 baht a day to clean 10-20 rooms.

These clowns must think every guest came down in the last shower.

 

Recommendations in the area and price range welcome.

Are you sure it was not a BNB? I have been booking on Agoda for 12 years and never had a price increase. I do know that in Jomtien there are group agents that seem to screw things up. 

4 minutes ago, kingstonkid said:

Are you sure it was not a BNB? I have been booking on Agoda for 12 years and never had a price increase. I do know that in Jomtien there are group agents that seem to screw things up. 

Definitely not a BNB.

29 minutes ago, Sticky Rice Balls said:

as is boom boom......luckily for me as all the thai ladies say im hansum too much! ????

 

I actually posted a room  for rent on airbnb here but then again im a scofflaw.....

When I posted that comment, I was wondering how long it would be before someone made the comparison to prostitution. I suppose they are both a kind of accommodation.

Im sure, you blame Agoda for something you did wrong!

21 minutes ago, ujayujay said:

Im sure, you blame Agoda for something you did wrong!

Awesome clarity, that !!!

 

To whom are you referring ?

 

Lek Hotel Jomtien Beach Soi 7. B700/night. Good location...good price. 300m to the beach. Think it has a pool. Bars aplenty. 300m to Rompho Market...more bars aplenty. Numerous 7-11 nearby + Tops Daily. 

34 minutes ago, ujayujay said:

Im sure, you blame Agoda for something you did wrong!

If you read my OP slowly, nowhere do I blame Agoda. Nor did I do anything wrong, as I did not complete the booking.

There might be a village in Thailand where you can fill a vacancy, although I understand fetal alcohol syndrome is quite common.

Several posts in violation of our Community Standards have been removed.

16 hours ago, ChaiyaTH said:

Then you dont know where to look, like most people, I guess.

Never had a issue finding a newer place with aircon and all decent facilities for that or even less. Only if i want the gym and pool its more.

 

or if in central bangkok, then that gets me just a normal AC room but older.

Spare me, a pool is mandatory, rooms with 2 beds shoots up the price. Also like a nice buffet for breakfast.

 

Also I like higher end hotels. Keeps out the riff raff

On 10/13/2023 at 6:31 PM, bignok said:

Strange. Never happened to me. 750 a day is massive.

Because it is an Airbnb type booking - the cleaning fee would be the same for, say, a one month stay. Short stays are not viable.

 

Seven Seas in Jomtien is a good example - quotes the room price including the cleaning charge. I have Agoda set to include ALL costs in the nightly rate quoted. Nothing hidden. 

 

Total Price

฿ 4,460.46

Room price (1 room x 3 nights)฿ 3,860.46

Booking feesFREE

Included in total price: Cleaning Service Fee ฿ 600.00, Service charge 10%, Tax 7%

Pay to Agoda later

฿ 4,460.46

You will be charged on 11 November 2023

23 hours ago, Pattaya57 said:

This is an Agoda thing. I went to book a hotel in Bangkok and Agoda showed a good price until I went to pay and they added ++ taxes and service charge.

 

Went to Booking dot com and price was fully inclusive of all taxes so much cheaper in the end

Yes, that's also my experience.  Odd really seeing as both Agoda and Booking.com and a few others are owned by the same outfit

2 minutes ago, MangoKorat said:

23 hours ago, Pattaya57 said:

This is an Agoda thing. I went to book a hotel in Bangkok and Agoda showed a good price until I went to pay and they added ++ taxes and service charge.

 

Went to Booking dot com and price was fully inclusive of all taxes so much cheaper in the end

Yes, that's also my experience.  Odd really seeing as both Agoda and Booking.com and a few others are owned by the same outfit

Its not odd...  we have not yet learned how to adjust the settings on the web page.

 

The info from this thread has already pointed out that we can change the settings on Agoda so that it shows the full price after tax... 

5 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

The info from this thread has already pointed out that we can change the settings on Agoda so that it shows the full price after tax... 

I'd rather go to booking.com where it defaults to total price without worrying about changing Agoda settings

6 minutes ago, Pattaya57 said:

I'd rather go to booking.com where it defaults to total price without worrying about changing Agoda settings

Then you will often pay more.

 

Agoda has been consistently cheaper all year.

3 minutes ago, hotandsticky said:

Then you will often pay more.

 

Agoda has been consistently cheaper all year.

I agree I compared 50+ and agoda normally cheaper but not always. 

24 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

Its not odd...  we have not yet learned how to adjust the settings on the web page.

 

The info from this thread has already pointed out that we can change the settings on Agoda so that it shows the full price after tax... 

Never had to do that with Booking.com

2 hours ago, EVENKEEL said:

Spare me, a pool is mandatory, rooms with 2 beds shoots up the price. Also like a nice buffet for breakfast.

 

Also I like higher end hotels. Keeps out the riff raff

Plenty of wealthy riff raff everywhere. Money does not buy good manners.

5 hours ago, Middle Aged Grouch said:

Agoda can be a hassle if you need a refund for any reason. Booking ? no questions asked and it's done immediatly.

https://www.rentalscaleup.com/booking-coms-payment-crisis-a-breakdown-of-trust-with-hosts-and-a-test-of-reputation/

6 hours ago, Lacessit said:

Plenty of wealthy riff raff everywhere. Money does not buy good manners.

As I get older I like rooms that are nice, fancy bathrooms, nice pools, ocean view if not in the crazy range. No foreigners dragging the bar fine back. Like that.