2 minutes ago, Nick Carter icp said:

 

   Although sometimes the booking websites add extras like tax and booking fees and sometimes booking websites offer cheaper prices and then they don't offer free breakfast , I found found that the prices are similar 

Indeed. The rates are usually about if not exactly the same. 

 

It is something of a conundrum in that people that use the sites drive the hotel's costs and room prices up, but the extra competition keeps the hotel margins down and price (perhaps) lower than they would otherwise be. 

 

If I had to bet, I bet it help the small operators with the bookings but hurts the margin quite a bit.

Agoda has a global audience but focuses on Asia, with a great response in Malaysia, Taiwan, Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines.

• Founded: 2005 (Thailand)
• Short term rental properties: 2 million+
• Commission: 15% per booking
• Booking.com have various rates if they collect payments for you in Thailand it's 17.2% you can choose to pay more commission for more exposure, 

Yesterday I booked an hotel room with booking.com. Paid with my Bkk Bank debit card for a better rate, and received a confirmation email in minutes. The payment had been taken from my bank, as I had expected.

Later I got an email, pretending to be from booking.com, saying that my card had been declined and I should click on a link showing. It was in my junk box and showed a fictitious sending address. I deleted it immediately.

NEVER open an attachment or open a link in ANY email you do not know is 100% kosher, or they will be emptying your bank account with your card details.

Got similar emails this morning from Amazon? and PayPal? I wonder if booking.com has got a leak.

On 12/27/2023 at 8:10 PM, ELL said:

Check you RATE channels discount and make all inactive or postpone. They add all stack discount for all.. by the end you get nothing. Also be careful when you have own promotion and agoda promotion.. they stack all as well.. aslo if you have sponsored listing etc... Check your booking from agada you will see what they add,,

Agoda has always been notorious for adding this and that to the room price first mentioned.

4 minutes ago, KannikaP said:

Yesterday I booked an hotel room with booking.com. Paid with my Bkk Bank debit card for a better rate, and received a confirmation email in minutes. The payment had been taken from my bank, as I had expected.

Later I got an email, pretending to be from booking.com, saying that my card had been declined and I should click on a link showing. It was in my junk box and showed a fictitious sending address. I deleted it immediately.

NEVER open an attachment or open a link in ANY email you do not know is 100% kosher, or they will be emptying your bank account with your card details.

Got similar emails this morning from Amazon? and PayPal? I wonder if booking.com has got a leak.

A few months back BDC had major problems with their payment system many host were not getting paid, they owed us about 5000 baht eventually we got paid and they sent us $55 cash gift, 

6 minutes ago, NoshowJones said:

Agoda has always been notorious for adding this and that to the room price first mentioned.

The booking.com I just mentioned said Bht 695 0n the website, and that's what I paid.

Very close to the airport for when I come back to Thailand.

3 minutes ago, ChipButty said:

A few months back BDC had major problems with their payment system many host were not getting paid, they owed us about 5000 baht eventually we got paid and they sent us $55 cash gift, 

Who is BDC please?

Hate these TLAs.

1 minute ago, KannikaP said:

Who is BDC please?

Hate these TLAs.

Booking.com 

It's a big problem with the OTA industry the price advertised is not always the price you pay, most of these sites allow the Host to add additional fee's and you as the guest are not aware until you book, To some of the major hotel groups it's what they call up selling check out some of the mad things they will charge extra for like Valet parking, 

In the last 12 months Airbnb have tried to address this problem so before you book you are aware of any additional fee's not added afterwards, 

The biggest problem I have seen over the year many guest do not read the full listing and what additional cost, such as cleaning fee, pet fee, electricity not included, 

On 12/27/2023 at 12:59 PM, arick said:

Are there any owners of hotels or owners of individually I'm having a shocking result that a agoda.

Is charging in the minimum region of 51% up to 100% in my bookings I'm just curious how many other people are doing that booking.com has no problem they have 18% flat rate but every time I get a booking with a agoda.com they are charging 50-to 100 % commission to the owner 

You're reading the wrong things. Agoda charge between 10 and 30 per cent commission - much the same as all the others. If they were to charge the absurd rates you suggest, no hotel would go anywhere near them.

Nonsense. Agoda is not more expensive than direct booking with hotel, sometimes a little cheaper and on odd occasions a tiny bit more. 50-100% commission my a$$. 

1 hour ago, KannikaP said:

The booking.com I just mentioned said Bht 695 0n the website, and that's what I paid.

Very close to the airport for when I come back to Thailand.

WHO can put a Confused emoji on this, and why?

 

 

And another. There are some thickies on this forum, or trolls.

At least on 'the other forum' you can see who is putting the emojis, as it used to be on here.

On 12/27/2023 at 7:59 PM, arick said:

Are there any owners of hotels or owners of individually I'm having a shocking result that a agoda.

Is charging in the minimum region of 51% up to 100% in my bookings I'm just curious how many other people are doing that booking.com has no problem they have 18% flat rate but every time I get a booking with a agoda.com they are charging 50-to 100 % commission to the owner 

That's a big commission for a crappy booking site.  I rarely use Agoda, and can't think of the last time I did ... 10+ yrs at least.  I rarely go there for info any more.

 

Gmap & Booking.com for info.  Can't remember last time I used a booking site, aside from Accor, since covid, so 3 yrs.  Only use Accor because Ibis & Mercure are under their umbrella of accommodations, and no prepayment required.

1 minute ago, KhunLA said:

and can't of the last time I did

Is THINK the word you were missing?

On 12/27/2023 at 8:08 PM, DavisH said:

I booked with agoda recently for my trip to Australia. I also checked the cost with booking with the hotel directly. There was not a significant difference between them. 

Yes, and the hotels will not gene4ally match Agoda's price, thus costing them the commission.

I've used agoda in th a lot.  Never been able ro book at hotel for less.  Had wife call but nope.    Been in at least 2 lobbies and had staff tell me best price is to book on agoda.  I had one receptionist tell me if agoda finds out they sell for less agoda will drop them.   So i guess these gorillas have found a way to make 17-30% on much of the lodging industry.  So we all pay higher lodging prices for this if we use it or not. 

1 hour ago, Elkski said:

I've used agoda in th a lot.  Never been able ro book at hotel for less.  Had wife call but nope.    Been in at least 2 lobbies and had staff tell me best price is to book on agoda.  I had one receptionist tell me if agoda finds out they sell for less agoda will drop them.   So i guess these gorillas have found a way to make 17-30% on much of the lodging industry.  So we all pay higher lodging prices for this if we use it or not. 

Our experience has been different, and wife usually gets a cheaper rate, or at least same rate.  Even though hotels/guesthouses are listed on Booking.com or Agoda.  That's been consistent, at least the last 5 ish years.

 

Only difference is Ibis chain on Accor site, and all seem to be about same price as B.com.  Since no prepayment and day before cancelling, always go with Accor.

AFTER MANY NEGATIVE EXPERIENCES Agoda is one of the worst and disingenuous operators in the business. I have escalated their theft of my money on several occasions to their attorneys in SEA and at their holding company Booking Holdings in New York. They were culpable in all cases and finally paid me. The only means of escalation was through their corporate compliance link at Booking Holdings in NY. They are obligated to respond and close out compliance concerns per U.S. law. They have a service rating of 1.5 out of 5 with the U.S. Better Business Bureau a nonprofit consumer advocacy group. Most of the BBB issues are financial disputes lodged by clients. Of course BBB ratings are typically skewed due to people requesting their help  to resolve a poor service experience. I used the Agoda quite a bit prior to a string of poor customer service and outright double charges. The management are not service oriented. They are just platform operators who measure things like time on the platform per use (stickiness) and other website performance metrics. They care do not care about individual client service and their vendor management is sorely lacking oversight.

The management are computer engineers and McKinsey consultant types running service operations. I view no broad real time service experience in their interactions only arrogant educational and theoretical tunnel vision.

Booking Holdings is the parent company who also runs Priceline.com and Booking.com. One might think the internal business processes would be shared or are similar but I find Booking.com and Priceline far superior. Booking.com occasionally is a bit more expensive but I would rather pay them the 100-200 baht more since I don't want the stress and they don't scam me and correct service issues immediately. Agoda has more listings in Thailand so I scan their listings and then contact the accomodations directly if not listed on Booking.com. 

Your service experience may differ than mine but I have made it a point of self respect to not deal with Agoda anymore. Agoda lost me as a customer forever. 

 

Note: My perspective is from 30+ years as a trained industrial engineer and senior international operations management executive for a $105 billion service company. I have boots on the ground experience in service delivery. Lived in 8 countries and worked in 85 supporting my management groups. I am certified in Six Sigma and LEAN. Retired now so I am basically a bum who volunteers 

 

Best of luck with Agoda. Hope your experience is better than mine. 

On 12/27/2023 at 7:59 PM, arick said:

Are there any owners of hotels or owners of individually I'm having a shocking result that a agoda.

Is charging in the minimum region of 51% up to 100% in my bookings I'm just curious how many other people are doing that booking.com has no problem they have 18% flat rate but every time I get a booking with a agoda.com they are charging 50-to 100 % commission to the owner 

I've always found Agoda cheap for an emergency booking.  I've never experienced high commission rates.  

 

Hotels.com I've experienced huge booking fees as your experiencing on Agoda. 

 

In the end it's usually better to book directly with the hotel.  Using Agoda.co, Booking.com,etc as just a guide.

 

 

On 12/27/2023 at 7:59 PM, arick said:

with a agoda.com they are charging 50-to 100 % commission to the owner 

You're saying that, at the top of the commission range, the owners of those properties do not make any money at all from the bookings?   100% is the entire booking cost.    How can that be?  

7 hours ago, Yellowtail said:

7 hours ago, Sheryl said:

...can't see how it could be 100%, why would any hotel list with Agoda if they would get 0 money?

They make it up in volume...

Ah, that must be it, lots and lots of "0 money" soon adds up...to exactly "0 money".  

6 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

Ah, that must be it, lots and lots of "0 money" soon adds up...to exactly "0 money".  

It's a manufacturing joke.

 

But because the hotel is losing money, it's not zero, it would add up to a bigger and bigger loss with each booking. 

2 minutes ago, Yellowtail said:

12 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

Ah, that must be it, lots and lots of "0 money" soon adds up...to exactly "0 money".  

It's a manufacturing joke.

 

But because the hotel is losing money, it's not zero, it would add up to a bigger and bigger loss with each booking. 

The hotel that is being charged 100% commission wouldn't be losing money on the booking, it just wouldn't be making any so it would remain at zero!   Having said that, it will never happen as the 100% commission claim is, obviously, false.

3 hours ago, KannikaP said:

WHO can put a Confused emoji on this, and why?

 

 

And another. There are some thickies on this forum, or trolls.

At least on 'the other forum' you can see who is putting the emojis, as it used to be on here.

 

OMG!...now someone's laughing as well.

 

Consider your emoji button well pushed.

Even if you not click stackable discount, they stuck themself without your approval. Very bad customer support, after many request they cannot answer why from retail price 2500 baht i get only 150...  What is work , try to contact support and ask to delete all programs, promotion, rates channels etc.. ALL , keep only retail rate. After slowly add your own promotions only and not participate in any campaigns or promotions from Agoda.. If you want to be visible in your city just add Sponsored listing  ( 5-12 % extra discount only on booking ) and you will be always in first page of Agoda in your city. I agree that booking or Expedia have fixed discount and never had any problem with them . but many customers in Asia use Agoda so you mast use them as well , unfortunately.

1 hour ago, KhunLA said:

Our experience has been different, and wife usually gets a cheaper rate, or at least same rate.  Even though hotels/guesthouses are listed on Booking.com or Agoda.  That's been consistent, at least the last 5 ish years.

 

Only difference is Ibis chain on Accor site, and all seem to be about same price as B.com.  Since no prepayment and day before cancelling, always go with Accor.

 

Of course she does because that's what she tells you, right?

1 minute ago, Liverpool Lou said:

The hotel that is being charged 100% commission wouldn't be losing money on the booking, it just wouldn't be making any so it would remain at zero!

What are you, a college professor? They don't lose money on the booking, they lose money fulfilling the booking. An occupied room costs the more than a vacant room, for a number of reasons. 

1 minute ago, Liverpool Lou said:

 

  Having said that, it will never happen as the 100% commission claim is, obviously, false.

One would hope

On 12/27/2023 at 7:59 PM, arick said:

Are there any owners of hotels or owners of individually I'm having a shocking result that a agoda.

Is charging in the minimum region of 51% up to 100% in my bookings I'm just curious how many other people are doing that booking.com has no problem they have 18% flat rate but every time I get a booking with a agoda.com they are charging 50-to 100 % commission to the owner 

This kind of posts are called Fake News!

4 hours ago, NoshowJones said:

Agoda has always been notorious for adding this and that to the room price first mentioned.

 

Online booking websites have always been notorious for being used by the clueless.

Just now, ujayujay said:

This kind of posts are called Fake News!

 

Three pages already and running like the wind...