I willnot mention the name of the online thrid party service Lets just call it A

At a late point I decided to look into booking NYE in Pattaya. Realizing that it was late and tht hotels' jack prices, I was willing to pay the listed price, which was 4kplus a night at the at sea residence, mainly because the rooms have a view of the water and the fireworks.

I made the booking and received confirmation that it was accepted. Took the bus to Pats and got to the hotel with little effort. Upon arrival, I was told there was no booking and that they had only ever charged 2K for their rooms. I was also told that I was not the only person that A had overbooked.

Considering it was 9 pm and the chances of getting back to the terminal and catching a bus back to BKK were slim. I was a little upset.

Contacting A was a bit of a nightmare, but finally I got a digital rep who went through all the malarkey to get me a refund in Thai baht, NOT the converted amount.

Surprisingly, the At Sea residence gave me a room for 2k cash for the night and said they would check whether they had one for NYE.

They then came and said that if I paid cash, they had a room for us to stay until the 1st.

MY warning is that, considering A is one of the top online booking forums and is widely used by expats and people here in Thailand, I was surprised.

We complain about hotels raising their prices, but I now worry that when booking online, these agencies might be raising prices to make extra money.

Also, A did not attempt to assist me with accommodations or with any assistance other than cancelling my booking.

I was left with the feeling that we were going to sleep on the street, and A did not care.

I have been using A since I got here, and I am not worried about their care of VIP customers.

BTW A is a hint

We always call the hotel's direct, more to verify information since we travel with a pet. Also check the prices and most times, calling is cheaper than booking online.

Whether A goda or b ooking..com, no matter any best price guarantees.

I have used this company...A...many many times over the years and never had a problem..yet...you must have been very unlucky ☹️

On 1/4/2026 at 3:33 AM, KhunLA said:

We always call the hotel's direct, more to verify information since we travel with a pet. Also check the prices and most times, calling is cheaper than booking online.

Whether A goda or b ooking..com, no matter any best price guarantees.

Most hotel websites are annoying as hell, full of nonsense jargon, pleas to become a member, and bad designs, that sometimes you just go on Agoda or something for the sheer quickness and convenience, even it is a dollar or more.

The worst is one major chain, hide the price upfront, then just as you get to the end of the page they add a tax which was never mentioned before (i know Agoda do this too sometimes, but they clearly show it).

Yeah, in future, when I can, I will only use A when I know the hotel. Part of me thinks there may have been someone screweing with their system,

What I will do in future is confirm with the hotel that they have a booking.

I have also used A for a long time without any hiccups, but this one was a doozie prize double hotel fee and no booking.

BTW, the hotel was nice if you do not mind the music from the bar below.

I use mostly B without any issue. Occasionally I use A, so far so good. T not bad eiither..

Never had a problem booking with A in Pattaya.

Ae, is another matter.

I tried to make a booking with B....com a week ago and needed 1 room in each of two categories, one for me and one for a relative traveling with us. On the website I was not able to reserve 2 rooms in one booking, and I couldn't even reserve 2 rooms in the same category and book those; so, I booked the first room and paid with a credit card in advance, then went back to the site to repeat the process by booking the second room. I finalized that booking and got a notice that my 2nd booking was declined with no reason or explanation given and they would be sending me a refund of the charges. With all the uncertainty looming, I got very distressed, so I went to A....com and reserved that 2nd room. I complained to B....com through their message center and was told that if I needed further explanation, I needed to contact the hotel. The number listed for the hotel was not a working number, so I was extremely disappointed with the entire experience and may never use B....com again. I did receive my refund instantly, and I have to say that this is the first time in 20 years that I have had a problem with B....com.

Why not name and shame A.

4 minutes ago, Geoff914 said:

Why not name and shame A.

1 hour ago, Ralf001 said:

So a company commits fraud and you can't name them?

On 1/6/2026 at 12:29 AM, DonniePeverley said:

.....

The worst is one major chain, hide the price upfront, then just as you get to the end of the page they add a tax which was never mentioned before (i know Agoda do this too sometimes, but they clearly show it).

Not that clearly, as they often screw you on the currency too (you book in Thai baht and at the very end they effect the payment in euros, after applying their own bad exchange rate).

I use Trip these days, even if they're a bit more expensive than Agoda.

I gave up on B after a major mishap on Koh Kood (paid for a seaview, got a "garden view", support kept giving me a song and a dance and even lying).

6 hours ago, fittobethaied said:

so I was extremely disappointed with the entire experience and may never use B....com again. I did receive my refund instantly, and I have to say that this is the first time in 20 years that I have had a problem with B....com.

Same as I, as I had been using B for 20 years without anything to complain about, but the way they treated me (no help from support whatsoever) gave me no choice other than never again to use them. I still don't understand why they preferred alienating a long-time good-paying customer like me in such offhand and insulting fashion rather than deal with a one-off legitimate complaint. I live in hotels a great dal of the year. My yearly hotel budget is between 10 and 15 thousand euro for sure, maybe even higher, and I booked everything through B back then.

2 hours ago, Geoff914 said:

So a company commits fraud and you can't name them?

"Toto, I've got a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore."

4 hours ago, Geoff914 said:

So a company commits fraud and you can't name them?

Well ... yes and no ... it's not something you'd take up as a hobby. TIT.

On 1/4/2026 at 11:47 AM, petermik said:

I have used this company...A...many many times over the years and never had a problem..yet...you must have been very unlucky ☹️

It's a new listing scam..'they' make an almost duplicate hotel listing.