Since giving up on Airbnb ( except for long term ) I have gone back to the hotel apps , many who have comparable prices to Airbnb short stays

However I'm looking more towards hotel accommodation apps with rewards

Despite being an AGODA diamond member I get absolutely nothing in return and have written to the CEO many times to get a generic reply

I now find TRIP have better rewards as in "coins " etc to discount your next stay

A lot of "lying " apps such as HotelTonight and Last-minute hotels etc are still around and NO cheaper than the others

As for booking hotels in their OWN website I found most times they are expensive more than the apos

Now let me get back to AIRBNB

I do use them for longer stays as they are usually cheaper

However I have had some problems lately particularly being caused of stealing an iron or leaving the place a mess which Airbnb after my reply actually agreed with me I didn't do it

I had a owner of a condo in Pattaya after a week's stay send me a bill for a missing ironing board

I usually don't think too much about points and rewards, but many people have it down to a science and end up with free hotel nights, free flights, etc. One girl I knew in San Francisco used to fly back and forth from there to LA just to get the points. I'm not sure how that worked, but apparently there was a way to make the cost of the flights worth it.

I assume most people with credit cards get at least a small cash back reward or airline miles for charging things on a card, and sometimes the cards themselves have special additional rewards for using certain merchants. Also, the card companies have their own travel portals. I know Capital One does. American Express does. Perhaps some of the other big banks as well. Book a trip through one of those portals and not only do you get the normal cash back, you get additional "points" which you can turn into airline miles or hotel nights or whatever.

As for the credit card rewards I had to ask or should I say "beg" for my annual free of $384 back

Sure you got one free night in a 5 star hotel the Shangri La but the annual fee more or less paid for it

For other folks, I find Booking.com has better, more accurat info, and Agoda, sometimes have better prices. Strange since owned by same parent company, which also have Priceline, KAYAK, OpenTable under their ownership umbrella.

Accor site is good sometimes, with better cancellation policy.

We avoid booking in advance 99% of the time, and rarely use sites to book. Agoda lately, the few times we did book in advance, and for us, that's usually just the day or evening before, as I don't plan much of anything in advance.

If have a Thai wife or partner, then best to call, as usually cheaper, and half the time, no need to pay in advance. Also rooms available,when booking sites state 'sold out'.

1 minute ago, KhunLA said:

For other folks, I find Booking.com has better, more accurat info, and Agoda, sometimes have better prices. Strange since owned by same parent company, which also have Priceline, KAYAK, OpenTable under their ownership umbrella.

Accor site is good sometimes, with better cancellation policy.

We avoid booking in advance 99% of the time, and rarely use sites to book. Agoda lately, the few times we did book in advance, and for us, that's usually just the day or evening before, as I don't plan much of anything in advance.

If have a Thai wife or partner, then best to call, as usually cheaper, and half the time, no need to pay in advance. Also rooms available,when booking sites state 'sold out'.

I'm not sure how these booking sites work and I was surprised when you said practically ONE company owns the whole lot of them

It seems they would rather rooms sit empty than from the prices dramatically

2 minutes ago, georgegeorgia said:

I'm not sure how these booking sites work and I was surprised when you said practically ONE company owns the whole lot of them

It seems they would rather rooms sit empty than from the prices dramatically

You don't understand marketing, and controlling , being the competition.

You own 2 sites, one more expensive, on purpose, so your other site looks like a bargain. It's a win win, as most will go for the 'supposed bargain price', or totally ignorant, and go with brand name. When neither is the bargain or better in any way.

Booking .com & Agoda, do sometimes beat the chain site prices.

When the best price can be had, by simply calling the vendor direct. Sites with 'low price matching/guarantee' are BS. Either total BS, or restrictive on how they enforce it.

Been there, done that, and we simply call direct, for better info, since travel with dog, and usually better price. Easier to opt out of crappy brekkie we don't want also, when included on some sites.

Or course if not having a Thai partner, the convenience of online is worth the extra THB, if you don't speak Thai.

Edited 1 hour ago1 hr by KhunLA

7 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

For other folks, I find Booking.com has better, more accurat info, and Agoda, sometimes have better prices. Strange since owned by same parent company, which also have Priceline, KAYAK, OpenTable under their ownership umbrella.

Accor site is good sometimes, with better cancellation policy.

We avoid booking in advance 99% of the time, and rarely use sites to book. Agoda lately, the few times we did book in advance, and for us, that's usually just the day or evening before, as I don't plan much of anything in advance.

If have a Thai wife or partner, then best to call, as usually cheaper, and half the time, no need to pay in advance. Also rooms available,when booking sites state 'sold out'.

I enjoy finding places as part of the travel fun. We like places without walls when traveling away from the beach with nice views of the landscape. 95%+ of hotels have walls blocking beautiful landscape views so it takes time but time is usually something we have. I now have locations saved in my favorites all over Thailand on Google maps. Many times I'll do a quick check on Booking.com to get a ballpark and then ask for the price inside. If they tell me a price that it is higher, I just book online.

I'm always amazed with the value here for someone that could careless for a beautiful lobby and a big room. I think it is usually better to not book online and just walkin.

14 minutes ago, atpeace said:

I enjoy finding places as part of the travel fun. We like places without walls when traveling away from the beach with nice views of the landscape. 95%+ of hotels have walls blocking beautiful landscape views so it takes time but time is usually something we have. I now have locations saved in my favorites all over Thailand on Google maps. Many times I'll do a quick check on Booking.com to get a ballpark and then ask for the price inside. If they tell me a price that it is higher, I just book online.

I'm always amazed with the value here for someone that could careless for a beautiful lobby and a big room. I think it is usually better to not book online and just walkin.

Something with a view from the room's balcony, or from inside, even better, is the priorty. Gime those big sliding glass does, so I can enjoy the AC, and avoid the flying insects.

Then comfy bed is next. The rest isn't important. Bungalows are preferred.

We really don't explore areas & play tourist much, as been here a bit too long, and done or seen most that interest us. So hanging out at the room is where we spend most of our time.

13 minutes ago, atpeace said:

I think it is usually better to not book online and just walkin.

Sometimes, yes, but you're always taking a chance that there will be no rooms, or no rooms at a certain price.

I usually just check Agoda and Hotels.com or Booking.com and see what's available and at what price. Sometimes I use the hotel website. If I know I'm going somewhere, I check the hotels and check the reviews, especially the negative reviews. Those usually bring up any potential problems, such as construction noise. If I see something that looks good, I'll book it and pay in advance. Sometimes there's a cancellation fee if I change my mind, or sometimes I get a better deal if I pay in advance without the possibility of cancelling. Then, when I arrive at the hotel there's not a lot to do except give them my passport and any mini-bar deposit they want. I especially do all that if I'm arriving on a flight that lands late at night. The last thing I want to do at 2AM is to walk around looking for a hotel that might have a vacancy.

Did you try the Trip.com Group, including Trip.com, Ctrip, and Meituan Hotels?

47 minutes ago, jas007 said:

Sometimes, yes, but you're always taking a chance that there will be no rooms, or no rooms at a certain price.

I usually just check Agoda and Hotels.com or Booking.com and see what's available and at what price. Sometimes I use the hotel website. If I know I'm going somewhere, I check the hotels and check the reviews, especially the negative reviews. Those usually bring up any potential problems, such as construction noise. If I see something that looks good, I'll book it and pay in advance. Sometimes there's a cancellation fee if I change my mind, or sometimes I get a better deal if I pay in advance without the possibility of cancelling. Then, when I arrive at the hotel there's not a lot to do except give them my passport and any mini-bar deposit they want. I especially do all that if I'm arriving on a flight that lands late at night. The last thing I want to do at 2AM is to walk around looking for a hotel that might have a vacancy.

Mini bar deposit

Has anyone else noticed many hotels now even more the 5 star now don't have a physical mini bar

5 minutes ago, Sergo said:

Did you try the Trip.com Group, including Trip.com, Ctrip, and Meituan Hotels?

Trip is quite good-looking..they have coins as rewards

The only time I stay ina hotel these days is in Bangkok and I always book the same one, creature of habit when I find a place that suits me within budget and good location. I use Booking.com, plan in advance and since I know the hotel's price range I monitor it and book when it gets to the lower end of the range. Occasionally I get a Genius discount or a partner offer at lower price. I'm only ever booking 1-3 nights in the 1,000-1,200 range so it's not worth hunting out further savings beyond what I know is a good price on Booking.com. I like Booking.com