Hotel Search Engines

[onethailand]

Also they don't show ALL the results in order of price, for example they search Asiarooms but it's price at 1,800 Baht is not listed even though other more expensive ones are.

What I meant was, when you click on a particular hotel, they will show that by price ascending.

[PattayaParent]

All I know is this... I have no economic or other relationship with any of these hotel booking providers... And I have no business involvement in anything relating to tourism. So I am simply a consumer, and 100% impartial in these matters.

Me neither

So am I

[bobbysan124]

I generally use Asiarooms and have had no problems. Also like the fact that there are no hidden charges and taxes and fees are included in price.

Also, if you find a hotel booked full on one site and then there are rooms on another, it's because each site has an allotment of rooms that they've contracted for and when they're sold - THEY have no more. Also, a good way to keep the uninitiated looking for another hotel on their site instead of looking for the same hotel on another.

[PattayaParent]

Also they don't show ALL the results in order of price, for example they search Asiarooms but it's price at 1,800 Baht is not listed even though other more expensive ones are.

What I meant was, when you click on a particular hotel, they will show that by price ascending.

But what criteria do they use to decide which higher prices get listed in prefernce to lower prices which don't get listed?

And if there are cheaper prices excluded how can you be sure that the 'cheapest price' shown really is the cheapest price?

[tw25rw]

I chose 3 random hotels and compared the room details so I was comparing like with like. Feel free to accuse me of shilling.

Hotel Solo Sukhumvit 2, Bangkok Night of July 1

Asia Rooms THB 4900.00

Agoda THB 2,781.12

Emporium Suites, Bangkok Same night

Asia rooms THB 5600.00

Agoda THB 4,892.63

Majestic Grande Hotel, Bangkok

Asia rooms THB 3300.00

Agoda THB 3,218.76

Like to nominate some more hotels?

[jfchandler]

OK... I did the same...

Majestic Suites, Bangkok, one night July 1

Asia Rooms - lowest price room and breakfast (including tax/fees) - 1550

Agoda - lowest price room and breakfast (including tax/fees) - 1565

Royal Asia Lodge, Bangkok same night

Asia Rooms - lowest price room and breakfast (including tax/fees) - 1199

Agoda - lowest price room and breakfast (including tax/fees) - 1235

Thipurai City Hotel, Hua Hin, same night

Asia Rooms - lowest price room and breakfast - 1200

Agoda - lowest price room and breakfast (including tax/fees) - 1241

[jfchandler]

It's interesting.... I've stayed at all 3 of the hotels I priced this morning. I just chose at random places I've stayed before... But I've stayed at none of the places TW25RW listed, all of which have nightly prices about double or more the places I listed...

Could it be...for some reason...Asia Rooms tends to have better prices on the more moderate priced hotels, whereas Agoda may do better with the higher priced properties???

As I've said, for all the hotel stays I've booked, and they are many, Agoda almost never comes up with the best price. But the one consistent thing about my hotel bookings, in whatever city they may be, is I tend to target the 1,000 to 2,500 baht per night range....

Paying $100 U.S. or more per night for a hotel in Thailand, considering the better priced options available, always has struck me as a bit galling....

[onethailand]

But what criteria do they use to decide which higher prices get listed in prefernce to lower prices which don't get listed?

And if there are cheaper prices excluded how can you be sure that the 'cheapest price' shown really is the cheapest price?

They list all prices they receive... they don't make any claim that they absolutely have the cheapest price because that is impossible for anyone but the hotel to claim in the first place.

Re: pricing differences - no one engine will always have the cheapest price - they all work under different contracts. Some of them need middlemen to handle the transaction, others deal direct with the hotel but don't get the best rates until after they've proven they can send large volume. Some of them get good prices through wholesalers.

Some engines add in temporary promotional prices, others don't because the work is time-consuming.

In short - never believe a claim that an engine has the cheapest price. Only hotels can make that claim. To find the best price, check HotelsCombined, plus any search engines not listed on HotelsCombined, plus the hotel site itself. In general, I find that just HotelsCombined and the hotel site itself is sufficient.

[jfchandler]

OT, if I'm staying at a hotel, I always at least look at that hotel's web site for info on the hotel, as well as to see if they've posted their standard rates online.

In always doing that here in Thailand, I can hardly think of any situation where the rates posted on the hotel website were equal to or better than what I could find from third party sites....

I can think of a rare instance where that's been the case.... But for that one time, there were 20 other times were the hotel's posted rates were far and away higher.... sometimes shockingly so, compared to what other sites offer for the same room/deal.

In the U.S., some of the hotel chains have taken, I'm glad to see, to guaranteeing that the rates offered/booked thru their own web sites will be the lowest available online. They're wanting to keep the booking business directly for themselves and keep you as a captured guest within their chain.

But in Thailand, I haven't seen that trend occurring at all. Part of the reason for that may be that, I believe, there are far more independent hotels here, whereas in the U.S. most properties have been gobbled up by one chain or another.

[onethailand]

OT, if I'm staying at a hotel, I always at least look at that hotel's web site for info on the hotel, as well as to see if they've posted their standard rates online.

In always doing that here in Thailand, I can hardly think of any situation where the rates posted on the hotel website were equal to or better than what I could find from third party sites....

As an example, Accor guarantees the best price on their website. So any Novotel, Ibis, etc. should always be cheapest on the hotel site.

In the past, and for a real booking, I also found the Centara Grand cheapest on their website (not by a whole lot, could've been exchange rate differences), though they make no such guarantee.

I can think of a rare instance where that's been the case.... But for that one time, there were 20 other times were the hotel's posted rates were far and away higher.... sometimes shockingly so, compared to what other sites offer for the same room/deal.

That will usually be the case - but the point here is to find the cheapest, no matter how difficult it is

In the U.S., some of the hotel chains have taken, I'm glad to see, to guaranteeing that the rates offered/booked thru their own web sites will be the lowest available online. They're wanting to keep the booking business directly for themselves and keep you as a captured guest within their chain.

I believe Intercontinental Hotels Group (Intercontinental, Holiday Inn) is another group with the guaranteed lowest price However, this is not only in the US, but their worldwide properties, just like Accor.

But in Thailand, I haven't seen that trend occurring at all. Part of the reason for that may be that, I believe, there are far more independent hotels here, whereas in the U.S. most properties have been gobbled up by one chain or another.

It's not common. Like you said, most hotels are independent or part of a small group. But you should not discount the possibility.

[PattayaParent]

OK... I did the same...

Majestic Suites, Bangkok, one night July 1

Asia Rooms - lowest price room and breakfast (including tax/fees) - 1550

Agoda - lowest price room and breakfast (including tax/fees) - 1565

Royal Asia Lodge, Bangkok same night

Asia Rooms - lowest price room and breakfast (including tax/fees) - 1199

Agoda - lowest price room and breakfast (including tax/fees) - 1235

Thipurai City Hotel, Hua Hin, same night

Asia Rooms - lowest price room and breakfast - 1200

Agoda - lowest price room and breakfast (including tax/fees) - 1241

This is what we need, some real life examples not just ignorance and insults.

So what we can conclude jf is that in the cases where Agoda may not be the cheapest they are very competitvely priced?

Edited April 4, 2010 by PattayaParent

[jfchandler]

Actually, what we can conclude is I picked three hotels at random and was going to post the pricing results no matter what they showed, and I did just that.

It just so happened the three tended to have pretty similar results...ie.... Asiarooms better than Agoda but only by a little. I didn't go the extra step in those cases and test those same hotels on other booking sites....

As I've said elsewhere, in my experience, AsiaRooms does usually have a better price for the hotels I am booking than Agoda. But I've also clearly said, other vendors certainly sometimes have better prices than both Asiarooms and Agoda.

But just in comparing AsiaRooms and Agoda as done above, my results sometimes are like those in the three examples, but probably just as often, the spread is larger in Asiarooms favor over Agoda... But sometimes as well, a different vendor like DirectRooms or AsiaTravel beats them both.

There was a time a few years ago, when I almost always was booking thru Asiarooms because they always seemed to have the best price I could find. More recently, as in the past year or two, that's no longer the case. When I go hotel shopping now, which vendor is going to emerge with the best price seems to vary with each occasion.

But as I noted above, when I am booking, it's consistently for hotels targeting a 1000 to 2500 baht or so price range. The examples posted previously in which Agoda beats Asiarooms on price seem to be for the higher priced hotels, 4000 to 5000 a night.

I'll freely acknowledge, I have no experience booking Thailand hotels in that price range. So others who do may certainly have a different experience/results from mine.

[PattayaParent]

But as I noted above, when I am booking, it's consistently for hotels targeting a 1000 to 2500 baht or so price range. The examples posted previously in which Agoda beats Asiarooms on price seem to be for the higher priced hotels, 4000 to 5000 a night.

I beleive the only example previously posted before your example was the one I posted for a hotel in the 1,500 Baht range in which Agoda was cheaper than Asiarooms by 16%?

Edited April 4, 2010 by PattayaParent

[THAIPHUKET]

I know, the answer are mainly directed to travel within Asia.

I am interested in INTERNATIONAL BOOKINGS

I tried various search engines which were suggested here for a 3 day stay in Frankfurt ,Germany , hotel Moevenpick , 4 star. April 7.-20.

dohop.com is useless, prices indicative, will change when forwarded to actual booking site, hotel.com

laterooms.com looked ok, 115 euro, BUT jacked up to 175 the last night, weekday not weekend!

chaklo.com Moevenpick hotel not in program

agoda.com

115 euro like laterooms, but NO jack up, including fee for whatever the total charge to my credit card was 347,00 = 115,67 per night.

I learned one important issue for your discussion= better to check several sources, I'm not betting that agoda comes out always first.

[jfchandler]

PP, I was indirectly referring to this earlier post in this thread...

I chose 3 random hotels and compared the room details so I was comparing like with like. Feel free to accuse me of shilling.

Hotel Solo Sukhumvit 2, Bangkok Night of July 1

Asia Rooms THB 4900.00

Agoda THB 2,781.12

Emporium Suites, Bangkok Same night

Asia rooms THB 5600.00

Agoda THB 4,892.63

Majestic Grande Hotel, Bangkok

Asia rooms THB 3300.00

Agoda THB 3,218.76

Like to nominate some more hotels?

[aussiestyle1983]

Thanks for all the replys.

I finally booked. Before I booked, I opened about 10 windows and searched for the same hotel, same room, and same dates as I wanted. I search all the other websites recommeneded on here.

Here are some of the results:

Agoda $435.06 AUD

Hotel Travel $424.92 AUD

Direct Rooms $396.00 AUD

Hotel Bookings $416.50 AUD

Hotel 2 Thailand $427.00 AUD

There was alomst a $40 difference, with Agoda being the most expensive. As we all are aware, different websites come in cheaper sometimes, so, I guess with the times and hotel I wanted, Direct Rooms had the best deal - so I used it.

[SwissTony77]

I tend to use Booking.com they offer a really good reange of world wide hotels and tend to be the cheapest option. The real kicker is that more often than not you only give your credit card details to secure your booking (on the odd occasion they offer a slightly better rate for pre-paid), no charges are made until you leave the hotel, this means if your plans change you can usually cancel your hotel with no charge up to the day before you are due to arrive.

I've used this website for the last 4 years and always had a good experience.

[PattayaParent]

Thanks for all the replys.

I finally booked. Before I booked, I opened about 10 windows and searched for the same hotel, same room, and same dates as I wanted. I search all the other websites recommeneded on here.

Here are some of the results:

Agoda $435.06 AUD

Hotel Travel $424.92 AUD

Direct Rooms $396.00 AUD

Hotel Bookings $416.50 AUD

Hotel 2 Thailand $427.00 AUD

There was alomst a $40 difference, with Agoda being the most expensive. As we all are aware, different websites come in cheaper sometimes, so, I guess with the times and hotel I wanted, Direct Rooms had the best deal - so I used it.

Checked DirectRooms for a 2 days stay at my favourite hotel in Bangkok and they were 56% more expensive than the real rate.

[tonititan]

It's interesting.... I've stayed at all 3 of the hotels I priced this morning. I just chose at random places I've stayed before... But I've stayed at none of the places TW25RW listed, all of which have nightly prices about double or more the places I listed...

Could it be...for some reason...Asia Rooms tends to have better prices on the more moderate priced hotels, whereas Agoda may do better with the higher priced properties???

I certainly think that could be a factor.

I tried to do some comparisons myself when this debate first started, but it was frustrating because a lot of the search engines didn't have the same hotels available. I'd go to Agoda, type in a city, and date, and choose the first hotel that came up. Then I'd go to Asiarooms (and other sites) and search...no availability, or the hotel not even listed. I did the same thing in reverse, and still no luck. After several tries I just gave up. I think there could be some truth to the idea that different engines may be cheapest for different types of hotels. I tend to stay at nicer hotels, not always the cheapest hotels, which could help explain why I've almost always found Agoda to be cheapest while others have not.

I intentionally did not choose hotels I have stayed at in the past, because I used Agoda for most of those bookings, and obviously I used Agoda because it had had the best price for that given hotel/date (I always comparison shop). I thought that those results would be a little biased/misleading. I noticed that a couple of the people who "randomly" chose hotels for comparisons actually randomly chose hotels that they prefer or have stayed at. Nothing wrong with that, but again, same potential for bias. That could also be one of the reasons for conflicting comparisons. That, and the fact that there are tons of hotels out there, and as others have pointed out, no search engine is going to be the cheapest for every single hotel.

It's been interesting to hear about all the different search engines. Reading this threat has reminded me why it's so important to compare different sites. I tend to use Agoda first to choose a hotel that I like because I am comfortable with it's layout and features, and I feel like it provides pretty comprehensive information about a hotel. Then I search for that same hotel on every other site I can think of. Of course, my methodology may have something to do with why I tend to find good prices on Agoda....

[hagler]

Asia Web Direct.

On SOME hotels in BKK they can be up to 20-30% cheaper than Agoda who I do use for other countries. ( and no I cant be bothered with the "best price guarantee" stuff that Agoda and a gazillion other booking sites have. Guess I am old fashioned but I would rather do business with someone who states their best price up front doesn't have to resort to pimping to get work)

This is a booking I made yesterday

Gardengrove Suites Asia Web Direct 1919 bht p/n 90sqm 1 bedroom apartment - November 2010 (inc all fees)

Agoda 2986 bht p/n 90sqm 1 bedroom apartment - November 2010 (inc all fees)

Thats around a 35% difference.

not knocking Agoda though. I have used them many times before for other bookings. But as with everything best to do some research and don"t just slavishly believe the hype....

[game4shame]

Thanks for all the replys.

I finally booked. Before I booked, I opened about 10 windows and searched for the same hotel, same room, and same dates as I wanted. I search all the other websites recommeneded on here.

Here are some of the results:

Agoda $435.06 AUD

Hotel Travel $424.92 AUD

Direct Rooms $396.00 AUD

Hotel Bookings $416.50 AUD

Hotel 2 Thailand $427.00 AUD

There was alomst a $40 difference, with Agoda being the most expensive. As we all are aware, different websites come in cheaper sometimes, so, I guess with the times and hotel I wanted, Direct Rooms had the best deal - so I used it.

PattayaParent

Checked DirectRooms for a 2 days stay at my favourite hotel in Bangkok and they were 56% more expensive than the real rate.

[PattayaParent]

^They're the most useful comments you've made on this thread.