Booking Through Asia Rooms & Agoda

[tommytouch]

This week I need to book a hotel room for a trip to Penang next month and I'm considering using Asia Rooms or Agoda.

Does anyone have any experience using these companies, positive or negative? Is it a fairly straightforward, painless procedure? If it makes any difference I'd like to book using my Bangkok Bank Visa debit card.

Thanks for any advice.

[Impkenai]

I used Agoda several times to book hotels in Thailand. So far I have no problems. The terms of bookings differ from hotel to hotel. Some require non-cancellation full payment, but most do not require a deposit.

Point to note is that Agoda's posted prices DO NOT include service charges and relevant taxes. It's only when you try to book a particular date that you'll see the full cost per room night. At that point, you can terminate the link anytime if you do not wish to proceed.

Suggest that once you decide on a hotel, to check the website of that hotel and compare prices. You'll be surprised at the pricing differences. Saved me some dollars.

Cheers!

[WilliaminBKK]

I find the room allotment with these booking engines tend to be the basic/worst rooms in the hotel since it is high cost for the hotel vs a guest booking direct.

I check them for sorting and then book direct 90% of the time. More and more hotels have a best rate guarantee.

[KeyserSoze01]

I have used Agoda extensively to book rooms in various countries, including Thailand. Once I have reservations throught Agoda, I usually call the hotel to make sure that everything is copacetic and arrange any changes or additional requirements. Agoda is only the broker and it is my experience that the hoteliers often haven't a clue, so a follow up call is a good idea.

[gamini]

Agoda has no longer a presence in Thailand so if you have any problems with your booking you have to phone a London number. If you are like my wife who made abooking with Agoda and paid with her Thai credit card and is expected to call London when she had a problem is ridiculous. (I wonder if they speak Thai)

[msg362]

Agoda also take payment up front, unlike asia rooms and booking.com, takes time to get it back. Have used both Asia rooms and booking com ( and Agoda) with no problems

[David Barker]

Agoda has no longer a presence in Thailand so if you have any problems with your booking you have to phone a London number. If you are like my wife who made abooking with Agoda and paid with her Thai credit card and is expected to call London when she had a problem is ridiculous. (I wonder if they speak Thai)

This is listed as a current address and the phone is working we use them aroun 8 or 10 bookings a year

999/9 Rama 1 Road The Offices at Central World, 27th Floor, Patumwan

Bangkok 10330, Thailand

Cómo llegar

‎

02-625 9200

agoda.com

[richard_smith237]

Used Agoda, Latestays.com all fine...

DirectRooms.com gives you the best rate of a few websites for your dates, and then directs you through that website. I've found this to be useful on more than a few occasions.

As someone else has mentioned - Sometimes when you check with the hotel directly, they can match or better the internet rate.

[MichaelSong]

I always booked via Asiarooms before they changed their web application. They were always cheaper compared to other providers.

Often I tried to book a room direct at the hotel, but was always 150 -200 percent more expensive. For instance, a room at a top ChiangMai hotel was 1200thb via Asiarooms , 4000 at direct check-in. They actually advised me to use the internet service (at the hotel ! ) , book the room on internet , and then check in with the voucher at 1200thb. Asiarooms are easy to contact by phone 24h a day and are very flexible. I often used this service.

[monty1412]

I use Agoda extensively for all my travel across SE Asia which is quite frequent. I have not had any real issues in fact on last booking they rang me back and advised the hotel I had booked had made a mistake and were actually overbooked and would I like a similar hotel in similar are for same price... pretty good service.

I like their system where you choose a standard of room and then it denotes it on the conformation form as a few times the hotels have wanted to give me say a standard twin when the booking was for a deluxe king.. that type of thing.

[BookMan]

I've used these bookings sites extensively.

I always go to Tripadvisor, check comments and traveller reviews on the hotel first. They generally have a link through to 4-5-6-8 booking sites like agoda, hotels.com

Haven't had any problems doing it this way

[ozzydave]

As far as problems with Agoda - none

However they dont reply in a timely manner to email (read ever), and it can take some time for the hotel to get notification.

With all of the hotel booking agencies check WHAT you are booking (room, breakfast? gym? wfifi? etc), and what the hotel offers direct. I have booked places via booking agency and foind that the advertised rate was 2/3 the booking agency listed amount

Re calling them in Thailand - I find having to call London on their business hours for a global service non economical and a pain in the butt.

[PattayaParent]

I've used Agoda for many years now and they have been excellent but I have gone off them recently.

They have now changed their website so that I cannot input a child as an additional occupant in the room. Most hotels allow a child under 12 for free sharing the parents bed, but some want an additional charge, and I want to know whether I'm going to be hit at the hotel or not before I book.

So recently I've changed booking websites.

So if you are a single occupant or a couple I'd recommend Agoda, I've never used Asia Rooms.

To compare prices across all websites and get the full rates inclusive of taxes etc. use Hotels Combined (dot com). They do not make the bookings but transfer you to the website you choose.

[Bpuumike]

I find the room allotment with these booking engines tend to be the basic/worst rooms in the hotel since it is high cost for the hotel vs a guest booking direct.

I check them for sorting and then book direct 90% of the time. More and more hotels have a best rate guarantee.

If you're familiar with a particular hotel you can usually specify a room number with Agoda.

They generally seem to get a better rate then the hotel online direct but of course, check it out. For example, in Thailand you don't need 'breakfast included' at hotel rates.

In answer to your question, I always use and can recommend Agoda. I live in Thailand but sometimes need a hotel in BKK for myself and visitors.

[Bpuumike]

Agoda has no longer a presence in Thailand so if you have any problems with your booking you have to phone a London number. If you are like my wife who made abooking with Agoda and paid with her Thai credit card and is expected to call London when she had a problem is ridiculous. (I wonder if they speak Thai)

I booked visiting friends into a BKK hotel last week via Agoda and everything faultless.

Admittedly, didn't use a Thai credit card.

[Carib]

Never had any problems with both sites mentioned, Agoda does alter the text of your review later on though, that is if there is a bit negative truth in them. Don't believe everything you read.

[theoldgit]

I've only just started using Agoda and so far I have not encountered a problem, I even use my Thai credit card without a hitch.

I recently booked a hotel in Hanoi for a week, when I printed my voucher I noted it was for a single room, I checked the website and noticed that there were two prices, one for one person and one for two people, I had gone for the single room by mistake, probably because it was a tad cheaper. I also noted that as it was a flash sale the booking could not be amended or cancelled without a loss of everything I had paid. I called their office, in Singapore, the girl reminded me of the conditions and then altered the booking and sent me a new voucher, I had to pay a further US$10, this being the cost difference between a single a double room, which I assume was the cost of breakfast.

So I made the mistake, and Agoda sorted it out quickly and politely.

[siam2007]

nowadays, agoda rips you off when it comes to curreny conversion.

until some time last year, you could choose the currency to make your payment, your CC-currency or the currency of the country in which the hotel is located. If you chose your own currency, there was always a 3% mark-up, while choosing the hotel's regular currency there was the regular conversion rate (I checked and tested that many times as I am making 40-50 bookings on different hotel-booking systems every year).

Now, there is no more such option. If you book a hotel in Malaysia, and your home currency is € or $ or THB, they will AUTOMATICALLY do that unfavourable conversion to your home currency with a 3% mark-up, and never charge Malaysian Ringgit. You can avoid this hidden rip-off if you state in your booking that your CC has been issued in the country where the hotel is located (f.e. Malaysia, when in fact your card is actually from the UK, France, Australia, Germany or whereever).

there will be an immediate conversion nevertheless, but WITHOUT the 3% mark-up.

I tested that one time to see if the booking would go through, and it did. I do it that way now always. If your booking is worth 5.000 THB, that would otherwise make up for a mark-up of 150 THB that I am not willing to offer this greedy, insidious (albeit admittedly very smart) company.

another hint:

it is ALWAYS a good idea to check rates through those cheap-rate-scanning-systems such as wego.com or hotelscombined.com

the thing is that the HOTELS are responsible to update and manage the rates on those multiple booking websites, and some are neglecting their duties, resulting in great rates when such rates should actually not be available, or not be available anymore (after a promotion-period has ended, for example).

I have to travel to Berlin for the International-Tourism-Fair in March 2012, and on such occasion, hotel rates skyrocket (as is common everywhere in the world). So I was surprised to find a cheapo-promotion rate at a decent hotel (Park Inn by Radisson) on ONE website, while the rate on all other scanned websites was triple that amount.

So of course I was quick booking the room and the booking went through (coincidentally, it was AGODA, which is almost completely unknown in Europe).

All other booking websites that are common and popular in Europe did not have that rate anymore.

Shortly after finalizing the booking, I was curious and checked the price for the room on agoda one hour later or so, and now the same room was 165 € and not 49 € anymore

it was obvious that the hotel forgot to change the rate on the agoda website, most probably because it usually does not receive many (if any) bookings from them. When my Booking hit their mailbox, they probably were shocked to learn the promotion-low-season-pre-booking rates were still listed there, and that they would have to give away a room during "peak-period" so cheap, and then immediately made the correction on the agoda website.

so: sometimes it pays to do research

Edited February 2, 2012 by siam2007

[rfukata]

I use two reputable sites: Agoda.com and Asiatravel.com.

both are good and I have had no problems. One thing good about agoda is that it charges all in USD and charges

the credit card in USD.

[PattayaParent]

I use two reputable sites: Agoda.com and Asiatravel.com.

both are good and I have had no problems. One thing good about agoda is that it charges all in USD and charges

the credit card in USD.

Is this a new policy? Because when making my previous bookings for Bangkok hotels I have always been given the option to charge in Thai Baht or the currency of my card, GBP, and on my credit card statement it always gives the Thai Baht amount and the exchange to GBP for billing.

Even when I use my US$ card I have always had the statement in Thai Baht and the conversion to US$ for billing.

Maybe you are just using the US$ rate for the pricing display but you can change that to any currency you want?

[tartempion]

nowadays, agoda rips you off when it comes to curreny conversion.

until some time last year, you could choose the currency to make your payment, your CC-currency or the currency of the country in which the hotel is located. If you chose your own currency, there was always a 3% mark-up, while choosing the hotel's regular currency there was the regular conversion rate (I checked and tested that many times as I am making 40-50 bookings on different hotel-booking systems every year).

Now, there is no more such option. If you book a hotel in Malaysia, and your home currency is € or $ or THB, they will AUTOMATICALLY do that unfavourable conversion to your home currency with a 3% mark-up, and never charge Malaysian Ringgit. You can avoid this hidden rip-off if you state in your booking that your CC has been issued in the country where the hotel is located (f.e. Malaysia, when in fact your card is actually from the UK, France, Australia, Germany or whereever).

there will be an immediate conversion nevertheless, but WITHOUT the 3% mark-up.

I tested that one time to see if the booking would go through, and it did. I do it that way now always. If your booking is worth 5.000 THB, that would otherwise make up for a mark-up of 150 THB that I am not willing to offer this greedy, insidious (albeit admittedly very smart) company.

Well indeed, I checked several websites to find a good deal for a March stay somewhere in Khao Lak, found I saved 500 baht/night via Agoda, booked and was debited immediately in Euros at bad exchange rate and the confirmation mail mentioned USD.

Usually I use websites where I am not charged at time of booking and where I pay in local hotel currency at checkout time and where the price including tax is mentioned upfront.

Thus no more Agoda for me.

Edited February 3, 2012 by tartempion