Hotel Booking reilability

[superal]

As a party of 4 we wanted a 2 night stay in Khon Kaen on a budget deal as it was just the guys without their families who wanted to play a few rounds of golf and a few beers in the evening and to keep the cost down as it is a regular event to get away for a couple of days . So , I am online looking at all the well known hotel booking agents . I typed in using all the filters for a budget hotel and in most cases the hotel that I preferred did not come up . I had to type it in by name to be searched and when it came up it said not available - fully booked or the price was almost double that I paid 5 months ago . Decided to not book online  and book something on arrival . On arrival I went to my preferred hotel and asked if there were rooms , " how many rooms you want ? " they asked and when I said 4 they said  " have and 399 baht a night ".    The agents  stating hotel fully booked and normal room price of 699 baht a night  with their so called discounts of 50% off included .  Normally it is cheaper to book online as opposed to enquiring at the hotel reception , unless you know otherwise . Have also heard of agents booking a room but on arrival nothing available and then all the complications that go with it to get it resolved .  I have now unsubscribed to a well known agency as I do not believe or trust them . This is their business and cannot they get it right for one reason or another  , or maybe they are  to their own ends .

[LivinginKata]

Is this Phuket related ?

[ezzra]

 

Use booking.com and agoda.com and forget the rest.....

[lopburi3]

13 minutes ago, LivinginKata said:

Is this Phuket related ?

Perhaps the computer user was in Phuket.

[LivinginKata]

37 minutes ago, lopburi3 said:

Perhaps the computer user was in Phuket.

 

Maybe ... but he does NOT post much (if ever) on the Phuket Forum.  And he mentions  Khon Kaen ..

 

Might be better in General ?

Edited January 8, 2017 by LivinginKata
typo - as usual

[lopburi3]

Probably should be in travel Thailand area.

[LivinginKata]

44 minutes ago, ezzra said:

 

Use booking.com and agoda.com and forget the rest.....

 

I agree ... I've used Agoda for years for hotels here in Thailand and around SE Asia. Never had a problem on arrival ... mind you always print out the Booking Confirmation form and present to reception.  Although recently I've been using Agoda's mobile app while on the move as can book same day with that app, so no print out. Last time I used just happens to be in Khon Kaen, no problem, did not even have to display booking on my mobile screen.

 

As for price .. In the past I have checked prices on Agoda, turn up at that hotel, and they always wanted a higher rate. When I quoted the Agoda price they just shrugged and no reduction offered.

Edited January 8, 2017 by LivinginKata

[petesc55]

I use Agoda, also, and never had a problem.

In the US I use other booking sites, and from what I understand the hotels only allot a percentage of rooms to the booking sites.    The booking site may say 'full', while the hotel is sitting on some empty rooms for walk ups, or other higher priced customers.

 

Agoda is probably the same, since I often see the  'last two rooms' notation when looking at a hotel a few weeks ahead, and still get the 'last two rooms' weeks later, when I book the same room, for the same time frame.

 

The agoda price is usually OK.    I've had my Thai GF call some of the hotels in thailand and try to get  a better rate, so far it hasn't happened.   One time the hotel owner on the phone was trying to get a higher rate than quoted on agoda, and was warning her 'not to book on agoda, they take money from us'.    Needless to say, I booked on agoda at a different hotel in that city.  :)

 

 

 

 

[SantiSuk]

Agree that Agoda and Booking,com are generally reliable and useful if for nothing more than information and user reviews. I don't think that you get a much cheaper rate than you would get by calling the hotel* and I have occasionally seen the price quoted on a sign at reception - obviously their standard walk-in rate - that was lower than the Agoda/Booking.com price. That doesn't happen particuarly oftento me, so I don't tend to get wound up by it! I've noticed from other postings on ThaiVisa.com that others suffer this too; and those reporting it are less laid back about it!

 

I'm currently waiting for Booking.com to explain why their preliminary screens quoted one price for a booking I made last month, but then when I committed to the booking (penalty would have been charged to my credit card if I had backed out) the confirmed price was higher - a much more pernicious version of the trick played by some budget airlines (and Agoda's standard approach) of quoting one price on pre-screen 1 then a higher price on pre-screen 2 (including taxes etc); more pernicious because with Agoda and the airlines you do at least get the actual price you will pay quoted on pre-screen 2, ie before you commit. I suspect it's a one-off mistake for a newly listed hotel that I use regularly on a phone-in basis. If it's deliberate, then it is fraud and I will take appropriate action against them in terms of seeking out any tourist or other government regulatory authority.

 

Agoda and Booking.com are owned by the same company with two slightly different software packages. There is rarely much difference in price between the two except for late bookings where I quite often find that Agoda is a bit cheaper.

 

[*That assertion applies to the budget end of accommodation. The international 4/5 star chains typicallly have very high walk-in and late booking rates that can be quite heavily discounted by the likes of Agoda/Booking.com] 

[cooked]

I am sensible enough to stay at home during peak holiday periods and I have never, ever, booked a hotel in Thailand, including Pattaya, Jomtien, Chiang mai, Bangkok....  I have only once actually been in a hotel that was fully occupied (rockets were set off!).

If I don't have a specific hotel that I know at the place I am planning to stay in, I use the Trip advisor app.from the car (or bus  station) just before arriving. Never failed, I don't book, I just go there. There's always another one nearby , any taxi driver will find you something.

[superal]

18 hours ago, LivinginKata said:

 

Maybe ... but he does NOT post much (if ever) on the Phuket Forum.  And he mentions  Khon Kaen ..

 

Might be better in General ?

Apologies , I made a mistake by posting in the Phuket forum , indeed should have been General ,  oh and by the way Agoda and Booking . com were 2 of the companies I was using and both wanted 699 baht a night but I paid 399 baht a night for a very good room . 

[ubonjoe]

OP has posted a duplicate of this topic that is now on the travel forum.

This one