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Home » Reader question » Reader question: How reliable are hotel booking websites?
Dear readers,
I am looking into a holiday to Thailand. Now I'm looking at different booking sites for prices of hotels, mainly at booking.com and agoda. Now I wonder what about the reliability of these sites? Especially those from agoda. I read a lot of negative reviews about this. Is this an unreliable booking site, or are these more exceptional cases?
I want to go to Thailand for 3 weeks at the beginning of March, to Koh Lanta, Koh Phi Phi and Ao Nang. I would like to hear your experience with the booking sites. Also if you know good hotels on Koh Lanta, Phi Phi and Ao Nang, we would appreciate your advice. My budget is around € 50 per night, preferably with a pool and on the beach and incl. breakfast if possible.
Thank you very much!
Greetings,
Linda
Dear Linda,
I have been using hotel booking sites for years. Haven't used Agoda much in the last two years, so I can't say anything about that now. In the past, every booking was processed correctly. The last two years I mainly use booking.com, about 20-30 times a year. Every booking went smoothly here too. So I am positive about the site. I always choose four to five star locations. Good luck, Roy
I have booked satisfactorily through Agoda on a number of occasions.
The last time I booked a simple hotel.
On arrival it turned out that the street in front of the hotel had been completely broken up.
So it was one big dirt road through which the traffic plowed.
Even inside the hotel there was a millimeter of sand everywhere and it was one big mess of dust.
We immediately went to another hotel and requested a refund from Agoda.
They immediately referred to 'non-refundable', which was the end of the matter for Agoda.
Not a penny returned.
I will therefore never book anything through any booking site whatsoever.
There is always plenty of room and choice in Thailand.
You can also reject a hotel if there appears to be another construction site next to the hotel.
And that last one happens quite often!!
You can hardly blame Agoda for a broken street. That it was a reason for you not to fulfill the reservation is of course personal. Keep me good, it's not my business to approve or not approve that decision, but someone else might have made less problems from a broken-up street. Admittedly a not entirely ascending comparison, but in the Netherlands a street is sometimes broken open and then you do not receive any compensation from your landlord for any inconveniences when you live in a rented house. By the way, you say that you went directly to another hotel at the time. Perhaps you should have contacted Agoda customer service by phone first (available 24 hours). Maybe they could have been of service to you in some way and the booking costs might have been reimbursed. As for Linda's question, I have stayed in hundreds of hotels through booking sites, often including Agoda. In my experience, Agoda uses transparent conditions and is certainly not unreliable. On the contrary, I rate Agoda as positive and that also applies to many other booking sites. Once I booked a hotel in Thailand with a German tour operator through the comparison site Trivago (compares a number of booking sites). This German company went bankrupt, but since I paid for the reservation with a credit card, I got my money back from the credit card company. I cannot give general advice whether or not to book via a booking site. If you want to be assured of a desired hotel and/or a certain type of room, especially in the high season, it may be advisable to do so via a site. Booking directly with a hotel or booking a room directly on site can be cheaper, but not always. Booking sites regularly have offers and I myself have experienced several times that extending a stay was cheaper via a site than at the hotel reception. You can also sometimes get benefits through local travel agencies or at kiosks at an airport. If you want to play it safe and don't want to lose time searching for a (specific) hotel on the spot, a booking site often seems to be the appropriate solution. But of course everyone makes their own decisions. Have fun Linda on the Thai islands and the anticipation often starts after choosing the accommodation that suits you!
I often arrange hotels with booking.com and have never had a bad experience.
Even if I had a complaint with the hotel, it was always handled immediately by Booking.com
However, it is always advisable to read the sometimes many customer reviews. After 50 reviews you can roughly see what kind of accommodation you might want to book. It is sometimes difficult to assess a general report mark, as not everyone has the same wishes.
We have been booking well with agoda for years.
Made another cancellation yesterday within a few hours money back and booked another room through agoda
Try Expedia.Co.Th
Good experiences
Dear Linda,
I have been booking with Agoda for years and have never had any problems with it and it is also cheaper than booking.
Tip create an account with Agoda.
Due to your question about a good hotel in Ao Nang, I was there three weeks ago for three days and was there in the hotel "The Veranda" very good *** star hotel centrally located in the center with a wonderful breakfast for the price of 3 baht.
Greetings,
Guido
Lat Phrao (Bangkok)
Many years booked with Agoda.
Everything to your liking.
Once the hotel was renovating had booked very spacious vtv ..
Was offered another hotel.
Do a Google search and you will see that Booking.com / Agoda.com and a few others are from the same investment group.
I myself have several options on my travel blogs and am constantly checking
All these booking sites are manipulated, and as an affiliate you are only being used and you are therefore their victim.
Personally, I find Hotelcombined.com the most reliable, .
See earlier. Booking and Agoda and Trivago and Hotels and…….come under EXPEDIA. This holding company is in turn owned by MICROSOFT.
All 1 pot wet for the same. Only the payment terms are different.
I think Booking Holdings and Expedia are really different companies with different brands
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expedia_Group
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Booking_Holdings
Unfortunately, they all belong to the same group.
You can see it if you put both accounts side by side.
booking.com is part of Expedia.com
Are just like KLM and AIR FRANCE
hi we just got back from ao koh Lanta . Nagara beach is very nice within your budget . we had a house on the beach fantastic. Breakfast is less simple, but if you walk down the road, after about 100 meters on the right, there is a fantastic restaurant to a backpacker hotel. If you elaborate, we do not need that. There were 4 days from the hotel, a fantastic trip to 7 islands, including Koh Ngai, booked 800 B all day with speedboat and guide along the way very nice
. Atmosphere is extremely relaxed Muslim but not bothered by Thai remain very nice.
Hello all,
From experience I have found that it would be better to book directly through the hotel's own internet site. You save costs and waiting times.
Have fun
Lung
See also my comment of 11.40. If one asks for a higher price than the booking site refer to this. Get the same price plus often something extra. Every booking via a booking site also costs the hotel a fee.
Many of the so-called travel sites fall under 1 umbrella. Start with Expedia holding.
Oh the funny thing is that this falls under microsoft again.
Trivago and Agoda and many more of these sites are under Expedia hoding.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expedia_Group
I don't know if this was ever noticed. At Trivago (German by origin) you will receive a list at which booking site you will ultimately book. These sites all fall under the Expedia.com umbrella.
For example, also booking.com. Hotels.com, Cheaptickets,,
LunG John,
I have been booking direct to the hotel via email for years. And it's much cheaper. Usually go to Pattaya Hotel Royal Palace.
Greetings Henri
I have been booking with Agoda for 15 years never had any problems
They are usually the cheapest
you can also look at hotels.com, where you can also save for free nights if you register.
Hotels.com is also owned by Expedia
I have booked through Agoda several times and never had a problem.
I have been booking my hotels through Agoda for years. Never had a problem with the booking.
If you book at a booking site, just book 1 night.
Then just see if it meets your expectations.
You can almost always extend it at the receptionist of a hotel. In most cases, the hotels are still happy because they do not have to pay a fee. May benefit both.
Booking .com also has better conditions because in most cases you pay on arrival.
I usually (now) book a hotel for a few days at Booking.com and preferably a hotel that can also be reached by email or telephone.
If the hotel meets your requirements (provided there is a room available) you can easily request an extension outside Booking.com. That gives a big discount because the costs of Booking.com are no longer there for the hotel. You will be offered that discount spontaneously or you have to ask for it 🙂
I have had negative experiences with Agoda (always pay in advance); at Booking.com I could always end the stay in a hotel without any costs if that hotel was very disappointing and that happened a few times.
Many of the so-called travel sites fall under 1 umbrella. Start with Expedia holding.
Oh the funny thing is that this falls under microsoft again.
Trivago and Agoda and many more of these sites are under Expedia hoding.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expedia_Group
I don't know if this was ever noticed. At Trivago (German by origin) you will receive a list at which booking site you will ultimately book. These sites all fall under the Expedia.com umbrella.
For example, also booking.com. Hotels.com, Cheaptickets,
Agoda and booking. com work together as soon as the provider enters into an agreement with booking.com, the accommodation is automatically placed on the same sites,
If you are served via the site, there is a commission of 15%, but you then have the certainty that the accommodation is free, everything is to your liking, the payment is well arranged, etc.
Expedia.com is the travel site and the main company in travel and hotels. Part of MICROSOFT.
Trivago, Agoda, Booking, Hotels, and about 10 more sites fall under this.
I have been going to Thailand for years and have never had any problems with booking.com.
And not having to pay in advance only at the hotel itself.
What I already took were the promotions that booking.com offered.
Agoda and booking.com are perfectly reliable. Years of experience and several bookings per year. (4 or 5 stars or 3 if new hotel) If you want certainty to be able to cancel, you book a little more expensive. Always stated. Compare prices and get the best price. There are still sites without problems.
I use Agoda.com and booking.com, both good and reliable
booking.com is done for me. I have had 2 times that I booked a room, but upon arrival it turned out that the room was no longer available. I do through expedia.com.
This is not due to the booking site, but to the hotel, which must indicate to the booking site that the rooms are full and reservations can no longer be made.
hi linda have booked at both agoda and booking .com and epedia and luckily haven't had a hit yet, (maybe you have to be a bit lucky with this too!) Check the different reviews carefully! also had a good experience with: sawadee.nl and .com, so just search and take your time, this pays off!! also check for flights that way a skyscanner ev you can set a price alarm. have fun traveling!
A few weeks ago I came across an article in which there was a conversation with members of the Thai hotels organization and the TAT,
It was mainly about the many Chinese tourists who now visit Thailand.
From this conversation it emerged that the Hotels in Thailand prefer Chinese tourists to Western tourists.
I always thought the reverse was the case.
The person who represented the hoteliers said that many Westerners book through websites and booking sites, and that it is usually a very long time for the hotelier to see money from those so-called booking sites.
The Chinese always pay quickly and often also with cash.
They also say that Western tourists usually complain about a discount when booking a room and this and that is no good .
A hotelier in Bangkok said that when his hotel is full and the phone rings, another large group of Chinese tourists has arrived at the airport.
He arranged for the whole group to be accommodated at a different hotel than the Chinese group had booked for .
He said you should try that with a Western tour group.
It seems that Chinese tourists are more loved in Thailand than we are.
In addition, despite the fact that the Chinese stay here for an average of 5 to 7 days, they spend more than the Western tourist.
Each Chinese group visits around 5 more tourist attractions in Thailand every day than Western tourists.
Jan Beute.
Strange that Chinese people are more welcome at your hotel.
The groups of Chinese often stay for a short time and spend little in and around the hotel.
They are driven around the attractions that are attractive to the tour operator.
The restaurants are also pre-selected.
The number of Chinese visitors has fallen considerably.
The zero dollar tours used to be attractive, but this has come to an end.
The groups of Chinese also do not use booking sites.
They are the tour operator's contacts.
And if they have a group of 50, this will be their preference.
Clear rules are also explained in Chinese as a lot of damage was done such as toilets that were used incorrectly. Urinals used as toilets.
Has nothing to do with westerner or not.
Russians are less welcome…
Dear Henk .
First of all, fortunately I don't run a hotel.
And the story that the number of Chinese tourists has fallen, On the contrary it is still rising.
Jan Beute.
booked by credit card with agoda for a hotel in rayong last week. card accepted, seemed agreed, fortunately made a screen print, but later canceled by agoda because the booking was not approved. the booking number at agoda was also removed by them, which turned out to make communication difficult. after checking with the credit bank, the money turned out to be transferred. after a lot of fives and sixes, emailing and also calling the bank, everything is arranged. All's well that ends well, but it will be difficult shortly before departure.
We also always book a hotel at booking.com. Both in Thailand and Berlin, for example. Always properly arranged and paid when you arrive. You can even cancel free of charge a few days before arrival if you want something else.
The fact that you can cancel for free a few days before arrival should be a reason NOT to book via booking.com. The hotels are not happy with that at all. The practice is now that for this reason a large number of customers just book something and cancel at the last minute. I have heard this from hotels in India as well as Thailand. Then the hotel is left with unbookable empty rooms.
Yes, it is convenient for the customer, but if you want to take the hotels into account, book through another site. Agoda is a great booking site.
Slept on ao nang, 1 km from the beach in ao nang eco inn. 1200 bath for 2 persons included delicious coffee, waffles, bread and jam
100 meters towards the sea on the left side nice Thai restaurant, name cheap cheap. 500 meters towards the sea on the right side next to SCB bank and president hotel, also a nice restaurant with normal Thai prices. Next to it spaghetti house with tasty pizza,s and just across the street diverse inn with tasty delicious New Zealand steak as well as 15 to 20 Belgian heavy beers. Ao nang eco inn has a second hotel with swimming pool, hotel and bungalows about 1 km further away, but more expensive and breakfast is better. Name is aonang hill 17. There is a car that will take you to ao nang beach for free. We always went to the end at nopphoratara beach on foot about 3 km or with sonthaews paying. Fewer people on the beach. You could lie under the trees and 100 meters away it was possible to buy tasty cheap food at a stall. Have a nice holiday and maybe we'll see each other on ao nang.
At trivago you can see the prices of div. booking sites.
Can you swipe with each other and book directly.
Never had any negative experiences personally.
Book mostly through hotels.com and booking.com
Good luck and have a nice time.
You see all these sites at Trivago because they all fall under the Expedia holding.
This is again owned by Microsoft.
Just like with beer.
For example, Ab-Inbev sells:
Budels, Stella Artois, Oranjeboom, Hertog Jan, Arcen, Jupiler, Hoegaarden, Becks, Diebels, Gilde Brau, Loewenbrau, Franziskaner, Diekirch, Budweiser, Aquila, Corona, Eagle, Leffe, Staropramen,
Just a few of the nearly 500 different ones
already book 10y+ with agoda.
the negative experiences are;
1/ that in many cases the photos are very far from reality
2 / if you search on the site it is always said that so many people are looking now, so many rooms booked in the last 24 hours, sometimes only 1 room available, then you book and check an hour later and / or the next day and yes only 1 room left available.so the push to book is there
positive experience;
what I also want to mention is that I booked all my hotels last January, most of them were no show no refund, but my father passed away, agoda referred to the no show no refund, but still they did their best to refund pay and so it happened.
worth mentioning;
is that you should know that that site asks 12% commission from the hotels and thus drives up the prices. At some hotels you can get much better prices at the desk, at others they don't bother and say book through agoda
Thank you all so much for sharing the experience with the booking sites! I understand that most have positive experiences with it. I will therefore keep an eye on the sites, and if a good offer comes up in a while, I will reserve it. Or perhaps, as some have said, write to the hotel directly, and if the price is higher there, refer to the lower price on the booking sites. Thank you so much everyone for the tips and experiences!
Another thing many TH hoteliers don't want bkg/agoda or whatever, because they can't select their guests that way. Call it discrimination or whatever you want, but it is still very lively sometimes and it is allowed in TH. For one runner, it's plexat, for the other it's full! Furthermore, you run the risk unknowingly through such a site to end up in a place that mainly attracts Russky or Sjineesjes or I don't know, that's just more important there than here. sometimes it's not fun at all!
Interesting, entrepreneurs who select their customers. Does the selection take place at the hotel door on the basis of appearance or does the hotel guest cry at the reception when he is evicted because of non-compliance with the criteria? And that does not plead for the peasant and thrifty Dutchmen. The Belgians are of course welcomed with open arms and receive a free upgrade to the more luxurious rooms.
Hi Linda, have been using Agoda almost exclusively for years, about 6 reservations per holiday, with these going to Thailand every year. Never, really never had a problem. In many hotels, only have the TM number of the entry stamp noted in the passport, sign the form and you're done. Never hassle with a deposit on arrival. Just a great and reliable site. Even with cancellations, never a hassle, money back immediately, or lost, depending on how the reservation was made. Gr. Paul
I have good experiences with Agoda and with sites like booking.com and tripadvisor. Was it less good, blame me rather than the booking site, because I hadn't been paying attention. In most cases it is good to read the latest reviews about a hotel.
What we always do now is only book for one night. Then we decide if we can stay or find another hotel.
A few weeks ago, a booking went wrong. In the end it was a server error, but I would have saved money and time if I answered ten correctly. I didn't get any confirmation, just assumed it would take longer than usual and upon arrival at the hotel, it turned out that the booking had not been processed.
The hotel then offered a room for double the price. Thank you, but I would rather look for another hotel. That was also more expensive without booking through Agoda.
Anyway, I contacted Agoda. The money for the first hotel had already been debited. But I got it back on my account the same day.
However, I will never book more than one night. We did that this year on an island, Koh Payang, a so-called paradise, where we wanted to leave after a night's stay. Our hotel was highly recommended on the booking site, but we didn't like this either. The reviews were already old and if we had read the newer ones, we would not have spent the night there. Nothing to blame on agoda. All information was correct.
Yesterday we booked a room for one night in Ban Krut. great hotel. Almost 50% discount, breakfast for two people and a nice, clean room. For 1000 baht. Where can you do that in Europe?
I use Google Maps. You then have the best overview of locations.
At the place name, type “hotel”
You immediately see all hotels and price.
If you click on a hotel, you will see the price listed on the various booking sites.
There are also positive and negative reviews mixed up. Usually I only read the bad reviews to see if there are any concerns for me.
Some hotels can only be booked through booking sites.
Some only on site or by phone.
Or both.
Which, by the way, I still do not understand why those booking sites are cheaper than simply booking at the reception of a hotel.
I once experienced that I had to pay more even though there were still many rooms available.
I then put the amount requested when booking via a booking site at the same hotel on the counter in cash with passport and CC card and all.
We were 4 people and needed 2 rooms for 2 nights.
But the kite didn't fly, I said to the receptionist empty hotel rooms certainly pay more.
No entrepreneurial feeling at all.
We then got back in the car and after a 15-minute search we had found a hotel, an even cheaper and friendlier approach than with the others.
The next morning we walked past and around the previous hotel and there was absolutely nothing to do.
I then laughed .
Jan Beute.