What are the experiences of using Agoda for hotel bookings?

i recommend you trip com. chinese company, but best support

Strange, they usually refund me in case of problems if you contact them on phone and if hotel will contact them

I had a reservation with Agoda where the hotel decided to close for maintenance. Agoda didn’t help me but the staff at The Sukosol in Bangkok arranged with The Pullman around the corner to take my reservation at the same price.

Hotels dot com booked me into a hotel that was closed. I got insulted by the owner and was refused a refund even though I couldn’t stay in the hotel

Agoda is owned by booking.com

But we have never had any problems with either of them. We are booking regularly

I’ve worked in a hotel in the past and you’re always better off dealing with the hotel directly rather than any third party booking website/app. You generally get a better rate when dealing with the hotel directly and you have more flexibility if you need to change dates or cancel etc. I will never use a third party booking agency again. All the best.

Thailand Pass Documents Guide

Updated February 27 with the latest ‘Test & Go’ requirements

The new Thailand pass requirements can very confusing and complicated. We have put together this guide to help you. We highly recommend taking a few minutes to read through it before submitting your documents to us. We have processed over a 1000 Thailand Passes and in our experience around 60-70% of people initially get some of these wrong, which results in delays.

The documents you will need for Thailand Pass are

* Your flight reservation

* Passport and visa (if visa is required)

* Vaccination certificate

* Insurance with minimum coverage of at least 50,000 USD

* Paid AQ / SHA Extra+ hotel reservation confirmation for Day 1 including a PCR test and airport pick up.

SHA Extra Plus hotel documents

Let’s start with the most confusing documents first. Under the new Test & Go requirements you must book and pay for 1 night of hotel on arrival. However you can’t simply book a hotel room – you must book a Quarantine hotel package which includes a PCR test and airport pick up on Day 1. SHA++ hotel means the hotel has a partnership with a hospital and your tests will take place either at the hotel or at their partner hospital.

In Bangkok, Pattaya, Chiang Mai, Koh Samui and most cities your PCR tests will be part of the hotel package – you don’t need to book them separately. ONLY if you are arriving in Phuket the PCR test need to be booked separately on this government website

Our suggestions for booking correct hotels.

* DO NOT book hotels on 3rd party booking sites like hotels.com, booking.com etc. you may end up booking just a hotel room (without PCR tests) and this will NOT be allowed.

* You can find a SHA++ hotel you like, then if you want to make sure it’s on the approved list, you can search for it here (change language to English in top right corner)

* Contact the hotels directly to make bookings. Many hotels have the option to book these packages right on their websites with instant confirmation, or you may need to contact them.

* Once you confirm and pay for your reservation, hotels will issue you with correct vouchers which we can use to apply for your Thailand Pass.

* Make sure your hotels are fully pre-paid and non refundable. DO NOT book some flexible, refundable hotel. The idea with this system is to make sure people don’t book, then cancel their hotels once Thai pass is received. Government & hotel will reject your application if your hotel booking has a free cancellation.

I also got burned by Agoda -got charged for 2 hotel rooms in Siracha last December, 21

I have been using Booking.com for years and I have never ever had a problem with them 👍

Normally, Booking & Agoda have same rules, I don't think one is better. Many times, hotels are cheaper on those sites rather than contact them directly. In my experience, I booked a wrong date one time, & Agoda didn't charge me to modify the date, because the hotel agree to do it.

Booking and Agoda are actually sister companies.

I’ve used Agoda years ,, always happy , massive discounts, and I’ve actually just booked 2 hotels with them for May/ June and basically saved thousands of £££‘s

I have 23 bookings with them, never any issues

Thank you we will avoid Agoda. 💙💛

Bookingdot com and Agoda are the same company along with a few others.

I get great discounts on booking.com and have used them for years without a problem. When I returned to Thailand last year I also used Agoda for the quarantine hotel one night and that was also not a problem at all. One bad experience should not lead to blank condemnation.

dont use a hotel booking site except as price guide reference, you then book the hotel direct, it will be cheaper as the hotel does not have to pay a booking agent….not to judge but how long you been travelling? p.s. same with airlines and airline travel centres

I live overseas and normally look on line and then direct book with the hotel after working the rate with them . Then can a do make it worth my while and no middle person to blame it on.

Credit, Not Debit, Cards protect you

How do you get charged double . The price is quoted before you click ok

Same here with Agoda. Duplicate booking as the first attempt was"declined" using PayPal. Then I rebooked the exact same room with a credit card. Then I found out about the double charge. Hotel told me to contact Agoda. No reply yet. PayPal will "check with the hotel". Both PayPal and Agoda are risky.

Burning a website without supplying any evidence of what you actually did on the booking? Nah don't believe you. What was the room capacity? Screen shot. Don't have it...? No sympathy.

Use hotels.com every 10 nights booked you get a free night at the adverage price of the 10 you booked

I used booking.com for many years, but they went to hell at the start of the pandemic. Will never use them again.

When I first moved here nearly 19 years ago I began by using local travel agents, as at that time I was not IT savvy and certainly did not possess a Smart phone.

After I got my smart phone some years later I like every body started to use Agoda, Expedia, Booking.com

plus many other sites

to book both hotel rooms and international and domestic flights to many destinations.

THEN , suddenly I realised that I should be booking DIRECT with either the hotel or the airline, BINGO!

The hotels and airlines all have their own websites, may be contacted by phone or email.

Simples, save time, save money, at least 10%, get direct confirmation of your bookings, and avoid all

the ANGST!!!!

Booking .com and Agoda are connected but operate different ways.

Sorry to hear that.

Booking.com and Agoda are the same company. So if you want to take your business truly elsewhere try Expedia/ Hotels.com?

Makes zero sense...

Booking is the parent company of Agoda.

Did you go for the cheapest package with no refund?

I have used Agoda for 10+ years and have always received refunds and great assistance.

You must have choose 2 rooms by mistake. It's important to look for a cancellation policy at least until up to several days arrival.

I usually check the hotel's official website which often allows cancellations up to 24 hours before arrival. If the price is about the same I just go with that + there is often a better selection of rooms. Sometimes Agoda is cheaper. If your plans change tho you are out of luck.

Use your bank to challenge the charge. It worked for me dealing with accidentally buying two plane tickets on Traveloka.

i used agoda to book what i thought was a 10 day quarantine room. it was a test and go x 10 days sigh.but altho the hotel was happy to refund agoda wants. instead gave me credit, but im still stuck in canada so not likely to use it.

Booking has other issues too. all these sites actually run on almost zero employees since covid. so there is no one to take care of any issue and sort it out.

booking still has listed hundreds of hotels and hostels which closed long back. they take the money and keep it.

Sounds like user error.

I’ve used Agoda for years. Never had a problem.

Travelocity is the best

Nothing to do with question but here is a helpful little hint that can save Thai/Farang couples money.

Thailand is one of the few countries you can do this others its not allowed as deemed racist. (USA also do it)

Both of you check prices on the app as resort hotel can offer different prices based on domestic or international traveller. As foriegner doesnt matter your visa the program puts you in the international bracket. Sometimes difference can be minimal but one resort we went to recently was 600 baht cheaper for the foriegner.

Been using Agoda but lately have been choosing free cancellation bookings in case of any dramas .Have twice had to cancel bookings and have been refunded.

Says it takes 15 business days or more depending on your bank for a refund. How long has it been?

Well Agoda and Booking are same company so guess you only got expedia.

But saw your post earlier before approving and spoke to my wife about it and something sounds dodgy they cannot change costs from the one you agreed to. (Unless some how thats changed)

My wife was one of the team that set up Agoda booking platform give us more info and maybe can help.