What is the current issue between Thailand and Booking.com regarding hotel bookings?

@Oliver *******

Like I already explained in my comments to someone else in this post, Booking and Agoda are completely different companies that are even headquartered in different parts of the world (Netherlands and Singapore). They are both owned by the same holding company, Booking Holdings. However, each operate independently, and hotels sign separate contracts and offer/manage their listings and promotions separately on the two sites. However, both sites show lower offers, when applicable, from the other site as "partner" listings in order to provide the lowest possible price, in cases where the combination of promotions and coupons offered on one site would result in a lower price than the other. Hotels can also select whether to allow their listing to be shared on partner sites so it doesn't HAVE to appear on the other. The two site's backends are completely different from each other and don't tie together for the hotelier. So it is perfectly plausible to have a problem with one site and not the other. Booking(com) has made a corporate decision NOT to offer Test & Go/Sandbox testing/AQ packages on their site, and to only indicate when hotels are SHA+. However, the rate shown on Booking is only the room rate. So many are booking it and showing up in Thailand with a non-qualified booking that doesn't include the RT-PCR test and SHA+ transfer as required for Bangkok, Samui, and anywhere other than Phuket. Agoda does directly offer AQ packages (and before it Test & Go) so that's why the government is OK with it.

@Robert *********

I already replied why that isn't accurate above. See my comparison above to another well-known holding company which no one would say all those brands are the same company. Here's the wiki on what a holding company means: which you can see says it is a company that holds controlling securities in other companies. So it is not accurate to say Agoda, a Singaporean company, is the same company as Booking.com, a Netherlands company. They are under the same corporate group, that's all.

@Pui ****

my friend worked for Agoda in Bangkok. They are closely connected

@Robert *********

Absolutely, no one is saying they aren't closely connected. But it is inaccurate to say they are the same company. They are separate companies that operate independently and headquartered in complete opposite parts of the world, that happen to be owned by the same holding company. Just like the example I gave in my other post in this thread that no one would say Louis Vuitton and Hennessy (the alcohol company) and Sephora (the beauty/make-up retailer) are the same company even though they are all owned by LVMH.

@Garrett **********

All my vouchers from agoda show the booking was made though booking.com.

@Monti *******

they are called partner bookings. Each site has its own deals with hotels but when one is cheaper than the other, they show the other site's price offer. Both websites share each other's offers and you happened to have booked the Booking.com offer on Agoda but you could have also booked Agoda's offer on booking.com. It is not true that all Agoda bookings go through booking.com. You just happened to have picked the offers that are being provided by booking.com.

@Pui ****

so why if I go on either site right now the same property is cheaper on one site than the other

@Adam *******

because hotels can provide their own prices and promotions to each site, and hotels can choose whether to allow their listing on each site to also appear on other sites. So when you see a lower price on one site but not the other, the hotel has selected not to make their specific offer/promotion available on partner sites.