Agoda: Cheap Flights & Hotels

I’ve booked twice with Agoda and have had a terrible experience with their customer service. Our first stay didn’t have wifi, even though it was advertised to have wifi. We still need to answer emails and the wifi is crucial in that area because there is no cell reception. The property was under maintenance and didn’t have wifi in our cabin. The hotel issued a refund (after a lot of frustration was exhibited from our end), and provided us with a receipt. Still, Agoda did not release the funds. I called them 3 times over the course of the next several weeks. It is VERY difficult to get someone on the phone, and their response time is very slow. They also somehow didn’t have call notes from the first time I called. The next two times I called, the “booking partner” who is a third party outside of Agoda, refused to refund us each time. They would reply by email several days after the call and say that all they could offer was a $20 voucher. Which isn’t much after spending $224USD, and considering the property didn’t have something we needed. I’ve had to go through the bank to get the refund because Agoda keeps delaying the refund. This is shady behavior. I will avoid booking through Agoda in the future. They may have the “best deals” on accommodations, but it comes at a price, and if something is wrong with the accommodation, expect your time to be spent chasing their morally bankrupt customer service until you also have to submit a claim through your bank.

Have been very happy using Agoda, mostly for travel outside the USA. I only use Agoda for booking hotels so can’t speak to other services (flights, trains, etc.) offered. I also do my research and check other apps before booking, but in general I prefer Agoda over other apps because of the way the search & filters are set up, because I usually find the cheapest prices on Agoda, and because so many options/filters are customizable. Many times what appears to be the exact same room is shown at multiple price points, often because there are little options like courtyard view, full breakfast buffet, tub and shower, etc. which are not distinguished on Agoda but are known to the hotel. After booking it’s good to contact the hotel and inquire about those things, along with airport pickup and whatever else you may need. I have never had issues with Agoda, even when canceling my reservation. However, I have had occasional issues with other apps. That’s why I usually check Agoda first, check other places, and then come back to Agoda to book.

I booked a room at Motel 6 for $40 on Agoda. There is a timer on the booking page that clearly says my rate is being held so long as I complete the booking within five minutes. I did. A few knifes later I get an email stating that my booking was canceled due to “an unforeseen technical error.” I went back to book the room again. Now the rate is $49. I had just barely enough to pay for the room at the $40 rate...a rate that was being held if I completed the order on time - which I did! I called customer service and (after about 15 minutes of arguing and begging) they finally agreed to compensate the difference in “agoda cash” which I could apply to the booking. Fine. So I went to make a new reservation, except on the check out page there was no option to apply the agoda cash. Turns out the property is a “pay at hotel” property, which evidently means I can’t apply agoda cash to it. So the $9 of agoda cash that they begrudgingly gave me when they screwed up does me NO GOOD anyway and doesn’t actually compensate me in any way. I still don’t have any way to pay the higher rate and I have no way to relocate to some other property. What a load of garbage! The site clearly guaranteed that rate if I completed the booking in time! And I did! I held up my end of the bargain, you should too! Never using agoda again and will be reporting this story through every agency I can think of and sharing it through every social forum I know. Bunch of garbage.