Is Agoda Legit? [Review of 2023]

What is Agoda, and Who owns it?

There are plenty of websites from which you can book hotels and flights nowadays. Although, Agoda is probably not the most famous OTA (online travel agency) in the world, but it is certainly among one of the well-known ones. 

Even if you do not know Agoda, you probably know booking.com, well, Booking Holdings, formerly The Priceline Group, is the owner of Agoda, booking, KAYAK, Priceline, and …

You may think that this makes Agoda legit? and you are not wrong, Agoda is legit, but is it reliable for you to plan your next vacation with them? maybe not.

But before we get into the reasons why Agoda might not be the best choice, I will teach you a workaround so you always book the cheapest hotel and choose the website you like!

As you see in the screenshot above, this hotel in Barcelona is 424 euros on Agoda, and the same hotel is 404 euros on Priceline and 451 on the booking mobile version! You see that all these companies are under the same company of 'Booking Holdings' but have different prices. Unfortunately, I need to tell you that all OTAs (Online Travel Agencies) play tricks to make you pay more! Read about their tricks here.

If you think, ‘Only 20 euros is not that big of a deal’, I need to tell you that it is! These differences in prices can rise to thousands as these companies have different business models and can charge the user very differently. It is also essential to make sure about the price with direct booking as it can be cheaper than these OTAs. Screenshot below. 

How do I know all these? We developed Ratepunk, the browser extension you see in the screenshots. It shows you the price of all the providers in one place so you can choose wisely. Besides, it has all these other features to help you make better choices, such as Rebooking, Price Tracking, and Airbnb Exact Match.

Is Agoda Reliable?

Coming back to our main topic, Agoda. Agoda is certainly not the best choice when it comes to travel planning based on the many reviews and stories you can find on the internet, specially when it comes to customer service. By the time I am writing this article, Agoda has an average of 1.5 stars in Trustpilot, with many horror stories written there.

Unfortunate for Agoda, this website also has many bad reviews on Mouthshout.

The last 2 reviews happened in the past a few hours of me opening the website and are both bad reviews.

It seems like Agoda does let many of them down and potentially ruins their travel plans. Besides, they have relatively bad customer service and have not been helpful in many situations when an issue has been raised. 

Pros of Agoda

Not to talk only bad about the company, we need to point out some of the good aspects of it. 

Agoda is among the old OTAs

Agoda has been around for a long time, and although it might have lots of bad reviews, it also has many active users. Operating for all these years means that there are satisfied customers who did not fave problems using this website.

Also, as it is under booking holdings company, it is considered to be more legit compared to some new OTAs that might not be as reliable.

Agoda is many times cheaper 

Agoda is one of the fastest-growing online travel agencies in Southeast Asia and many properties compete to be booked from this website. Therefore, there are many properties that offer cheaper prices on the platform to be compatible with the others and get more bookings.

On the other hand, Agoda has contracts with many properties and books their rooms in bulk at lower prices, therefore, it can also offer those rooms cheaper than other websites on the internet to boost its sales. This helps them to have more bookings and helps some of the properties to make some money.

Agoda is easy to use

Agoda is fairly easy to use when it comes to the website and the app. The navigation is simple, and you can choose and book your stay without any hassles.

However, some features on the website might be confusing for some users.

You might also be interested in reading How to Use Google Hotels, as it can be a great way to book hotels!

Frequently asked questions about Agoda

Where is Agoda most popular?

Agoda is most popular in Asia and particularly in Thailand. Thailand and specifically Bangkok is a popular destination, and most travelers use Agoda to book their accommodation there.

Why do people use Agoda?

Agoda partners with many hotels and also book their rooms in bulk. Therefore, it can offer lower prices on some properties compared to other websites. 

Is Agoda safe? 

Agoda is safe when it comes to protecting your personal information. However, as the website does not provide good customer service, you may face problems if something goes wrong with your booking.

Is Agoda reliable?

Agoda is reliable for booking hotels, but due to poor customer service, you may face problems in the case something goes wrong with your booking.