Is Agoda a Reputable Hotel Reservation Service?

Most people know by now that the best rates for hotel reservations can be found online. What they don't know, and are often worried about, is how reliable many of these online reservation companies are.

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Agoda is one of the major reservation companies you will come across if you are looking for accommodation in Asia. They provide booking services for pretty much every country throughout the world, but Asia is their specialty.

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You may not have heard of Agoda if you haven't traveled to Asia much, and might therefore have some concerns, which I will look at today.

There are three main issues that travelers have when making hotel reservations online, which I will outline, and then address below.

One of the first concerns people have when handing over money on the Internet, or to any company for that matter, is whether the company is reliable or not. Are they are fly-by-night? Will they honor the agreement? Or will you arrive at your destination, suitcase in hand, only to have the front desk clerk claim to know nothing of your reservation?

Low prices are great, but what if you need to make changes or cancel? Are the reservations flexible? Or will you lose your money with no recourse if you need to cancel your reservation?

The final concern is the reliability of guest reviews on Agoda. Some sites have come under criticism for the reliability of their reviews, and suspicions that some of the favorable reviews were written by owners or staff of the hotel in question.

Reliable?

Although you may not have heard of Agoda before you thought about making a reservation with them, they are actually backed by one of the major players in the online reservation business. Priceline acquired Agoda in November 2007, adding Agoda's inventory of 8000 hotels in Asia and 49000 throughout the world to their already large stock.

With such a giant in the industry as Priceline backing and lending credibility and stability, Agoda won't be going away (and taking your reservation with it) anytime soon.

Cancellation Policy.

Agoda provides many ways to contact them, including telephone support in many languages, email and live chat. There is also a "self service" section on the website where you can make changes to your reservation, make special requests or cancel your booking.

Provided you cancel before the deadline mentioned in the reservation confirmation email, which is typically 14 days, you will be able to cancel your reservation, and your payment will be refunded, minus a USD15 cancellation fee.

Reliability of reviews.

Unlike other websites where anybody can leave reviews, either anonymously, or after creating a free account, reviews on Agoda can only be written by guests who have actually stayed at the hotel or resort after booking through them.

A week or two after your stay, Agoda sends out an email with an invitation to write a review, which can only be done by following the link in the email. This works as a preventative measure to stop fake reviews from not only the owners of bad hotels, but also bad reviews from other hotels trying to sabotage a competitor.

Is Agoda a Reputable Hotel Reservation Service?

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