Is Agoda pricing intentionally deceptive?

[albatross710]

I think that Booking.com and Agoda are getting too smart with their wording of their offers and pricing:

How much would I pay for this hotel booking?

Superior Room 1 King Bed PHP 6,500.00
Total price: PHP 6,500.05 *
Not included in price (collected by the property): VAT ₱ 780.00, City tax ₱ 39.00, Service charge ₱ 650.00 | You'll pay The Peninsula Manila in the property's local currency (PHP).
* You will pay PHP 6,500.00 to the property on your check-in date of Saturday.

From my reading it is 6,500 + 780 +39 +650 = 7,969
So when I read "You will pay 6,500 to the property" I read that as the total but really there is an extra non-avoidable 22% of charges.

I think they also chop and change the display between properties and days to provide additional complexity to the comparison process.

I think it is intentional.

Let me show the path, starting form the search results, I can see that Peninsula Manila is a nice offer for a nice room with breakfast and pay at the hotel. I find it easier to pay cash in Philippines rather than provide credit card security.



Am I being unrealistic? The display is quite specific and I did filter the search results to only show "with breakfast" offers.

Following through to the details for the hotel, the best rate for breakfast and pay at hotel is P6,500++.

Once I saw the complete summary of charges from Agoda, I just booked direct to the hotel for P1,000 less.

The Agoda cancellation process looked straight forward but had an additional unnecessary step for the cancellation. I guess they hope people miss that last confirm -confirm - really confirm cancellation step.

I'm not really sure how we as consumers can tidy up these behemoths that don't seem to be accountable to any consumer jurisdiction.

Alby

 

[dajop]

The wording on Agoda is particularly shocking, it actually states 'Total price", which is anything but total. However, this is common place in many many many parts of the world, and it is not just limited to the online travel agents. Go to Hilton or Marriott or IHG websites, and look for a property in USA ... a say $280 rate for a hotel in New York ( as advertised initially) will actually be $325 for the night. Or India even worse (due to 28% tax in some places, and throw in 5% service charge to boot) , and a $250 room becomes $335 .. ..

 

[theblank]

Its country dependant, Agoda is just complying with the norms for that country. No deceptive conduct.
Indonesia, tax is always extra, USA, add on a resort fee, (and taxes?) Australia, none, because prices must include taxes.

 

[dajop]

add on a resort fee

This is the hotel industries equivalent of "fuel surcharge", and a most insidious practice, becoming more and more prevalent, especially at city properties. Used to be just resorts and Vegas, you had to watch out for this. But now, buyer beware.

 

[Archipelago]

Not deceptive, perhaps a couple of words should have been included for this particular country

Total price: PHP 6,500.05 *
Not included in price (collected by the property): VAT ₱ 780.00, City tax ₱ 39.00, Service charge ₱ 650.00 | You'll pay The Peninsula Manila in the property's local currency (PHP).
* You will pay PHP 6,500.00 to the property on your check-in date of Saturday.

Clearly says "not included in price" and follows with the various local taxes which Agoda is not permitted to charge for that locale
Probably should have added the words "plus the above local taxes and charges in the last sentence

I book a lot of Agoda rooms in my line of work, for myself, colleagues and clients.
Agoda is a lot like a LCC - you need to be familiar with (and take responsibility for) the booking process and website - as someone familiar with the process - I would have understood immediately the basic price quoted did not include the additional charges payable at property (along with the room price)

I might add - in various other countries you can have the website show the total price INCLUDING the local taxes and charges, before making payment

Lesson for the OP in this case

 

[Scarlett]

OP, could you just use the .au website and book the room for the all inclusive price? Does the .au website allow you to pay at the hotel in the local currency? (it should if a book now, pay later rate is available elsewhere)

 

[albatross710]

Thank you for the replies and suggestions. I'm OK that some country 'norms' are different to ours. I just searched from within australia on the .au website and not surprised to see that rooms at that hotel are about $25/nt more when booked this way. My initial point is that at no time does Agoda ever actually commit to a full price.

The good news is that I had a great stay at the hotel and can highly recommend it for a staycation from the provinces. The aroma of the ginger bread house being constructed, the sounds of foyer orchestra, the over attentiveness and availability of staff. Roomservice was particularly efficient.



Alby

 

[JohnK]

Agoda can be very confusing. I was checking Tony Resort in coughet for next week and trying to get the best deal.

If I wanted some airline points with PointsMax the best I could do was $148 for 2 nights.

Agoda direct was $144 for 2 nights + ~$11 cashback but if I used EMLSPECIAL or EMLPROMO the discount is only ~$6 and you lose the cashback.

Saw the same hotel on Expedia for $132. Book with Agoda and submit price guarantee or go to Qantas hotels and book for $132 and 396 QFF points? Choice quite easy.

I wasted too much time on Agoda trying to save a few $$. Agoda can be very confusing and is definitely deceptive.

 

[bullerdude]

Yep Agoda can be a pain at times. Entering the site through different links (e.g. Google vs. promo emails) also returns different prices. I sometime have 2-3 private browsing sessions open from different sale emails to find the one with the lowest price and also avoid the tracking cookies. Can be a little annoying but often end up with a decent pricing that is cancellable.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Looking at prices for a hotel in China today... regular Agoda search is AU107 per room per night. Agoda 'special 12% discount for using Australian Mastercard' is AU120 a night.

Message asking me afer a couple minutes 'are you looking for a cheaper price elsewhere?' (or something similar)... 'because we already have'.

Which is a bit misleading because there are actually cheaper prices elsewhere Even with the same free cancellation.