the amount is reserve. Always read the fine print of cancellation policy of any website , not only travel booking but also purchase and all sorts.

what happen is when u show up at the hotel, you can opt to pay upfront with cash or with cc , not necessary the cc you register with.

Some hotels insist on seeing the same card, some don't care, they just let you paycash for the deposit (for incidentals) or let you swipe any card and hold/reserve that deposit amount on your card. So far no problem for us as long as you can produce something as deposit for the incidentals, some hotels don't even bother.

What do you mean you cannot make special request for the room? Maybe it (that specific type of requested room) already sold out?

I booked a hotel in Macau via Agoda, total amount is about RM800+, using my credit card. After booking, they already charged my card the full amount but Agoda did mentioned that it's refundable if cancel at least 2 days before the date. Is it a normal procedure to pay upfront? Thanks.

yes, it is normal for them to charged once you book

yes it is!

I have used Agoda before few times, what I dont like is that they charged my cc immediately, I have also used Booking.com, and recently WebDirect, Preferred the later coz they only charge 10% and you settle the remaining with the hotel when you check it. And somehow I found the rates are better than Agoda. Booking.com also don't charge you when booking is made (t they stillneed your cc info for all internet booking, tho)

i booked a hotel in Singapore once. The merchant is from THAILAND though.

Done my booking on Perth hotel via agoda this Evening.. surprisingly this time, no extra charge at all, no admin fee 7 etc.. just pay what qouted & advertised...

Hmnnn... maybe diff countries diff charges kua

BTW, 2nd time claiming my rebates...got US$25 discount

yupz agoda is awesome

anyone encounter problem when booking with agoda about guest number? booked a room in advanced for next year March but the site never has option for guest # field, after booking made the hotel voucher only stated 1 person. The room stated in the site is for max of 2 person with breakfast.

Have call agoda CS and the guy said has emailed the hotel to change and revert. Wonder if they change guest to 2 person will i be charged extra for breakfast fee

This post has been edited by iamsteven: May 31 2012, 12:31 PM

In most of the hotels I booked wth Agoda, and most of it max 2ppl but I feed in 3 ppl.. no problem at all.. Only 1 hotel in Jogja charging me xtra 1 pax after saw me coming in3 but very minimal wth xtra bed & breakfast

asiaroom.com / laterooms.com (their latestays- lastminute-version) as well as hotelclub.com and their latestays-version ratestogo.com in most cases do NOT charge your card.
you will pay the full amount at the hotel.
the card details are only being registered in case you dont show up, when usually one night will be charged to your card.

as for agoda, they will always rip you off with their unfavourable currency-conversion. though they have by far the biggest choice of hotels anywhere in Asia

i checked agoda, and they show room availability. but when i call the hotel personally, they say fully book.

so how accurate is agoda. im afraid once i book and made the payment already, when i go to the hotel they might reject because no room available.

Curious to know as well.

it's true and correct.

hotels say no room because those room already reserved to agoda customers

i personally face this problem before. wanted to book a room at a hotel in langkawi, called up the hotel say no room, but shown at certain website (forget the name) it says got room. hence i pay and book from the website for it, then walk in to the hotel to check in without a problem

hotel have allocated some number of room to the agent (agoda, few others) which come wit discounted agent price. I'm regular booking with Agoda, last time when i survey hotel in Miri also try to booking direct they said no ore room somemore rate very high differ but when I found out in Agoda still few room left and price wise cheaper than the hotel rate itself. End up with agoda with no hassle.

I have directly call the hotel to make booking and the telephonist ask me to book directly thru agoda which is much cheaper

thanks for the info.

In my case, one hotel claimed that online promotion is invalid because of error and quoted a very high price. Another said got group booking which is not updated into online system yet, so agoda booking will be invalid.

Well, to my experience, when i was booking for my boss, the payment went through and his credit card charged.

After waiting for a day or 2, still no confirmation slip. Coz Agoda usually have to CALL the respective hotel to confirm the booking.

Anyway, that particular room that was paid for was fully booked and since the charges was already billed to the card, they honour by giving a room upgrade with no extra charge.

Also once, i accidentally booked an extra night, i called up agoda and they said they will call the hotel to see if can cancel that extra night with no extra charge. A few hrs later, got the email from them and the extra night was cancelled with no charges incurred. Usually for this case, better to call them right after booking.

Best customer service ever!

No problem. Booked before for overseas and domestic both are OK. It is especially useful for overseas hotels that dont have Eng version website. At least u know what u r paying for.
What I normally do is, I check all the hotels at the destination with agoda, then proceed to check directly with the hotel website. If book direct is cheaper a lot, I book direct. If roughly same, I book agoda cos can get points. If agoda is cheaper then is no brainer la....