Confirmed by Agoda, But Not by the Hotel
!!!LONG READ BUT IMPORTANT TO READ BEFORE BOOKING!!! I have used Agoda several times in the past and never had an issue, so I was very disappointed by how this reservation was handled. I booked through Agoda in early August for a 4 night stay in November. This was lodging for an important international trip and an important event, so having a confirmed hotel reservation was particularly important. November is also an extremely busy travel period in this destination, similar to trying to book a hotel in New York City for New Year's Eve. Many hotels are sold out well in advance, so simply being told later that there is a problem with the reservation is not a minor inconvenience. By that point, comparable hotels may already be fully booked or significantly more expensive. The problems began when I contacted the hotel directly to see if they could accommodate a special arrangement before my arrival. The hotel told me that they only had a reservation for me for 1 night, even though I had paid Agoda for 4 nights. I immediately contacted Agoda, and what followed was a long series of messages and phone calls between myself, Agoda, and the hotel trying to determine what had actually happened to my reservation. Agoda repeatedly assured me that the reservation was active and confirmed in their system. At one point, the hotel was able to locate a reservation using the booking information Agoda provided, but it was not under my name. The hotel told me that the reservation appeared to have been transferred to another guest's name. I continued going back and forth with Agoda trying to get a clear explanation and confirmation that my 4 night reservation actually existed. Eventually, the situation became even more concerning. The hotel told me that there was no reservation under my name at all. The hotel also stated that they had not received the reservation details or communication from Agoda that Agoda was referring to. Throughout this process, Agoda continued telling me that the supplier would send the reservation details to the hotel approximately 7–15 days before check-in, and that it was therefore normal for the hotel not to have the booking details yet. However, that did not resolve the fact that the hotel was already telling me that the reservation they could locate was for only one night, then that it was under someone else's name, and ultimately that there was no reservation under my name. I spent a significant amount of time, weeks!!, contacting both Agoda and the hotel through numerous messages and phone calls just trying to establish whether the reservation I had paid for actually existed. I was repeatedly given assurances, but I could never get a consistent answer that matched what the hotel was telling me. Agoda initially offered to refund me in Agoda Cash rather than back to my original payment method. After further escalation, Agoda ultimately refunded amount back to my original payment method, which is still pending. However, it took a lengthy and frustrating process to get to that point. The issue here was not simply that a hotel reservation went wrong. It was the conflicting information, repeated assurances that the reservation was confirmed, the inability to obtain a valid confirmation from the hotel, and the amount of time and stress required to resolve the situation. I had previously used Agoda without problems, but after this experience, I would be very cautious about relying on Agoda for an important international trip where having a confirmed hotel reservation is critical. When a customer books and pays months in advance specifically to secure a hotel during a peak travel period, they should be able to have confidence that the reservation actually exists and that the hotel will recognize it.