BEWARE OF BOOKING THROUGH AGODA
BEWARE OF BOOKING THROUGH AGODA! I will NEVER use them again! I wanted to share my experience with Agoda so hopefully someone else doesn’t make the same mistake. I recently booked a hotel through Agoda because they advertised “FREE CANCELLATION.” What I didn’t realize until afterward was that the free cancellation only applied if you canceled at least SIX DAYS before your stay. While that information was technically in the fine print, I feel like advertising “free cancellation” so prominently is extremely deceiving, especially when you’re booking a last-minute trip! Unfortunately, I accidentally selected the wrong date when booking. I needed Friday instead of Saturday. I immediately tried to correct it, wasn’t asking for a refund, and was more than willing to pay any difference in price. I contacted the hotel directly, and their sales manager even checked with the general manager. Both were willing to accommodate the date change, and the hotel had availability! Here’s where it gets ridiculous. Agoda’s customer service specifically told me to get the hotel’s approval and provide the manager’s name. I did EXACTLY what they asked. They then told me they would contact their booking partner to process the change. Instead, I received multiple denials, spent DAYS going back and forth with their customer service, and was given conflicting explanations. Eventually, they told me their system simply wouldn’t allow them to change the reservation and suggested I work it out directly with the hotel. So why have a customer service department if nobody can actually help?! I completely understand that I made the original booking mistake, and I take responsibility for that. But the lack of flexibility, conflicting information, and complete runaround from Agoda has been beyond frustrating. My advice: BOOK DIRECTLY WITH THE HOTEL! Saving a few dollars through a third-party booking website is absolutely not worth the headache if anything goes wrong. And please read every word of the cancellation policy before booking, because Agoda’s advertised “FREE CANCELLATION” was certainly not what I expected. Never again, Agoda!