Why are both these websites such fucking garbage? Didn't surprise me when i found out they were both owned by the same company. Is there a third and better choice over these two garbage websites?
Agoda and Booking
Why are both these websites such fucking garbage? Didn't surprise me when i found out they were both owned by the same company. Is there a third and better choice over these two garbage websites?
I usually search my target area using google maps, zoom in and out to make sure I see all the hotels, click on them, and pick the cheapest price from the list of redirects. Clicking on it through google unlocks the cheapest discounts.
Wrong
Elaborate.
wrong, you.
calling the hotel directly can result in a cheaper room price, or send an email if you can't speak their language.
Yea it's called google
Basically you use booking to filter which hotel you like
Then you look up the hotel directly
Eg two days ago I looked up mercure in kyoto it was 750aud on booking
I then go to accor (chain that owns mercure) website and it was 610aud for the exact same room, plus breakfast
Note, some garden gnomey operators will try charge more than booking. In that case, use booking to screw them if they won't take cash for a discount
>accor (chain that owns mercure)
What a shit chain and absolutely worthless rewards program.
Fucking yuropoors
>aud
>europoor
Nice one fatty. How does it feel to be a fat uneducated mystery meat mutt?
Daily reminder ALL OTAs are categorically shit, you are shit for using them, and richly deserve being treated as shit by service providers because you use OTAs.
Fun fact, 2-3 ((firms)) own ALL the OTAs that exist. When it's a comparison OTA, it compares only OTAs owned by its parent company.
They aren't garbage you are a lazy retard and like all of your generation expect everything handed to you. I appreciate them and others which make it easy to make reservations and save $thousands per year. Thank you Big Travel and thank you Little Lazy Retard for the subsidy
(You)
booking is awesome if your not a poorfag, just took a spontaneous detour during my 3months visit in brazil to maceio, didn't buy a back ticket and decided during my last day at the hotel that i wanted to extend my visit a week but i need a hotel with a big pool and a gym to stay in shape, so just opened the app and put in these filters, checked the location of the place and booked within 2 minutes and went on with my life.
Two more status until I get booking dot com genius level three, is it worth it?
>worth it
You didn't pay anything for it and you aren't getting any benefit. You bugmen sure are easy to scam
Ignore this
poorfag
I got it a year or so ago for doing fuck all bookings and it regularly gives me 10 or 20% off or free room upgrades. You keep it for life too so it doesn't hurt
Jokes on you it's cheaper without the genius level. Like is said sheep get shorn
No it's not. And I already posted earlier that most of the time I simply use booking to filter and call the hotel directly
I have used booking numerous times and always had good experience with them.
That anon is right in a sense. You can get cheaper rates through Agoda and Booking if you don't have their app on your phone - the rates those companies display on Google (through Google Maps) is usually lower than their Genius level rates, but you can only get them by clicking through Google and not having the app installed. They presumably do this to lure in new customers and get them to sign up for memberships and install their spyware app, which then never allows those lower rates again.
This is only an issue if you book over your phone - not if you book through a web browser. And you can sign-in and complete the booking using your Agoda or Booking account and use and earn points, you just can't do it through their mobile app.
>This is only an issue if you book over your phone -
Who even does this in current year?
>>This is only an issue if you book over your phone -
>Who even does this in current year?
You've seriously never booked a hotel using a smartphone? Or are you not making the mental connection between a phone and an app?
What if I book through a web browser but have the mobile app anyway for quick references & communications?
Go ahead and try it. If you're on your smartphone and you see the hotel on Google Maps, it shows a low Agoda/Booking price, and you click on that link to get that price, it will forcibly open the app if you have it installed and you won't get the ultra-cheap price that they dangle on Google Maps.
If you book over your computer in a web browser, you will get the discount even if you log in with your Booking/Agoda account. That way you can still use the app for ease of references and communication.
I often book last minute on my phone, looking for the cheapest deals in my vicinity. Sometimes I'm even in the hotel and I'll ask them if they will match the booking site's rates if I pay in cash (the smaller places sometimes do), but if not I'll book on my phone, and often the cheapest prices are Agoda/Booking. That's the main reason I never install their apps. (Another good reason is all these apps are tracking you and selling your info to make money, so minimize which ones you use.)
My phone doesn't open the app, but instead opens a browser showing cheaper prices than shown on Google maps
Do those cheaper prices include the final amount on the checkout screen? These sites are bad for hiding taxes from the initial price
Yes, there's even an asterisk saying prices are different depending what device you use, so it lists the exact same room and conditions with 20% different prices. Shits fucked up if I close it and open it all 2 minutes later the prices change. Good thing is just mess around awhile and you can save alot
I think you are just retarded anon. I've never once had that experience
That's 159 per night dumbass
Must be cause I grew up a poorfag but I can't fathom spending 150 euros on a fucking hotel room for one night.
CAN SOMEONE EXPLAIN WHY THE FUCK THESE TWO COMPANIES HAVE NO (competent) COMPETITION AND WHY THEIR PRICES ARE CHEAPER THAN THE FRONT DESK?! AAAAAAAAAAH!
hotel worker here
all the 3rd party booking sites are garbage
they lure ppl in with slightly discounted prices but have way worse cancellation policies.
booking.com spams ads claiming that every booking is refundable and then i'm the sucker that has to tell Becky that she cant get a refund because she ticked the "non-refundable" button on her phone app to save $1/night
This
I fell for this scam first time I was in europe and never again
Booked a hotel in Rome for fucking €160 a night and literally could not find the thing. I went to the address on their website and it was nowhere to be found. Had some lady let me into the building as she was leaving and walked around the whole thing, didn’t see any signs of a hotel at that address. Hotel wouldn’t pick up the listed phone number either.
I asked for a refund, Booking refused, filed a PayPal claim and lost. Will never use that garbage again. Had a similar bait and switch happen with a hotel in Naples I booked on Priceline. It’s never worth saving the 10€ a night or whatever. Just book direct and be done with it.
Why not just book pay on arrival? That's what I did, when I arrive at the hotel they'll expect me to pay them in cash.
Samefag hotel operator, if you don't like paying the commission then don't sign up with booking now fuck off we love booking.com
What's wrong with booking? It's easy to change/cancel reservations and I've never had a problem with it. But then I dont go to shitholes
I prefer just going to the spot and going from hotel to hotel. Once they name a price and you start walking away they tend to drop it, took a 100$ hotel to 70$ in hong kong once.
There's no clear answer for that, sometimes third party sites undercut hotels by a lot, other times booking directly through the hotel website can be a lot cheaper
IE i recently traveled to Malta and stayed two nights, i reserved my room through the Visa booking website, ended up in a junior suite + free breakfast for the same price as the basic room without breakfast in the hotel website and Booking
Big chain hotels (Accor, Hyatt, etc) are always cheaper on the page website as long as you have an account with them