planningtravel

I will need hotels in four locations in Myanmar. Some of the places of interest on Agoda do not require a credit card number at the time of booking. As I'm travelling in peak season (January) I want to be sure to secure accommodation at this time rather than wait until closer to the travel date.

How reliable is Agoda for booking places in Myanmar.

One hotel in Lake Inle, the Three Season's Inn and Spa comes up twice on the Agoda list, one require a credit card to book the room the other doesn't. Which really confuses me.

I often book directly with the hotel if I'm staying at a small guesthouse or small family run hotel, however, many hotels in Myanmar don't have websites which is why I'm looking at Agoda.

Any advice on how to book the hotels will be appreciated.

Thanks.

Kathie

I know of someone who has used Agoda with success in Myanmar. But I would be concerned about the two agoda listings, one requesting a cc#, one not.

If you re using a local agent in Myanmar, they can book hotels, often for less than the cost on websites.

planningtravel

Kathie, thanks for your reply. I am working with Santa Maria and the hotels I've chosen aren't on their website. I'm not certain if they can book the hotels I've chosen, I'll ask and see what they say.

yestravel

Santa Maria was able to book any hotel we requested.

Kathie

As yestravel, says, they can book virtually any hotel (there are a few exceptions), just email them. They can book almost anything..

planningtravel

Heard from Santa Maria, they can't book any of the places I was looking at and are suggesting I use Agoda.

Kathie

Ok, you have your answer.

I am not familiar with any of the places you mentioned, but I remember someone else trying to book a small (just a couple of rooms) guesthouse, and Santa Maria could not do that. It's great that the places you want are on agoda.

CaliforniaLady

We used Myanmar Shalom for our trip to Burma. Granted that Sammy, the owner, my still not be able to get you into those guesthouses, buy he will undoubtedly find you some great alternatives, and in all price ranges.

I would be reluctant to book hotels in Burma without a travel agent. Although the situation may have changed since our 2013 visit, we ran into people whose hotels turned them away due to overbooking, and these were people who did not use travel agents.

See what Sammy has to say. He can also help you with that trip to the caves from Heho airport.

CaliNurse

California Lady, hi from your fellow Californian! Just wanted to say thanks for that referral to Myanmar Shalom.They sound like an amazing family! No plans to currently visit Myanmar , but am bookmarking this.

Smeagol

I had the same issue last year, rooms were not available via Santa Maria ( they had used all their allocation) so they suggested Agoda. The hotels were deal breakers for me so I booked in March via Agoda for a November stay...
I did have to give cc details and it was on a buy now pay later ( the payment was to be taken automatically before) any way I had a minor cc issue ( not with Agoda) that was a pain to sort with them (Agoda)but the bookings were as confirmed, I got a good price and everything was fine when I checked in to both places....

Tere

Why don't you use Booking.com? I book most of my hotels here and never had a problem, best hotel booking site I know. They have the hotel you mentioned.

planningtravel

Thanks for all the replies and helpful feedback.

I'm not in a position to change my travel agent, Santa Maria has already taken care of domestic flights and a transfer at Heho. They reply promptly and do answer any questions I have.

I can ask Santa Maria for hotel recommendations, or I can just book with Agoda.

CaliforniaLady

Sure, ask Santa Maria for hotel recommendations, and see what they say. Burma is expanding rapidly, and they make even know about a new hotel before you do. Keep us posted on how this turns out.

yestravel

I think Priceline owns both booking.com & Agoda.com. I have used both and never had any issues including in SEAsia, but not in Myanmar.

Kathie

Either way works. Santa Maria will not be offended if you book some or even all of your hotels via agoda. And I suspect that you may be dealing with places that are small enough that none of the local agencies can book them.

It's an unusual set-up in Myanmar between agents and hotels. Agents are allocated a certain number of rooms at a very good price for them to sell to visitors. If you can get one of their allocated rooms, you will get a very good price. But if those rooms are gone, you can't get a room through that agent. And a few small places don't allocate rooms to agencies at all.

When the country opened up to visitors in 2011 and rooms were at a premium, the hotels didn't want to give allocations to agencies as they could charge whatever they wanted and fill up. The government tourism office insisted that the hotels honor their contracts with the agencies - and eventually they did. The old system worked very well back before the crush of visitors. Once the tourism boom started, things were more difficult.

Anyway, more info than what you needed, but perhaps a point of interest.