Agoda, reputable?
 

Learnt of this website recently and they do have some good prices, my cousin has priced a hotel in Kiev, Ukraine and Agoda is cheaper. Are they reputable? Good for Asian destiantions only? They push Asian destiantions but not others (from what I see when I log on). Good for all destinations? Any horor stories or things we need ot be aware of?

Any dos and don'ts concerning Agoda a first time Agoda user should know?

Thanks.

I've used Agoda (in Asia) on several occasions and had no problems. Read the cancellation policy carefully.

Do shop around---different hotel booking sites can have markedly different deals.

There are a lot of posts here about agoda. I've used them a number of times with good results. As Therese mentions, make sure you read the cancellation policy.

In my experience there is no website that has the best prices for all properties. What country are you interested in?

Kathie, this is for a booking in the Ukraine. I've never used Agoda and I get the impression that they are perhaps an Asian hotel specialist. I could be wrong. Agoda is just over $10 a night less than the hotel on a stay of 5 nights that's $50 in my cousins pocket.

Yes, Agoda is primarily Asia but clearly they're looking to branch out. Have you found other booking sites for the Ukraine with which you can compare prices?

No, the only other sites are more expensive or my cousin can book with the hotel directly which as I've explained costs more. I did check Expedia, Orbitz and Travelocity for rates too.

The Agoda rate is a prepaid rate and non cancellable but this isn't a problem as she is going to Kiev in 10 days, and we know her dates are fixed. She's asked me to do the booking for her as she is currently travelling and doesn't wnat to use a public computer. Does she need the printout at check in? If so, I can email it to her but she may have problems printing it. As for CC information, I have her CC # and we've done things like this in the past, ie, I have booked hotels for her when she's been travelling and she's done the same for me, so there is no issue with providing the CC used for the booking at check in.

Agoda does send you a document (seems like it was an attachment to an email, and actually has a sort of seal/signature thing-y on it) documenting the reservation and the fact that it's paid. I don't recall any hotels asking for the printed document (even though I did have it with me)---they all had the reservation on file and already knew that I'd paid in advance via Agoda.

There's no way of knowing, however, how well-organized the hotel in Kiev will be when it comes to this sort of thing, so I'd make every effort to have a print out at hand when checking in (and probably when checking out as well).