Agoda offering astonishing hotel deals in Phuket
Classy: The Rebar restaurant and lounge at the Indigo Pearl: Yours for US$68 a night.
Prices for accommodation in Thailand must be the lowest they’ve been in a decade, and the way to get the lowest of the low prices is through the online booking sites.
It’s always been a matter of pride that the big online hotel booking sites offer the lowest prices – indeed, woe betide any hotel that offers a better deal than the one posted on, say, Bangkok/Singapore-based Agoda; once a hotel’s signed a deal with these guys, undercutting is a big no-no.
But what is astonishing now is the depth of the discounts offered by these sites. First, some words of explanation: Prices on hotel booking sites are dynamic – they change constantly with demand and supply. In doing research for this article, we compared prices for a couple checking into the hotel’s cheapest room on July 14 and checking out on the 17th. The prices were obtained between 11am and midday on July 12 from the hotels’ own websites and from Bangkok/Singapore-based Agoda.
The prices given on the hotel websites are usually in baht, while Agoda quotes in US dollars. We used XE.com for realtime currency conversion. Here are the results for five hotels or resorts in Phuket:
Indigo Pearl Resort, Nai Yang Beach, Kelly Quarters room.
Hotel’s website: US$108.73/night; Agoda: US$68/night. Difference: 38%. Agoda also throws in a US$10 “reward” discount for the next booking.
Burasari in Patong is home to Thailand's first restaurant run by celebrity chef Keith Floyd. The bar is a sumptuous as the food.
Twin Palms Resort, Surin Beach, Deluxe Palm Room.
Hotel’s website: US$155.60/night; Agoda: US$99/night. Difference: 37%, plus US$14 reward.
Burasari Hotel, Patong, Classic room.
Hotel website “published” rate: US$176/night, with “buy two nights, get three” deal, for average of US$117/night; Agoda: US$44/night. Difference: 62%, plus US$6 reward.
Alpina Phuket Nalina Resort & Spa, Kata, Classic room.
Hotel website “low season” rate: US$123/night; Agoda: US$46/night. Difference: 63%, plus US$6 reward.
Mom Tri’s Villa Royale, Kata, Beach Wing Suite.
Hotel website, summer season rate: US$205/night; Agoda: US$134/night. Difference: 35%, plus US$19 reward.
Of course, if you walk in off the street and bargain hard, the reception staff of any hotel are going to check all their desk drawers and find extra discounts off the hotel’s website rate. But will they ever be able to match the Agoda numbers? Unlikely. And if they do, then Agoda promises, on receipt of proof, to go even cheaper.
Internet booking is definitely the way to go these days. Visit Agoda here.
I’ve booked with Agoda for the last four years in SE asia. This year, I used them for Tokyo and Sydney. I think they’ve even got Europe now.