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Beware Agoda "Mystery Deals"

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  1. #1

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    Beware Agoda "Mystery Deals"

    So Im off to Singapore and needed a hotel room. My normal hotel was full, so I decided to try something "new" and perhaps "fun". I booked an Agoda "mystery deal" .. which is marketed as a way to get a great deal in a good hotel. What it turned out to be was a room WITH NO WINDOW in a YMCA hotel. When I complained that while I had been prepared to take a risk on the hotel, selling me a room with no window without indicating that in the description was pretty much below the belt, I get a response from customer service firstly saying that they had indicated it had no window - and when I said that was just not true, then asking me for a screenshot of the screen before I made the booking. They did not indicate where I would get the time-machine to enable me to go back in time to a screen earlier than the one I have now (it was 4 days ago after all, you don't see the bit about it having no window until you actually print out the voucher!). Talk about digging yourself deeper into a hole.....

    Anyway, I've seen these deals for years and always wondered if they were actually any good. Now you can avoid then without having to worry about that possibility.... I guess at least I might not have too much traffic noise with no window!!!!
    jgl likes this.

  2. #2

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    As the saying goes, you get what you pay for.


  3. #3

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    Was the rate that you got below whatever the usual going rate is for a windowless YMCA room?


  4. #4

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    Quote Originally Posted by jgl:
    Was the rate that you got below whatever the usual going rate is for a windowless YMCA room?
    By the looks of it a few dollars only. Not a significant saving at all.

  5. #5

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    Yep I just checked online. Perhaps a one or two sing dollar saving. Piddling.


  6. #6

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    Quote Originally Posted by HK_Katherine:
    Yep I just checked online. Perhaps a one or two sing dollar saving. Piddling.
    How much you pay?

  7. #7

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    About 150 sgd per night. Not huge. Not tiny though.


  8. #8

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    Just re-read your post. Want to clarify a few things. The voucher you had (which I presumed was emailed to you before your stay) stated it had no windows? So you knew in advance that it had no windows? Yet you didn't complain before you got there, even though they had emailed you this information prior to your stay?


  9. #9

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    I've done these mystery deals for Bangkok with Asiawebdirect.

    $700 HK a night for what ended up being Grand Millenium Sukhumvit a 5 star hotel.

    With Asiawebdirect they'll guarantee it's a 5 star hotel or a global chain.

    HK_Katherine and Cho-man like this.

  10. #10

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    Quote Originally Posted by pin:
    Just re-read your post. Want to clarify a few things. The voucher you had (which I presumed was emailed to you before your stay) stated it had no windows? So you knew in advance that it had no windows? Yet you didn't complain before you got there, even though they had emailed you this information prior to your stay?
    Kind of besides the point, really, unless someone wanted to get into long and frustrating arguments with Agoda CS.

    The point is that one would expect their "mystery deals" to offer good value, whereas if this case is anything to go by, it's more of a way for Agoda to keep their normal profit margin at the expense of pissing off customers.

    Even if I found out after booking and before turning up, I'd be pissed for having to waste time calling CS to cancel the booking. I've dealt with Agoda CS before and found them really good, so I wouldn't expect to get rogered by the company.
    Last edited by jgl; 17-08-2015 at 05:33 PM.
    HK_Katherine, Stu79 and Cho-man like this.

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