Be Leary When Booking Through Agoda!

[RRRushhh]

Hi guys,

 

As some of you may know, when I come to LOS I work while I am here and need to have an good Internet connection the whole time I am here. I made the mistake of trying a new hotel on this trip. I also f-up and booked the whole two weeks ahead of time when I should have just booked two days to see if I liked it or not, so my bad.

 

Any way I booked my stay at Tim Boutique through Agoda and when I arrived and checked in I ask if I could get my free login to the WiFi like it mentions on their website. You can go to here and see for yourself Tim Boutique it says:

 

Furnished with modern, quality bedding and amenities, each superiorroom comes with the expected conveniences of an esteemed hotel coupledwith a sense of home-style comfort. Relax on the bed or lounge space infront of the TV offering over 50 cable channels and order from roomservice or our well-stocked mini bar. Your valuables will be secure inthe in-room safe and you can surf the internet on your laptop throughour complimentary wireless connection.

 

But the guy at the desk said since I booked through Agoda and not through Tim Boutique I was NOT able to get the free Wifi and it would cost me 1 Baht per minute to use it. I then asked if there was any kind of deal we could make and the best they could do was $159.00 US dollars for WiFi for the time I was staying here. Oh My Buddha!

 

I am looking into getting an Easynet account and seeing how expensive that will be as I am able to connect to that from my room. You get the card from Wonder Bar and Others.

 

Needless to say, I do not recommend booking through Agoda or staying at the Tim Boutique hotel and will definitely not be staying here ever again. Which is kind of a shame because it is not that bad of a room and it is located in an area I like to stay.

 

Edited: Misspellings

Edited August 24, 2009 by RRRushhh

[allwet]

I booked Tim Boutique through Agoda and had no problems. I was aware that they were one of the few hotels in Pattaya that charged extra for wifi so there were no surprises for me. The service, rooms and location were all great at Tim. The problem with booking through a third party like Agoda is that if you are not satisfied with the accommodation then you will have a much more difficult time getting a refund if you leave early because you are entirely prepaid.

[Benny10]

Hi guys,

 

As some of you may know, when I come to LOS I work while I am here and need to have an good Internet connection the whole time I am here. I made the mistake of trying a new hotel on this trip. I also f-up and booked the whole two weeks ahead of time when I should have just booked two days to see if I liked it or not, so my bad.

 

Any way I booked my stay at Tim Boutique through Agoda and when I arrived and checked in I ask if I could get my free login to the WiFi like it mentions on their website. You can go to here and see for yourself Tim Boutique it says:

 

Furnished with modern, quality bedding and amenities, each superiorroom comes with the expected conveniences of an esteemed hotel coupledwith a sense of home-style comfort. Relax on the bed or lounge space infront of the TV offering over 50 cable channels and order from roomservice or our well-stocked mini bar. Your valuables will be secure inthe in-room safe and you can surf the internet on your laptop throughour complimentary wireless connection.

 

But the guy at the desk said since I booked through Agoda and not through Tim Boutique I was NOT able to get the free Wifi and it would cost me 1 Baht per minute to use it. I then asked if there was any kind of deal we could make and the best they could do was $159.00 US dollars for WiFi for the time I was staying here. Oh My Buddha!

 

I am looking into getting an Easynet account and seeing how expensive that will be as I am able to connect to that from my room. You get the card from Wonder Bar and Others.

 

Needless to say, I do not recommend booking through Agoda or staying at the Tim Boutique hotel and will definitely not be staying here ever again. Which is kind of a shame because it is not that bad of a room and it is located in an area I like to stay.

 

Edited: Misspellings

 

I think it’s not fair to post your complaint about Agoda here without consulting them upfront.

 

Instead you should have followed the procedure below:

 

- clarify with the front office what “and you can surf the internet on your laptop through our complimentary wireless connection” actually means.

Does that mean that they provide free connectivity only, or is actually the surfing free?

 

- depending on the hotel’s response, check on Agoda’s web site for any restrictions regarding free wifi-internet use

 

- provided that you can’t find any restrictions on Agoda’s web site, and the hotel states that connection is free but surfing will be charged, you should have reported this to Agoda immediately.

 

Instead you decided to pay the bill and post it here.

I think it’s not fair as you didn’t give the agent any chance to clarify this issue and refund the internet charges to you, while you stayed at the hotel.

 

Furthermore if would have done some web-research you might have found that Agoda has a local representative office at “The Offices”, Central Department Store Chidlom.

 

A simple phone call could have saved you USD 159.-, which would give you 9,85 ST’s in Pattaya.

[RRRushhh]

I went down today to see if I could work this out with Tim but she was not there, so the receptionist a different person got me in touch with Agoda and I was able to get a credit for 12 days and I just checked out early. For you info I did my research and there are no exceptions listen on the Agoda voucher that would indicate that the Free WiFi was only available if you book your stay through Tim Boutique website. Agoda is taking care of me but just make sure you do your research. Did you honestly think I would have payed 159.00 us for internet. And who ever heard of paying for connection to a router and then having to pay extra to get the rest of the way to the internet. I make the software that makes the routers work and that is absolutely impossible.

 

I am now at staying at the Vault hotel where I should have been all along and I have fast FREE Internet and Router connection 55555555+

[RRRushhh]

I booked Tim Boutique through Agoda and had no problems. I was aware that they were one of the few hotels in Pattaya that charged extra for wifi so there were no surprises for me. The service, rooms and location were all great at Tim. The problem with booking through a third party like Agoda is that if you are not satisfied with the accommodation then you will have a much more difficult time getting a refund if you leave early because you are entirely prepaid.

 

I think I heard that from one of your reports also but when I Read their website I was under the impression that they had changed their policy.

 

Thanks Allwet.

[allwet]

I think I heard that from one of your reports also but when I Read their website I was under the impression that they had changed their policy.

 

Thanks Allwet.

 

I found out that Tim didn't offer free wifi by reading several of the reviews on Agoda as well as reviews here on Addicts. I never went to the Tim Boutique website but I'm not surprised that they may have the wrong information on there. Enjoy the rest of your trip and hopefully we get to see a TR. Cheers.

[Cantona]

Stayed at The Vault. Awesome place and Mike is a great dude with a story to tell. Love the Penthouse rooms stayed there my last trip and will stay my next for sure

[RRRushhh]

Stayed at The Vault. Awesome place and Mike is a great dude with a story to tell. Love the Penthouse rooms stayed there my last trip and will stay my next for sure

 

I agree Mike is a cool guy and the Vault takes care of their customers very well.

 

I agree with Benny10, as I should have tried to get in touch with Agoda first but I thought I would not have any luck with them because when LOS had the problem with the Yellow shirts and the Airports closing I had to leave a day early on that trip in order to get a flight back home and Agoda has never refunded my for that, but they took care of me right away this time.

[Benny10]

Did you honestly think I would have payed 159.00 us for internet. And who ever heard of paying for connection to a router and then having to pay extra to get the rest of the way to the internet. I make the software that makes the routers work and that is absolutely impossible.

You might make the software for routers, but it seems that there should be some clarification regarding “free” wifi services.

 

Being myself involved in the Thailand’s tourism industry I would like to mention that in LOS it’s quite common that hotels in LOS provide free wireless internet access, but you will be charged for the actual internet ussage. Most of them sell you packages for certain hours or days.

 

To make it clear:

- free wifi access (they provide the hardware & connection free)

- internet use will be charged according to usage time

 

The reason why I suggested to check Agoda’s website for any remarks was to find out if the hotel implemented a policy without the Agoda’s consent. Tim’s must have a valid contract with Agoda so you could claim your USD 159.- from Agoda back.

 

 

I agree with Benny10, as I should have tried to get in touch with Agoda first but I thought I would not have any luck with them because when LOS had the problem with the Yellow shirts and the Airports closing I had to leave a day early on that trip in order to get a flight back home and Agoda has never refunded my for that, but they took care of me right away this time.

 

Most hotels in resort areas practise a no-refund policy for check-out earlier than stated in the voucher, while hotels focussing mainly on business travellers might enforce differnt check-out/cancellation/amendment policies.

As the airport closure can be classed as a Force Majeure, so hotels and the travel agents can’t held responsible for any additional costs occurred. This applies also for early ckeck-out caused by this event.

[dudebrah]

To make it clear:

- free wifi access (they provide the hardware & connection free)

- internet use will be charged according to usage time

 

 

thats Fooking rediculous !

 

if the hotels website says : "and you can surf the internet on your laptop throughour complimentary wireless connection" it should be 100% free to surf the internet! any charge incurred is just a play on words SCAM.

[bigjimslay]

thats Fooking rediculous !

 

if the hotels website says : "and you can surf the internet on your laptop throughour complimentary wireless connection" it should be 100% free to surf the internet! any charge incurred is just a play on words SCAM.

 

 

Just like when a small thai girl says "I want you wear me like a back pack" She should be 100% no more than 32 kilograms... If not, its a scam!

[whitespider - RIP]

I have spoken to Agoda about this. They say you were done up like a kipper

 

If you book through them you are perfectly entitled to the free WiFi access and any charges applied for usage should be applied to all customers regardless of where they book the hotel.

 

That said they need to be aware of what owners and staff are claiming so I assume they will be having words if its at their detriment

[dudebrah]

Just like when a small thai girl says "I want you wear me like a back pack" She should be 100% no more than 32 kilograms... If not, its a scam!

 

Damn Straight !

[whitespider - RIP]

Agoda top bod has now got back to me.

 

Needless to say they are not very happy and someone has gone to see Tim today. They thank the OP for bringing this to their attention.

 

In their defence it DOES say on their Tim Boutique page that the wifi is charged.

 

http://www.agoda.com/asia/thailand/pattaya/tim_boutique_hotel.html

 

That said they have a contract that there be no difference in offers to all guests and that is why they have gone to see her today.

 

Hopefully it will all get sorted and you can still use Agoda for this hotel as it is cheaper than going direct.

[Bkkguestfriendlyhotels]

Agoda top bod has now got back to me.

 

Needless to say they are not very happy and someone has gone to see Tim today. They thank the OP for bringing this to their attention.

 

In their defence it DOES say on their Tim Boutique page that the wifi is charged.

 

http://www.agoda.com/asia/thailand/pattaya/tim_boutique_hotel.html

 

That said they have a contract that there be no difference in offers to all guests and that is why they have gone to see her today.

 

Hopefully it will all get sorted and you can still use Agoda for this hotel as it is cheaper than going direct.

 

Whitespider,

 

Agoda have many hotels that they state wifi is free and I have had a few complaints. They should check the info carefully as it will get the into trouble.

 

Tim

[Buzzy]

I'm sorry that your experience with Agoda was not up to your expectations.

 

For myself I've only used them once and saved about 25.00 over everything else I could find. I have to stay one night in LA on my return trip, first time for this as EVA now arrives latter and Southwest no longer has a late flight into K.C. I looked all over the internet for a good hotel at a reasonable rate, under $100.00 a night with airport transfer. Thru Agoda I found the Radisson for under $80.00 with hotel transfer. As the Radission was close to the Airport I had checked several sites for this hotel and Agoda was the best price by at least 25 bucks. I think this is a good deal and the transaction was easy. So for me Agoda has worked out well. So this was my experience with Agoda and I will use them again.

 

Jon

[whitespider - RIP]

Whitespider,

 

Agoda have many hotels that they state wifi is free and I have had a few complaints. They should check the info carefully as it will get the into trouble.

 

Tim

 

Maybe true mate but all I am doing is trying to sort out a problem that one BM had and in the case of Tim Boutique their page DOES say its not free. I am pleased he told us as they have gone to sort it out with Tim herself today.

 

I always use them - their rates are not always cheapest but its the best deal for me as a frequent stayer as the loyalty points stack up and I save a lot.

[RRRushhh]

Agoda has taken care of me this time very well and has already credited me for the days I have not stayed at Tim Boutique, so they have done right by me. I will use them again in the future! Thanks for everyone's comments and support on this thread. The only thing that amazes me is how Tim Boutique could have easily made an Extra $20,406 baht and decided to turn it away because of an internet connection. I will never ever try to figure out Thai logic, I will always just take my baht else where.

Edited August 27, 2009 by RRRushhh

[RRRushhh]

Just like when a small thai girl says "I want you wear me like a back pack" She should be 100% no more than 32 kilograms... If not, its a scam!

 

You funny guy you! 5555+

[whitespider - RIP]

Agoda has taken care of me this time very well and has already credited me for the days I have not stayed at Tim Boutique, so they have done right by me. I will use them again in the future! Thanks for everyone's comments and support on this thread. The only thing that amazes me is how Tim Boutique could have easily made an Extra $20,406 baht and decided to turn it away because of an internet connection. I will never ever try to figure out Thai logic, I will always just take my baht else where.

 

Hi Mate

 

The owner of Tim Boutique (Knun Nid not Tim) has been in touch.

 

She says that ALL customers are charged 60 baht per hour for Internet Useage (access is free). This does NOT apply only to Agoda bookings and if you were told that you were told wrong.

 

She also says it does NOT say that Internet is FREE on the Tim Website. I have replied saying that "complimentary ACCESS" is misleading at best.

 

Agodaalso reiterate that their website does state its charged for. They have asked Khun Nid if it can be provided free of charge and she has said she will look into it. Don't hold your breath though.

 

WS

[Slacker]

I've not found Agoda to be particularly competitive when researching hotels for my upcoming visit, but they're not alone when it comes to omitting part of the package. I've found deals for Aspen Suites in Bangkok which seem reasonable, but omit the free wi-fi. By booking directly you get the free wi-fi bundled in with the room price for a few ££'s more.