Question about Agoda and other Hotel Booking Sites

I usually try to book directly on a hotel's own site rather than through a third party booking site unless the booking site offers a much better deal in price or cancellation date or added perk. I haven't used Agoda in recent years. When I did use it a number of years ago, it sometimes had better deals than those from sites aimed more at US travelers. For Booking.com, in contrast, the currencyouy you choose to display, is only for display and does not affect the actual price. However, for Agoda, from what I just read out of curiosity after seeing your question, you do actually choose the currency you will use to pay. The standard advice is to always choose the local currency so that you are not subject to whatever exhange rate the site or the hotel is offering. This is similar to the standard advice for ATMs and restuarants to always pay in the local currency rather than your own. I will interested in seeing how anyone with recent experience with Agonda responds.

I use booking.com to search for hotel, and narrow down my choices. But then I book directly with the hotel, that way if there is a problem, I do not have to deal with a middle man.

I always reserve a stay that can be canceled without a penalty, and I never pay in advance. Occasionally the price on Booking will be better than the price stated on the hotel's website. When that happens, I contact the hotel directly and ask them to match the price on Booking. In my experience, they have always matched the price and quite often they will beat the price that is shown on one of the booking sites. On a recent trip, the hotel gave me a rate that was $30 less per night than the one shown on Booking. Some of the smaller, family owned hotels and inns will only allow you to reserve on a booking site. If that is the case, then make sure you do not pay in advance and that you fully understand their cancellation policy.

I have two simple rules for booking hotels:

1) Always book in the hotel's currency;

2) Always book direct.

If you pay in USD instead of lira, it's called Dynamic Currency Conversion. You are allowing the hotel,restaurant, shop, whatever to do the conversion rather than your bank or credit card issuer. I guarantee the exchange rate from the hotel will be a lot worse. (It's another way for them to make money.)

The only way to know exactly what you will be paying is to pay in USD. But as I stated, this will be a bad idea. Exchange rates fluctuate daily.

These third party sites work differently than you might think. Let's say you want to stay at the Acme hotel in Istabul. You book through "third party." You are not booking a room at the ACME hotel. You are booking a room with the third party. The third party is then booking a room at the hotel and telling the hotel you will be staying there. Any changes, refunds, problems? You have to go through the third party. The payment information the hotel gets is not yours. It's the third party's.

How do they make money? Simple. They pay one price for the room and charge you a higher price. The hotel is making less. That's why many hotels will offer some extra perks, or discounts, if you book direct.

Booking.com is a little different. They mostly work on commission from the hotel rather than trying to get as much as possible.

I have been using booking.com for both research and booking but for a few instances where I booked directly.

This far, I have had good experiences with booking.com

I always choose free cancellation and no payment until I get to destination. In some situations, you card will be charged a day or two upon arrival but that will be made very clear to you. It will also be made clear what the total cost of your room will be.