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Agoda

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Agoda Company Pte. Ltd.
Company typeSubsidiary
FoundedPhuket, Thailand in 2003; 21 years ago (2003)
Headquarters
Singapore
,
Singapore
Area served
Global
Key people
John Wroughton Brown (CEO)
Robert Rosenstein (co-founder)
Michael Kenny (co-founder)
Omri Morgenshtern (COO)
ProductsBooking service
ParentBooking Holdings
Websitewww.agoda.com

Agoda is a global online travel agency for hotels, vacation rentals, flights and airport transfer. The company is headquartered in Singapore. In 2007, Agoda was acquired by USA-based Booking Holdings. Agoda's retail website provides a multilingual metasearch engine with aggregated fares for booking airline tickets, hotels and individually-hosted holiday rentals.

History

Agoda was co-founded by Michael Kenny and Robert Rosenstein. Prior to Agoda, Michael Kenny started two other hotel booking websites, PlanetHoliday.com and PrecisionReservations.com, but combined companies into Agoda in 2003, launching Agoda.com in 2005.[1]

In 2007, Agoda was acquired by The Priceline Group, now known as Booking Holdings.[2]

In 2014, Booking Holdings acquired Qlika, an Israel-based startup focused on optimization of pay-per-click advertising. The Qlika team joined Agoda to automate and scale their marketing systems.[3]

In 2016, Booking Holdings acquired WooMoo, a Taipei-based startup focused on mobile app prototyping. The WooMoo team joined Agoda in Bangkok to work on mobile app development.[4] In May 2016, Agoda reviews began to appear on Google search results.[5]

In 2018, CEO and co-founder Rob Rosenstein became the Chairman of Agoda and a Strategic Advisor to Booking Holdings. John Wroughton Brown, the COO, was promoted as the new CEO of Agoda, with Chief Product Officer Omri Morgenshtern, who joined the company as part of the Qlika acquisition, named as the new COO.[6]

In April 2019, Agoda announced an interest in pursuing greater business emphasis in Israel and Europe.[7] Particularly, Agoda wanted to expand its Tel Aviv-based data science team, increase sales, and purchase promising Israeli startups.[7] In September 2019, Agoda began work with the company Digitas for data-driven content marketing across various Asian markets.[8] Agoda added a feature called Mix and Save, which allows customers to choose multiple rooms in order to get the best deal.[9]

Business model

The Agoda hotel business operates on the merchant model, acquiring accommodations at a wholesale price from partner properties and then reselling them at a markup.[10] In 2017, Agoda began looking at non-hotel accommodations to try and appeal to millennials.[11]

Mobile applications

In mid-2011, Agoda launched iOS and Android apps for booking hotels through their platform.[12][13] By 2017, about half of Agoda's bookings were being made through the mobile app platforms.[10] Agoda also offers iOS and Android apps for hotel and property owners.[14] The Grab app allows users to book on Agoda through it.[15]

Reception and criticism

Agoda has received mixed reception. Agoda was identified by SiteMinder as the fourth most successful hotel channel in the United States and Canada.[16] It was awarded by the World Travel Awards for its booking app.[17] Viva Glam Magazine included Agoda in their list of the best websites for booking a holiday vacation.[18] In 2017, Agoda was named the #2 hotel booking platform by Frommer's. They noted that it was the most-improved booking website of those mentioned thanks to its expansion from just being an Asian specialist website. They added that it is competitive with Booking.com, but misses the top spot because of middling domestic results and worse filters.[19] In 2016, Agoda was named the best online travel service by Singaporean lifestyle website AsiaOne's People's Choice Awards.[20] USA Today deemed Agoda's reward program to be the worst out of the four booking sites.[21] Smarter Travel listed it among the best hotel booking sites due to its variety of potential travel locations.[22] Author Matt Kepnes noted that Agoda is the best website for Asian hotels.[23] It was the third revenue-generating booking channels in Thailand.[24]

Agoda has faced criticism from customers and regulators alike. One such incident involved a customer who booked through the website had items stolen from the room due to poor security. They gave her a goodwill refund, but did not remove the hotel or allow her to post a review criticizing the hotel for the security issue due to it relating to a legal issue. A security consultant discussed how this policy reduces the number of negative reviews and that negative reviews are sometimes diluted.[25] Agoda faced criticism for an incident where a customer accidentally booked a hotel and refused to give a refund. The hotel ultimately turned out to not exist, The incident gained traction on social media, and Agoda changed its mind and paid a refund following a fraud complaint filed with the Thai government.[26] In 2015, Agoda's Taiwanese operations were fined for breaches of not legally registering as a business in Taiwan and for failing to issue unified invoices.[27] Agoda was criticized for difficulties with customers removing their homes from the website. They cited customer service issues among other things.[28]

In 2017, Agoda, among other hotel sites, was subject to a probe by the Competition and Markets Authority in the United Kingdom. The probe was related to "concerns about hidden charges, pressure selling tactics, misleading discount claims and the order in which results appear on the site pages." Agoda agreed to change how it operates in response to this probe.[29][30] In 2017, the Tourism Minister of Thailand called for Agoda among others to drop illegal and unregistered hotels.[31] Agoda was the main target of criticism among those criticized, and its success is part of what drove the Ministry of Tourism & Sports to create a competitive hotel booking website.[32] In 2018, Agoda cooperated with the Taipei City Government's request to remove illegal and unregistered Taipei hotels from its listings.[33] Agoda faced legal action from the Turkish Travel Agencies Association due to alleged unfair competition in relation to the country's competition law.[34] It faced a potential ban as part of this lawsuit.[35] In November 2018, South Korea's Fair Trade Commission issued a remedial order to Agoda on its refund policies following its noncompliance with a ruling they made.[36] A class action lawsuit against Agoda over Agoda sending texts to customers when they book a hotel giving them the booking number and advertising their booking app was dismissed. The reason for dismissal was due to it being a transactional message, and thus no express written consent was required.[37] Hotel Online expressed concern over Agoda's Mix and Save feature, feeling that it poses a risk to a hotel's bottom line due to shorter stays affecting upkeep costs.[9]

References

  1. ^ "Boom at the inn". Bangkok Post. 2013-08-05. Retrieved 2019-07-04.
  2. ^ "Priceline.com acquires asian online hotel reservation service co Agoda". Reuters. 2007-11-09. Retrieved 2019-07-04.
  3. ^ Empson, Rip (2014-03-11). "Priceline Buys Israel's Qlika For $15-20M To Boost Global Expansion With Rocket Science-Powered Ad Tech". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2019-07-04.
  4. ^ Shu, Catherine (2016-05-24). "Taipei-based startup Woomoo acqui-hired by Priceline". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2019-07-04.
  5. ^ Schwartz, Brian (2016-05-25). "Google Adds Hotel Reviews From Other Sources". Search Engine Round Table. Retrieved 2019-07-04.
  6. ^ "Agoda names new CEO". The Nation. 2018-05-11. Retrieved 2019-07-04.
  7. ^ a b Halon, Eytan (2019-04-22). "Travel platform Agoda sets sights on increased Israeli footprint". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 2019-07-04.
  8. ^ Ng, Avelyn (September 17, 2019). "Agoda appoints Digitas for data-driven content marketing across 8 Asian markets". Marketing Interactive. Retrieved October 3, 2019.
  9. ^ a b Resco, Laura (October 2, 2019). "5 Reasons Why Agoda's Mix and Save Feature Could Be Disastrous for Hotel Operations". Hotel Online. Retrieved October 3, 2019.
  10. ^ a b O'Neill, Sean (2018-05-09). "Agoda Names New CEO as It Aims to Go Global". Skift. Retrieved 2019-07-04.
  11. ^ "Agoda eyes non-hotel accommodation options to attract millennials". The Jakarta Post. 2017-05-18. Retrieved 2019-07-04.
  12. ^ "Agoda.com introduces new iPhone app". Breaking Travel News. 2011-07-14. Retrieved 2019-07-04.
  13. ^ "agoda.com launches Android app for easy mobile hotel booking". Breaking Travel News. 2011-09-10. Retrieved 2019-07-04.
  14. ^ "AxisRooms certified as innovative supplier partner 2019 by Agoda". Economic Times. 2019-06-12. Retrieved 2019-07-04.
  15. ^ Hamdi, Raini (2019-04-23). "Grab Enters Travel Booking With Hotels Now and Flights Next". Skift. Retrieved 2019-07-04.
  16. ^ Menze, Jill (2019-02-06). "As competition diversifies, Booking.com remains top hotel channel". Phocus Wire. Retrieved 2019-07-04.
  17. ^ "World's Leading Travel Booking App 2018". World Travel Awards. Retrieved 2019-07-04.
  18. ^ "The Best 5 Websites to Book Your Holiday". Viva Glam Magazine. 2019-05-02. Retrieved 2019-07-04.
  19. ^ Bramblett, Reid (2017). "Best and Worst Hotel Booking Sites". Frommer's. Retrieved 2019-07-04.
  20. ^ "Agoda, POSB and Qoo10 among top winners at AsiaOne People's Choice Awards 2016". Straits Times. 2016-04-21. Retrieved 2019-07-04.
  21. ^ lottazachrisson (2015-04-04). "Which online booking site has the best reward program?". USA Today. Retrieved 2019-07-04.
  22. ^ Unger, Carl (2019-02-05). "The 10 Best Hotel Booking Sites". Smarter Travel. Retrieved 2019-07-04.
  23. ^ Kepnes, Matt (2015). How to Travel the World on $50 a Day: Third Edition: Travel Cheaper, Longer, Smarter. Penguin. ISBN 0698404955. Retrieved 2019-07-04.
  24. ^ "Booking.com, Expedia, Agoda named top booking channels for Thai hotels". The Phuket News. 2018-02-06. Retrieved 2019-07-04.
  25. ^ Burns-Francis, Anna. "Fair Go: Wellington mum 'gobsmacked' after Auckland hotel burglary due to botched security". 1 News Now. Retrieved 2019-07-04.
  26. ^ Thiagarajan, Tara (2017-12-22). "Agoda Refunds Woman RM18,000 For Booking Non-Existent Hotel in Bangkok". World of Buzz. Retrieved 2019-07-04.
  27. ^ Chou, Christine (2017-10-13). "Taipei fines Agoda.com over US$ 626,100 for breaches". The Jakara Post. Retrieved 2019-07-04.
  28. ^ Hamdi, Raini (2019-07-11). "Agoda Dubbed 'Hotel California' in Asia as Hotel Suppliers Say They Can Never Leave". Skift. Retrieved 2019-08-13.
  29. ^ "Six hotel sites agree to stop 'misleading' tactics and hidden charges". Sky News. 2019-06-02. Retrieved 2019-07-04.
  30. ^ Calder, Simon (2017-10-27). "HOTEL Booking Websites Face Investigation into Selling Practices". The Independent. Retrieved 2019-07-04.
  31. ^ "Tourism Minister calls on Agoda, OTAs told to drop illegal hotels". The Phuket News. 2017-04-01. Retrieved 2019-07-04.
  32. ^ "Phuket News: Ministry to take on big hotel booking sites". The Phuket News. 2013-09-18. Retrieved 2019-07-04.
  33. ^ Strong, Matthew (2018-06-12). "Online reservation site Agoda to remove illegal Taipei hotels". Taiwan News. Retrieved 2019-07-04.
  34. ^ "Tourism body to start legal action against 20 booking portals". Daily Sabah. September 8, 2018. Retrieved 2019-07-04.
  35. ^ "Turkey Looking to Ban 20 Travel Booking Sites". GTP Headlines. 2018-08-14. Retrieved 2019-07-04.
  36. ^ "FTC issues remedial order to Agoda, Booking.com on refund policies". Pulse News. 2018-11-21. Retrieved 2019-07-04.
  37. ^ "How About That? TCPA Class Action Dismissed as Text Promoting Defendant's App Was Transactional Message–Express Written Consent Not Required". JDSupra. 2018-12-21. Retrieved 2019-07-04.
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