Agoda Dubbed 'Hotel California' in Asia as Hotel Suppliers Say They Can Never Leave
Skift Take
There appears to be a growing chorus of voices saying they are not able to completely delist themselves from Agoda, which begs the question why they want to do so in the first place.
In its recent management shakeup, Booking Holdings has said it is seeking to drive “more alignment” across its brands. Throughout Asia, there is a chorus of voices that wishes that Booking.com and its sister Agoda were more closely aligned — in ethos and ways of working.
Among them are homestay owners and hoteliers who have disconnected from Agoda, yet say the Asian online travel agency still hangs on to them, like a girlfriend or boyfriend that refuses to leave. That's because although they no longer want to work with Agoda, Agoda still lists their properties and, if these properties have a contract with Booking.com, is still able to book them.
Agoda is thus being dubbed “Hotel California” privately by some suppliers, thanks to the line from the Eagles hit song, “You can check out anytime you like, But you can never leave.”
But Why Leave?
This all begs the question: Why wouldn't homestays and hotels work with two sisters instead of one, which would expand their client reach? And why it is that Agoda is the one that seems to be less favored in its own Asian region than its sister of European roots?
Most homestays and hotels interviewed for this article declined to speak openly, but discussions on “How can I remove my property from Agoda?” — on Booking.com Partner Hub itself — or in a closed Airbnb Professional Hosts Group on Facebook, to which Skift was invited, raise a few points.
When approached by Skift, Agoda says suppliers are free to add or remove inventory and that it puts significant effort into delivering best-in-class experience for customers.
Homeowners and hotels, however, say they resent being forced to work with a platform against their will. Beyond that overarching sentiment, however, there are real issues.
A big one for homeowners is Agoda's inability to deliver customer service to clients. An owner in Adelaide, Australia, for example, wrote about his agony of trying to reach Agoda for the guest contact details, so that he could send specific information on how to get to the country retreat, and how to find the key to the home. He said Agoda gave him “no efficient m
