Is Agoda a Scam?

If you’re thinking of using Agoda, you need to know whether it’s safe. Is Agoda a scam? 

Below, we explain whether Agoda is a scam and discuss some steps you can take to improve your safety when using this online travel booking platform. 

What Is Agoda?

Agoda is an online travel booking service.

You can use it to book accommodation, including hotels, homes, apartments, as well as transport, such as airport transfers, buses, and trains, and even things to do. 

It’s headquartered in Singapore and is owned by Booking Holdings (the same parent company behind Booking.com, Priceline, and Kayak). 

It’s been around since 2005.

Is Agoda a Scam?

No, Agoda is not a scam. It’s a legitimate online travel booking platform. 

However, user reviews of Agoda are mixed as of this writing:

• 2.0 out of 5.0 stars (from over 45,000 reviews) on Trustpilot.
• 1.06 out of 5.0 stars (from over 350 reviews) on Better Business Bureau. 
• 1.2 out of 5.0 stars (from over 2,500 reviews) on ProductReview.
• 4.6 out of 5.0 stars (from over 2,000,000 reviews) on Google Play. 
• 4.8 out of 5.0 stars (from over 175,000 reviews) on the App Store.
• 2.3 out of 5.0 stars (from over 4,000 reviews) on Sitejabber.

Positive reviews say the website is easy to use and that the rates listed on it are cheaper than elsewhere. 

Negative reviews report poor customer service, cancelled bookings, misleading pricing, and difficulties in getting a refund. 

On online forums like Reddit, people report varying experiences with Agoda. 

One person writes:

“I’ve used Agoda hundreds of times without issues from them.”

In response, another user says:

“I used them for about a year or two without major issue, until they finally made a mistake worth almost US$1000. They basically told me a booking had been unsuccessful via email, and also said the booking was cancelled in their app. So I booked the hotel again for the same dates. I check my bookings later, and lo and behold, it’s a double booking. Okay, this was clearly a mistake on Agoda’s part. I only attempted the booking twice, one of which supposedly failed, but for some reason, there are 4 booking ID’s associated with this one hotel booking.”

Many Redditors note that Agoda’s customer service isn’t great. 

One user reports:

“They cancelled my booking due to an error they maid and only refunded my 20%. I new third parties are bad but this is borderline scam. Their customer success is a cycle between unhelpful bots and FAQ lists.”

Agoda is not Better Business Bureau accredited as of this writing and holds a “C” rating. BBB ratings are a reflection of how the BBB thinks a business interacts with its customers. 

Agoda has received a total of 828 complaints in the past three years on the BBB site at the time of writing, 313 of which have been closed in the last 12 months. 

Common complaints include difficulty in getting a refund from Agoda (in some cases even when the customer alleges that they did not receive the service they paid for) and service providers and Agoda blaming each other, giving customers a “run around” when issues arise, and misleading pricing (for example, one customer alleges that they were not told they’d need to pay a cleaning fee). 

The BBB has issued a consumer alert. In it, the BBB Metro New York warns consumers about Agoda canceling or losing reservations and denying refunds, as per other customer complaints. At the time the alert was issued, Agoda reportedly had an “F” rating from the BBB (it has since improved to a “C”).  

Agoda regulatory investigations and class action lawsuits

In 2019, Agoda was one of several hotel booking sites identified by the UK Competition and Markets Authority for misleading discount claims and pressure selling by making hotel properties look like they were more popular than they actually were. 

Agoda and others agreed to improve transparency and stop pressure selling, false discount claims, and hidden charges.

In 2020, a class action lawsuit in California alleged that Agoda showed fake discounts and created a false sense of urgency by claiming only a few rooms were left at a hotel property.

Agoda security

The section below looks at Agoda’s security measures and security incidents. 

Agoda’s security measures

In its privacy policy, Agoda briefly describes its security measures.

It says it follows PCI-DSS standards for payment data, uses encryption and access controls, and contractually requires third-party partners to keep data secure. 

The company recommends that you turn on two-factor authentication on your Agoda accounts.

Agoda security incidents

In 2020, it was reported that Prestige Software, Agoda’s (and other hotels’) backend provider, exposed about 10 million booking logs as a result of a misconfigured AWS S3 bucket.

Though not a direct Agoda breach, it potentially exposed data like full names, emails, phone numbers, national IDs, and card details (number, CVV, and expiry) for hundreds of thousands of hotel guests.

The bucket was fixed quickly, and it is unknown whether anyone accessed it prior to that.

Agoda privacy

The section below looks at Agoda’s privacy policy and how independent evaluators have assessed it.

Agoda’s privacy policy

Agoda explains the kind of data it collects, why, and with whom it shares it in its privacy policy.

It collects the following information:

• Identification information (e.g., name, email, phone, and date of birth).
• Booking details.
• Payment information.
• Your communications with support.
• Any reviews you leave.
• Device/browser data.
• Location data (if you give Agoda access to it). 
• Government-issued IDs.

Agoda may also receive data from third parties like travel suppliers, social media logins, and payment providers.

It may occasionally collect sensitive data (like health, religion, and children’s information), but this isn’t standard.

Agoda warns users not to provide sensitive information to its customer support unless explicitly requested. 

The company may use your data to process your bookings, communicate with you about your reservations, send marketing communications, improve the platform, detect fraud, ensure security, and comply with legal obligations. 

It also notes that it uses algorithms and AI for personalization, recommendations, and fraud detection.

Agoda may share your data with travel suppliers, service providers, business partners, affiliated companies within the Booking Holdings group, and law enforcement (when legally required). 

It says that it may share hashed data with advertising partners like Meta and Google.

The platform uses functional, targeting, and social media cookies, along with pixels, SDKs, and local storage. These enable cross-device tracking and interest-based advertising. 

You are able to manage preferences through cookie banners, browser settings, or third-party opt-out tools.

Your data may be transferred and stored outside your home country. 

Agoda keeps your data as long as necessary for bookings, legal compliance, dispute resolution, and platform security. It retains the last four digits of your credit card for refund purposes even after you request that the company delete your information. 

Depending on where you live, you may have certain privacy rights, like the right to request access, correction, deletion, portability, and restriction of your information. You may also be able to object to profiling and withdraw consent for marketing at any time. Requests go through identity verification.

Third-party evaluation of Agoda’s privacy policy 

Agoda’s privacy policy has received a “Quick Rating” by the Common Sense Privacy Program, which grades internet services’ privacy policies.

The Common Sense Privacy Program gives Agoda’s policy a “Warning” rating. This means Agoda “Does not meet our recommendations for privacy and security practices.”

The reason for this rating? The Common Sense Privacy Program says that Agoda sells or rents personal information to third parties, shares personal information for third-party marketing, and displays personalized advertising. 

Plus, it says that third parties collect data for their own purposes, and users’ information is used to track and target ads on other third-party websites. 

In addition, it says that it’s unclear whether Agoda creates and uses data profiles for personalized ads. 

So, Should You Use Agoda?

Depends.

If you’re comfortable with dealing with third-party booking platforms, then Agoda can be a good option for finding competitive hotel rates.

However, taking into account consumer reviews, it may be safer to book important or expensive trips directly with the hotel. 

How to Use Agoda Safely and Privately 

• Decline non-essential cookies. That cookie banner is your first line of defense. Say no to targeting and social media cookies. You don’t need them, and they’re basically just there to build a profile on you for advertisers.
• Unsubscribe from marketing. Go through and opt out of their emails, SMS, and messaging app promos. Also go into your phone settings and turn off push notifications from the app. 
• Be picky with price alerts. Only sign up if you genuinely want them. The second they start getting on your nerves, there’s a “turn off price alerts” link you can use to shut them down.
• Turn on two-factor authentication. This one takes like two minutes and it makes your account significantly harder to break into. Just do it.
• Don’t blindly trust third-party links. Agoda links out to other sites, and those sites have their own privacy practices. Your data could end up somewhere you never intended.
• Use your privacy rights. You’re allowed to access, correct, delete, restrict, or object to how they process your data. Do it through your account or shoot an email to privacy@agoda.com.
• Call the hotel or airline after you book. Don’t just trust that Agoda handled everything correctly. Pick up the phone or send an email and make sure the reservation actually went through and the details are right.
• Look out for duplicate charges. After you book, check both your Agoda account and your card statement to make sure everything is as it should be. 
• Screenshot everything. Pricing, cancellation terms, discount claims, confirmation pages. All of it. Throw it in a folder somewhere. If something goes wrong down the line, this is what may save you.
• Figure out the real price before you pay. Look for cleaning fees, taxes, service charges, and random add-ons. 
• Actually read the cancellation policy. I know nobody wants to, but you need to know whether it’s refundable, what the deadline is, and what happens if your plans change.
• Book directly when the stakes are high. If the trip is expensive or complicated or you just can’t afford a screw-up, go straight to the hotel or airline. 
• Pay with a credit card. Not debit. Credit cards give you way better options if you need to dispute a charge later.
• Ignore pressurized selling tactics. “Only 2 rooms left!” and all that. Past investigations have shown these platforms use those tactics to pressure you. Don’t fall for it.
• Delete your payment info when you’re done. After your trip, go back into Agoda and remove any saved cards.