Agoda - stung by hidden charges

akkers

I recently used Agoda to book a hotel room in Dubai. After choosing the suitable hotel, I read through the description and went ahead to book it. On checkout it spelt out the nightly rate, Hotel tax and the 'Final Price'; it did not mention any other charges. I accepted that and went through the booking process thinking that everything had been paid for.
However, on getting there the hotel demanded a certain amount for Tourism tax. I was not aware of this but had to pay up.
When I contacted Agoda, they said that the hotel page had info relating to this and I should have seen it. Well I did not see it because it was buried deep down under a tab called 'hotel policy'.
Now, why would would they put reference to a govt tax under hotel policy? Also why was Hotel tax mentioned at checkout and collected but no mention was made of Tourism tax? They collected Hotel tax at checkout, why not Tourism tax?
I belief is that they hide these small taxes to make their prices look attractive. But misleading customers is not a good business strategy.
Do I have a legal case to pursue the extra charges that I paid? Is it worth pursuing?

wealdroam

akkers wrote: »

I recently used Agoda to book a hotel room in Dubai. After choosing the suitable hotel, I read through the description and went ahead to book it. On checkout it spelt out the nightly rate, Hotel tax and the 'Final Price'; it did not mention any other charges. I accepted that and went through the booking process thinking that everything had been paid for.
However, on getting there the hotel demanded a certain amount for Tourism tax. I was not aware of this but had to pay up.
When I contacted Agoda, they said that the hotel page had info relating to this and I should have seen it. Well I did not see it because it was buried deep down under a tab called 'hotel policy'.
Now, why would would they put reference to a govt tax under hotel policy? Also why was Hotel tax mentioned at checkout and collected but no mention was made of Tourism tax? They collected Hotel tax at checkout, why not Tourism tax?
I belief is that they hide these small taxes to make their prices look attractive. But misleading customers is not a good business strategy.
Do I have a legal case to pursue the extra charges that I paid? Is it worth pursuing?

I'm pretty sure you didn't read this in their T&Cs either, despite agreeing that you had done so during the booking process:

Hotel resort and other mandatory fees (see below) and certain local city, tourist or occupancy taxes (when applicable) that are required to be collected directly from guests, are typically not included in the rate unless stated otherwise. Please verify the Accommodation description or policies on the Site.

Agoda Company Pte. Ltd is a company incorporated in Singapore.
For this reason I believe you may struggle with your complaint.

You ask "is it worth pursuing?"
No idea - you haven't told us how much money is involved.

akkers

The amount is not a great deal - only about £14. But it was so annoying and inconvenient having to deal with the hotel. I had assumed that I had paid up full and was free to enjoy my holiday.
What baffles me is that why did they collect the Hotel tax but not the Tourism tax. Either collect all charges inc all taxes; or collect none and inform the customer the likely charges to be collected locally.

wealdroam

akkers wrote: »

The amount is not a great deal - only about £14.

Then I'm sure you don't need me to tell you... it isn't worth pursuing.

Poppie68

It's not down to your booking agent to collect the tax, it's down to the individual establishments who in turn pass it on to their local governments.

vuvuzela

Poppie68 wrote: »

It's not down to your booking agent to collect the tax, it's down to the individual establishments who in turn pass it on to their local governments.

Indeed. Same for many other destinations, a couple of popular European ones that spring to mind are Rome and Amsterdam.

isplumm

vuvuzela wrote: »

Indeed. Same for many other destinations, a couple of popular European ones that spring to mind are Rome and Amsterdam.

Cannes / Nice are others!

Latazza

Baden Baden in Germany is another

akkers

It is indeed the responsibility of the hotel to collect all taxes and pass to govt. But when you book the hotel through Agoda, then they have to collect the taxes along with the cost of the hotel or make the customer aware.
In this case, Agoda collected the cost of the hotel and hotel tax at checkout but made no mention of Tourism tax. In fact why does Agoda collect one tax but not the other?
For the simple reason that by not collecting Tourism and not mentioning it at checkout, their prices look that bit cheaper and attractive to the customers.

Poppie68

akkers wrote: »

It is indeed the responsibility of the hotel to collect all taxes and pass to govt. But when you book the hotel through Agoda, then they have to collect the taxes along with the cost of the hotel or make the customer aware.
In this case, Agoda collected the cost of the hotel and hotel tax at checkout but made no mention of Tourism tax. In fact why does Agoda collect one tax but not the other?
For the simple reason that by not collecting Tourism and not mentioning it at checkout, their prices look that bit cheaper and attractive to the customers.

Tourism tax has to be collected in the country your visiting as it's completely separate from your holiday cost and other taxes, the hotel then pass it onto their local governments..... Nothing to do with booking agents. Tourism tax information is easy to find on the relevant countries Tourist board sites.

akkers

Even if Agoda do not collect the tourism tax, they should at least inform the customer so that the customer can budget for this. Keeping it hidden does not help anyone except the hotel.