Agoda cancelled our booking and failed to provide alternative accommodation.

Jellyhead45

We booked 2 hotel rooms on the 28/9/23 for a stay in Singapore September 24. We have all out flights booked, tickets to the F1 and have spent a considerable amount of money.

We received an email last week telling us they could no longer accommodate us and we either took compensation of $190.72!! Or allowed them to find us alternative accommodation.

A quick bit of research showed the rooms we had booked still available to book through their website. I made direct contact with the hotel who also confirmed they still had availability.
One option would be to re book however the price has increased significantly since we booked and we already had a booking so don’t see why we should.

With flights booked we opted for them to
find us suitable alternative accommodation (as per the offer in their email and their terms and conditions).
Agoda replied advising that they couldn’t find alternative accommodation until we paid the booking deposit. The booking we made was not an advance pay booking so we couldn’t understand why they were asking for money nor what it was for.
 Despite numerous emails they have avoided answering any of our questions and refuse to find us accommodation as per the terms and conditions of our booking unless we pay money.

With flights booked and all travel plans in place this has totally messed us up. The number of hotels available now is significantly less than 7.5 months ago and prices have also increased.
The constant generic emails and failure to address the issue was causing my son considerable anxiety and stress. I contacted via Social Media and my son sent permission for me to act on his behalf as per their privacy policy. This was sent and I asked that they ceased sending him emails and dealt with myself
They sent 3 further emails to him all identical. Despite informing them that he had sent the consent they have made no attempt to recto the matter with myself as they said they would.
Any advise/ recommendations with regards to who we can contact or report this matter to would be appreciated.

powerful_Rogue

Looks like Agoda operate under the laws of Singapore - So not sure what their consumer regulations are like.

Have you checked the T&C's in regards to bookings being cancelled?

Jellyhead45

Yes….the terms and conditions for booking cancellations says that they will find you suitable alternative accommodation. The reason they are using for cancelling however is untrue. They claim the hotel cannot accommodate us yet there is definitely still availability.

Aylesbury_Duck

What's the significance of "$190.72!!"?  Is that the amount he paid for the hotel, or are they refunding the cost of the hotel booking and offering that sum as compensation?

Assuming they're offering to fully refund the booking, I don't see there is a right to anything else, unless there is something in Singapore consumer laws that says otherwise.  A card provider or your son's insurance isn't going to be interested if he's not out of pocket.  This sounds like one of those occasions where booking all the components separately (Grand Prix tickets, flights and hotel) is a risk because any one element letting you down undermines the whole thing.

sheramber

They can longer supply the room for the cheap price you got last year or they no longer deal with that hotel. 

eskbanker

Jellyhead45 said:

Yes….the terms and conditions for booking cancellations says that they will find you suitable alternative accommodation. The reason they are using for cancelling however is untrue. They claim the hotel cannot accommodate us yet there is definitely still availability.

Which clause are you relying on?  7.6 doesn't sound promising:

7.6 Except where prohibited by local law, Agoda has the right to reject any Booking Request, and cancel any Confirmed Booking, including on behalf of the Travel Supplier, or any part thereof, without reason. If you have already made payment, we shall refund you the amounts paid in respect of such rejected or cancelled parts in accordance with our Refund Policy, unless:

 7.6.1 you are in breach of these Terms or any applicable law;

 7.6.2 the Travel Supplier Terms do not allow for refunds; or

 7.6.3 Agoda deems in its sole discretion that you are not entitled to a refund due to reasons including but not limited to suspected fraud or abuse.

https://www.agoda.com/en-gb/info/termsofuse.html

PHK

The consumer laws are not unreasonable but different in Singapore. The complaint process (as a foreign national) is to contact the Singapore Tourist Board who will mediate. However, it seems this would only apply if you’d paid a deposit or paid in advance and you’d be limited to a refund. If I’m reading it right you’d need to sue them for anything else. 

But that’s just going by my reading of it, so I would speak to the STB first. 

Jellyhead45

I have no idea what the significance is of $190.72 is and have asked Agoda the same question. I booked the hotel 7.5 months ago before the flights and tickets. With any normal company you can make a reservation and have no issues. What are you supposed to do? Not book anything at all in case some company suddenly decides to cancel your hotel!!! It certainly should not be an occasion where booking all components is a risk. We travelled to Singapore last year booking the components in the same way and had a stress free holiday with no travel company suddenly deciding to cancel our hotel. I certainly don’t think I took any risk; the fault is with Agoda for constantly letting customers down. One thing I will make sure of is that I don’t book with them again.

Jellyhead45

Also their Terms and conditions clearly state that in the event they have to cancel your hotel they will provide alternative accommodation- which they are not doing. It is not about being out of pocket, it is about the companies failure to asheet to their terms and conditions and cancelling the hotel for no reason when it is still available.

comeandgo

Are you certain you are dealing with Agoda?  I believe booking.com got hacked and some customers were approached and asked for extra money, could this be similar?

PHK

I can understand why you are annoyed and angry but your priority should be sorting out your situation. 

As I see it you have two choices. You can complain to Agoda in the hope they’ll re-instate your booking or find you somewhere else. Once you’ve completed their complaints process then speak to the STB about holding them to the booking.  

Or you can take the money and put that towards a booking elsewhere.