The Agoda Price Freeze Guarantee: More Like a Price ‘Fleece’ Guarantee
aka An 8-Step Guide to Stealing $38.29 from Jackie M.
If you’ve ever tried to book accommodation online, you’ll almost certainly have heard of Agoda. Their prices are often among the cheapest anywhere.
I’ve booked with them a few times with no problems. Heck, I even have a Gold VIP status on my Agoda account to show for it.
Last week, I tried to arrange accommodation for my next Kuala Lumpur trip (spoiler alert — it’s to do with The Durian Cookbook!!).
The price displayed for the property varied by a few bucks across all the usual travel booking platforms.
Agoda’s was the cheapest, at AUD$79.25.
Now, I’d usually just go ahead and book it, but I was drawn to this text above the listing (I’m paraphrasing) — “Price Freeze Guarantee — Lock in this Price Now!”
Well now, shiny new object alert — tell me more!
(Agoda’s relatively recent press release about this feature — https://www.agoda.com/press/agoda-announces-a-new-price-freeze-function-allowing-customers-to-hold-prices-before-buying?cid=1844104 )
In a nutshell, instead of fully committing to your booking now, you can
- Pay a small deposit
- Take 3 days to decide if you want to go ahead
- (Once you make up your mind) just pay the balance of the “locked-in price” minus your deposit
In theory, it means you’re protected in case the price goes up over the next few days. Simple.
So, rather than booking right away, I figure I’d test out this new feature (I’m my own worst enemy, I know).
Remember, Gold VIP customer here, and no past drama with Agoda!
Right away, I get a confirmation with a booking number showing this -
All legit so far, right? It clearly shows the locked-in room rate of -
i) AUD 79.25 (room plus taxes), that
ii) I’ve paid the deposit…
