Agoda
Singaporean online travel agency
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Agoda.com, headquartered in Singapore, is an online travel agency that facilitates reservations for lodging, flights, ground transportation, and activities. It is a subsidiary of Booking Holdings.[1][2][3]
| |
| Type of business | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
Type of site | Travel and accommodation |
| Founded | 2005 |
| Headquarters | Singapore and Thailand |
| Area served | Global |
| Founder(s) | Robert Rosenstein (co-founder) Michael Kenny (co-founder) |
| Key people | Omri Morgenshtern (CEO) John Wroughton Brown (chairman) Idan Zalzberg (CTO) Damien Pfirsch (CCO) Thi-Mai-Linh Bui (CFO) |
| Products | Travel agency Metasearch engine |
| Parent | Booking Holdings |
| URL | www |
History
Agoda was co-founded in 2005 by American school friends Michael Kenny and Robert Rosenstein. Kenny had previously launched Phuket-based PlanetHoliday.com and PrecisionReservations.com, which were incorporated into Agoda.[4]
In 2007, Agoda was acquired by Booking Holdings, formerly The Priceline Group.[5]
Agoda launched iOS and Android mobile apps in July 2011.[6]
After Booking Holdings acquired Israel-based startup Qlika in 2014, the Qlika team joined Agoda to automate and scale its marketing systems.[7]
In November 2014, the company opened a research center in Tel Aviv.[8]
In May 2016, Booking Holdings acquired Taipei-based startup WooMoo, the creator of POP, a mobile app that focused on prototyping. Its team relocated to Bangkok.[9][7]
In May 2018, CEO and co-founder Rob Rosenstein became the chairman of Agoda and a strategic advisor to Booking Holdings. John Wroughton Brown, the COO, was promoted as the new CEO of Agoda, with Chief Product Officer Omri Morgenshtern, who joined the company as part of the Qlika acquisition, named as the new COO.[10]
In November 2018, Agoda launched airport transfers via a partnership with Mozio.[11]
In September 2019, Agoda launched a brand refresh including a new logo, custom font, and cartoon mascots called Agojis based on the circles in the logo.[12]
In October 2019, flight bookings were introduced.[13]
In November 2019, Agoda launched B2B products including a white-label platform.[14]
In May 2020, Agoda announced the layoffs of 1,500 people due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[15]
In June 2022, John Brown left the position of CEO, with then-Chief Product Officer Omri Morgenshtern becoming the new CEO.[16]
Legal and regulatory issues
Illegal and unregistered hotels
In April 2017, the Tourism Minister of Thailand called for travel agencies including Agoda to delete illegal and unregistered hotels from the platforms.[17][18] Agoda was the primary company criticized, and its success is part of what led the Ministry of Tourism & Sports to create a competitive hotel booking website.[19]
In June 2018, Agoda cooperated with the Taipei City Government's request to remove illegal and unregistered Taipei hotels from its listings.[20]
Unfair competition allegations in Turkey
In September 2018, Agoda was one of 20 online travel agencies that faced legal action from the Turkish Travel Agencies Association due to alleged unfair competition.[21] It faced a potential ban as part of this lawsuit.[22] In January 2026, regulators in Turkey filed a lawsuit seeking to ban Agoda as well as many other travel agencies.[23]
Misleading discount claims in UK
In October 2017, Agoda was one of six major online travel agencies that was subject to a probe by the Competition and Markets Authority in the United Kingdom. The probe was related to "concerns about hidden charges, pressure selling tactics, misleading discount claims and the order in which results appear on the site pages." The companies agreed to stop engaging in such misleading tactics.[24][25][26]
Delayed refund to customer after booking a non-existent hotel
In December 2017, Agoda initially refused to give a refund to a customer that booked a non-existent hotel. The refund was paid after a fraud complaint was filed with the Thai government.[27]
Issues from lodging suppliers
In 2019, Agoda was criticized for difficulties with hotel suppliers removing their listings from the platform.[28]
In Japan, in 2024, reservation system troubles led to calls for improvement from regulatory authorities.[29][30][31]
In November 2024, Route Inn Hotels, a major hotel chain in Japan, warned that room reservations sold through overseas booking sites such as Agoda had issues such as being unable to confirm reservations, discrepancies in reservation details, and rooms being sold at significantly higher prices than those set by the hotel.[32]
In June 2025, Toyoko Inn, another major hotel chain in Japan, also issued a warning on its website, stating that some of the hotel room allocations provided to partner sites had been resold on overseas booking platforms such as Agoda, leading to problems.[33]
Also in June 2025, Fuji Dream Airlines, Japanese regional airline, issued a warning, reporting troubles with airline tickets purchased through Agoda, which is not a contracted travel agency.
Several issues have been reported regarding Agoda, including changing a room plan from "one night with dinner" to "one night with two meals" without the accommodation provider's consent, accepting reservations for smoking rooms at entirely non-smoking properties, and inflating accommodation fees.[34]
Other issues reported in Japanese news media include reservation information not being communicated to the accommodation provider or being transmitted incorrectly, resulting in the proper rooms not being secured; rooms being sold at significantly higher prices than the hotel's listed rates; bookings being sold as non-refundable; and reservations being canceled by Agoda just days before the scheduled stay.[35] In response to these problems, Japan Tourism Agency (JTA) determined these actions to be breaches of obligation and issued a business improvement request to Agoda in March 2025.[36]
In June 2025, Yoshiharu Hoshino, CEO of Hoshino Resorts, posted on Twitter (X), quoting a Kyodo News report on the JTA's improvement request to Agoda.[36] He commented, "Hoshino Resorts has no contract with the online travel agent AGODA, but there have been frequent cases where guests who booked through AGODA arrive and are unable to secure a room. Just recently, a guest who had booked through AGODA showed up at a hotel that was closed for maintenance. There is clearly a problem with AGODA's system".[37][38][39]
According to an independent survey conducted by Nikkei, about 20% of Agoda users have experienced some sort of trouble, such as "the hotel they thought they had booked was not actually reserved", "their reservation was canceled without consent", or "the airline ticket did not match the conditions at the time of purchase". Furthermore, about half of those who consulted Agoda about such issues were simply told to handle the matter themselves.[40]
In July 2025, Agoda CEO Omri Morgenshtern announced that Agoda ceased handling inventory from specific third-party suppliers identified as the cause of the troubles. He also outlined measures such as the introduction of AI-based pre-monitoring systems and the strengthening of management systems for third-party suppliers.[41]
In July 2025, Agoda suspended transactions with fraudulent businesses involved in disputes with travelers and launched additional measures to prevent fraud.[42]
Issues continued in August 2025.[43]
NDA clauses in severance packages
In September 2025, Agoda laid off approximately 50 Singapore employees and included severance clauses prohibiting contact with government agencies or trade unions, threatening to revoke benefits if breached. Following strong condemnation from the Ministry of Manpower and National Trades Union Congress, Agoda apologized, acknowledging the clauses were "inappropriate".[44]
In August 2025, Agoda laid off its customer support roles in Singapore, Hungary and China offices. About 50 Singaporean staff were affected. Retrenched staff in Singapore were told they are not to make reports to any government agencies, statutory boards or trade unions about the retrenchment. Those who do so will have their severance entitlements revoked. If any severance payments were made by Agoda to the employee, they would have to repay the company "in full" and "on demand".[45][46]
This drew a strong rebuke from the National Trade Union Congress (NTUC) and the Singapore Industrial and Services Employees' Union (SISEU). In a joint statement, both NTUC and SISEU condemned Agoda for the way it conducted the retrenchment of the 50 Singaporean employees. NTUC called on Agoda to clarify its position and urge the Ministry of Manpower to investigate this allegation against Agoda as it deeply affects workers' rights to protection at the workplace.[47]
Under Singapore's Employment Act 1968, employers with at least 10 employees must submit a Mandatory Retrenchment Notification to the Ministry of Manpower within five working days after the employee has been notified of his retrenchment. In addition to not having comply with their legal obligations, Agoda went on to threaten its employees of repercussions should the authorities be informed.[48]
Agoda's spokesperson said that employees affected by the company's retrenchment exercise were given "every support" in line with industry standards, and they were also free to seek alternative legal options or engage with local authorities if they so wished.[49][50][51]
