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I've been with Agoda as an affiliate for my travel websites and although they were once very generous with their payouts, they have started to skim the affiliate earnings and are unresponsive to any emails.
They also remove cookies systems previously claimed 360 days.
Because I started finding irregularities on my earnings (earning down day-by-day but website traffic stable even increase), then I do the tracking in my way
First I have tried to make a hotel booking through my affiliate ID, and I do not find it on my affiliate account. Second time, I have tried to make another booking, and I track through view page source of browser and they remove (skimming) my affiliate ID on checkout page (payment page).
IF any Agoda Partners Staff here, prove me the reason please, coz I have a bunch mailed to Agoda Partner and there are unresponsive to any emails.
@HaloYu: well, something start happen at the ending of August at Agoda backoffice. Promise me that Agoda has been start skimming their affiliate especially aged affiliates.
We never hear or found any complain off Agoda affiliate (Googled it) getting banned. but the cool way for Agoda is skimmed their affiliates :P
well, the way how they keep their affiliate.
Now I remove Agoda and try another resources as well as WEGO
watchout guys. Agoda start skimming and replacing your affiliate CID. you can get the clue over these.
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pcCQ6zpngTc/VezySd_5PRI/AAAAAAAAIow/PAoM7ZA_1gc/s1600/Untitled-1.jpg
Well, the question is why my tracker stats can record every activity?
- I used co-branding, so I can put a tracking script like Google Analytic, Statcounter, Voluum etc
I agree totally with this complaint as I have been using Agoda for years and ever since February 2013 my booking ratios have dropped massively from around 80 to 1 to around 400 to 1. That's a HUGE drop. I also checked to see if Agoda has been crediting my account for re occurring bookings and booked a room myself. It was never credited to my affiliate ID as it had in the past. I use this method to check every couple of months and sure enough it seems they are skimming on this as well.
Here's another test I tried. Opened Agoda via http://www.agoda.com?cid=xxxxxxxxxx my affiliate ID
Went to booking form for hotel.
Closed browser and reopened immediately
Went to http://www.agoda.com (no cid used)
Booked hotel - id number for booking = XXXXXXXX. Booking made at 18.42 Thai time July 17th 2013.
Nothing has been credited to my commission account at all
Even without the cookie issue; I used my regular email to make this booking so i should have been credited as a "returning user". It appears that function is not working either.
Something is just not 100% right as if this one booking was missed I am sure there are others.
I am sending Agoda 4 times more traffic than last year and getting half the bookings as the same time last year, it's gotten so bad. There is definitely some skimming going on ! I would recommend any new marketers to avoid Agoda as they have become greedy and I will start diverting my traffic elsewhere.
It seems for sure that their system is broke. I used to have a high conversion rate on bookings but now have no bookings on the several hundred clicks they say I've generated. There's no way my conversions have dropped to 0%. It's a shame - there's a lot of money to be made. Why do they bother maintaining such a sham?
Agoda which is owned by Priceline have now changed their policies in regards to all affiliates. When I signed up with them years ago the agreement stated their cookies would last 365 days and more importantly, one a booking was received from a client then ever subsequent booking afterwards was also credited to your account. This is no longer the case. Agoda has changed it's policies in the following manner. Cookies now last only 30 days and any subsequent bookings to an initial client is no longer credited as a referral. These two factors alone have decreased my revenues by over 50%.
Seems like the guys in corporate have decided to squeeze the little guy and increase their overall profits by destroying all our hard work from the past. Beware people and make sure your traffic is very targeted if you wish to use Agoda but there are alternatives such as Hotels Combined. Sadly another case of a big company ripping off their affiliates.
On top of all of this, I did 3 sample bookings myself and only 1 came through which means they are also skimming as well. Always best to not keep all your eggs in one basket as I'm losing about $6, 000 to $8, 000 a year because of this. More in the future.
I am also getting scammed by Agoda. It started last year when they ditched their - one year cookie life and I think they ditched their cookies altogether in Feb and only do direct sales now. To make matters worse, they recently made some more changes to the way the earnings are shown and are now skimming the earnings as you can't see the earnings anymore, only the margin.
I was getting well over 100 hotels booked per month and it dropped to like 15 after the change in Feb and after lots of hard work, I have it back up to 50 I am getting way more targeted traffic than I was so they are total scammers. I've also noticed that the bookings come in throughout the month at a steady pace and then after the 15th, they slow right down and there is next to nothing after this, like they have pre set how much they want me to get so they slow it all down.
These big companies think they are really smart by shaving their affiliates but if they remained generous they would make way more money in the long run as the affiliates would be more motivated to send them more traffic. I have lost my motivation with them.
charges more / refunds less
I have been using Agoda for quite a while and has always not bothered about the difference in charges between the confirmation they sent to me against charges on my credit card cos it is due to exchange rates.
However, I felt cheated when I cancelled a booking and Agoda refunded the exact same amount I was supposed to have been charged in the first place.
Aug 18, I booked a room from September 18 - 21 and a confirmation sent stated the total charge is S$555.01. But my credit card was charged $559.49 (+$4.48). And when I cancelled the booking on Aug 20, I was only refunded $555.01 EXACTLY the same amount stated in the confirmation advice.
Additionally, when I checked my Agoda Rewards points, it stated that I had redeemed 12, 500 points and
I have NOT redeemed for any points.
I have booked with other online booking companies and this has NEVER occurred. What amount confirmed at time of booking is simultaneously charged to my credit card. Even when I cancel a booking, the exact amount is refunded.
I am still waiting to receive my commission after 3 months. There was no problem last year. They respond saying that they don't have all my banking information required but I gave it to them when I registered and received commissions with no problems. Now, they reply informing me that the payment has been delayed and I will receive it soon. I'm still waiting.
These guys are committing fraud. Stay away from them.
Agoda banned my account when my sale USD6++ . Haha, nearly get my first commission (USD200) but they cut cost first by cutting my acc.. After sending 3 email then they told me to create new affiliate acc. I got nothing from agoda. 100% lost my trust with them.
First agoda use trick that they dont show you traffic but they think that affiliate is fool. I am using agoda from last 4 month and i also have google analytics enable on my site. google analytics has a events which can be used to track clicks via event labels . I am daily sending 15-20 hotel landing clicks which is highest possible conversion way. but they only show 2-3 or even sometime 0 or 1 visitor.
When i complained to then they said they have some issue and admitted. but they also said bookings not effected. when i asked them how it is possible to credit a booking into affiliate account in first place when visitor source is not known. then they did not replied back.
Agoda affiiliate Program or Agoda Partner program is based on cheating and not worth to Join. I suggest stay away
They have now reduced the cookie life even further from 30 days to just one day.
Our earnings have fallen from $3000 a month to under $500.
The bookings are still there but with the cookie reduction the $2500 difference now just goes in their pockets. Thieves basically.
New cheating tricks from agoda 2020, they put attractive discount code on agoda homepage, after visitor click that offer, for somehow, agoda reprocess the booking, and whohaaa ... your cid affiliate link has change :-)
So you just sending them the traffic, and they cheating the rest ...
Please try with your affiliate link, just to make sure... CMIIW