Ella Alkalay Schreiber - Tue Dec 13 2022
Agoda has today announced it is introducing a new ‘Price Freeze’ feature on its desktop and mobile web platforms by the year’s end, following a collaboration agreement with Hopper Cloud. This feature is part of Agoda’s ongoing efforts to provide travelers with more choice, flexibility, and better pricing options, and will allow Agoda users to ‘freeze’ a price on accommodation before confirming the booking.
New to Agoda, the feature allows travelers to search the 2.9 million hotel properties on the travel platform and ‘freeze’ prices, for a marginal deposit. The price is ‘locked in’ for a price freeze period of at least one day and up to 14 days, before the consumer has the choice to continue with the booking. During this price freeze period, accommodation costs may fluctuate but Agoda guarantees consumers won’t pay any more than the price they initially locked in and will enjoy additional savings should the price drop. If travelers choose not to book within the specified price freeze period, their initial deposit is forfeited.
“Asia has re-opened, and the world is back traveling, yet people still want to know that they are getting the best possible deals, and that’s what Agoda always strives to ensure. There are times when consumers aren’t ready to fully commit to their purchase and need time to decide, but we don’t think that should mean they miss out on the best deals. By introducing price freeze technology to the Agoda platform we are able to offer travelers even greater flexibility, choice and best prices. Great news for them, and great business for our accommodation partners through increased productivity and conversion”, said Omri Morgenshtern, CEO of Agoda.
“Technology in the travel space is exciting and challenging. Every day we are collaborating and exploring new ways that technology can make travel more accessible to the benefit of our accommodation, flights and activities partners, as well as consumers. Partnerships, like this with Hopper Cloud, allows us to learn and share ideas and collectively add value to the travel sector as a whole.”
“Hopper first launched Hopper Cloud, its B2B initiative, in early 2021. The goal is to allow any travel provider to integrate and seamlessly distribute Hopper’s fintech or travel inventory,” said Ella Alkalay Schreiber, GM of Fintech at Hopper. “We are thrilled to partner with Agoda, enabling more consumers around the world to gain the flexibility and cost-saving benefits of our travel fintech products.”
Agoda users can tap the “Freeze Price” button on an accommodation listing and follow the booking flow to pay the deposit and hold the price for the specified price freeze period. In addition, the ‘Freeze a specific room’ allows users to lock in a specific room category, with choice of bedding options (King, Queen, Double, etc.). To utilize this function, tap on “Freeze Price” under each specific room category.
Price Freeze will be available on Agoda worldwide by the end of March 2023.
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About Agoda
Agoda helps anyone travel anywhere with its great value deals on a global network of 2.9M hotels and holiday properties worldwide, plus flights, airport transfers and more. Agoda.com and the Agoda mobile app are available in 39 languages and supported by 24/7 customer support. Headquartered in Singapore, Agoda is part of Booking Holdings (Nasdaq: BKNG) and employs more than 5,500 staff in 35 markets, dedicated to leveraging best-in-class technology to make travel even easier.
About Hopper
Hopper is the world’s fastest-growing mobile-first travel marketplace. By leveraging massive amounts of data and machine learning, the company has developed several unique fintech solutions that help customers save money and travel better. Through its B2B initiative, Hopper Cloud, the company is syndicating its fintech solutions, infrastructure, and agency content. Whether it’s pricing volatility or trip disruptions, Hopper’s proprietary suite of fintech solutions address every pain point in the customer journey while driving conversion, repeat purchases, and profitability.