Reasons why booking a room in Vietnam via the app may be cancelled

On social networks, many tourists shared negative experiences in Phu Quoc, former Ha Giang (now Tuyen Quang) when booking services, arriving at the destination and being told it was canceled and rooms were sold out. Many local accommodation owners, especially in Ha Giang, call for restrictions on booking rooms via apps to avoid risks. However, according to industry experts, these incidents reflect more problems with the operational chain at the destination than the nature of the OTA (Online Travel Agency) model.

OTA includes intermediary platforms such as Booking, Agoda or Airbnb that allow tourists to book hotel rooms, air tickets and other travel services online. Instead of working directly with each hotel, users can search, compare prices, see reviews and complete bookings on an app or website.

For Vietnamese tourists who regularly travel abroad, OTA is considered the most effective channel.

In about 90% of overseas trips, travel blogger Phan The Anh will choose OTA channels because of the convenience that the entire schedule can be managed centrally on one application, while easily comparing prices between many different options.

Mr. Hoang Xuan Don, Director of Dong Van Karst Plateau Geopark Management Board, most visitors to this area still book rooms through acquaintances, tour units or direct transactions. The main reason is that the accommodation facilities are not yet professionally operated and both guests and hosts are not familiar with working with third parties.

According to him, OTA is a global trend that helps reduce travel time and costs, especially suitable for self-sufficient travelers who do not buy package tours. Booking via OTA or other channels can pose risks if service quality and compliance are not guaranteed.

“It is impossible to ignore OTA because of some problems. The key is still the professionalism and honesty of the service provider,” Mr. Don said.

Looking from the perspective of travel businesses, Mr. Bui Thanh Tu, Marketing Director of Best Price, said that incidents of “out of rooms” and “not receiving bookings” often do not come directly from the OTA but from the operational chain at the destination.

In developed markets, hotels often use a synchronous inventory management system, updated in real time and strictly adhere to contract discipline – once a room is opened, it must be sold, not arbitrarily canceled.

Meanwhile, in Vietnam, many small hotels, boutiques or homestays are still managed manually, updating their inventory slowly, and even purposefully overbooking to keep rooms at higher prices at the last minute. There are cases where accommodation facilities have stopped cooperating with OTAs but do not lock rooms or sell rooms through many B2B intermediaries, causing data distortion.

Regarding the error of canceling a room or the hotel reporting not receiving a booking, a representative of La Siesta Classic Ma May hotel in Hanoi said this problem often occurs in small types of accommodation such as apartments – which do not have a professional e-commerce department and often entrust the sale of rooms to a third party.

Not tightly controlling inventory, not checking confirmation emails or depending on a multi-layered supply chain increases risks. The hotel representative commented that if there is an OTA system error, it is usually a rare or global error, most problems arise from people and operations.

Meanwhile, Wyndham Grand Phu Quoc recorded rooms sold via OTA accounting for about 40% of the facility’s total of more than 1,000 rooms. With OTA channels connecting directly between the hotel and the platform, booking and troubleshooting are relatively safe and transparent.

However, a resort representative said some current booking platforms operate as “open markets”, allowing many different agents to sell rooms on one application. At that time, the room reservation does not go directly from the application to the hotel, it must go through one or more intermediary stages. If inventory information is not updated promptly, duplicate or out of rooms can easily occur.

According to blogger The Anh, although convenient, tourists should not depend entirely on OTA. In some specific markets such as Japan or Taiwan, he often prefers to book directly through the hotel’s website because in reality, many establishments here offer the best prices or exclusive room packages for guests to book directly, sometimes with incentives such as free breakfast or late check-out, which international platforms do not have.

He always logs in to his member account to enjoy private prices and accumulate points, comparing the same hotel on two to three OTAs because each platform has different promotional policies, giving priority to rooms with free cancellation policies to monitor and rebook if the price drops.

Regarding the level of safety, he said that for large hotels, international chains or places with a stable number of reviews, the system is often well synchronized, with little risk. On the contrary, with small hotels, homestays or destinations in developing countries, he often proactively sends confirmation messages via the OTA platform or email directly to the hotel with the booking code.

Another sign he noted was the frequency of recent reviews. If a property has not had a new review for months or even a year, he will be especially cautious because it may indicate that the operation is no longer stable or has stopped connecting to the platform.

Experts also commented that no booking channel is absolutely safe. Booking directly through the hotel has the advantage of being flexible and easy to exchange individual requests, but there are potential risks from fake fanpages, fake websites, and direct transfer is difficult to complain about if you encounter fraud.

Booking through a reputable Travel Agency will have someone in the middle to handle the problem, but visitors need to choose the right legal unit clearly. OTAs offer convenience, price transparency and comparability, but when there are problems, the resolution process is often standard and time-consuming.

Despite its limitations, OTA is still considered an irreversible trend. In Vietnam, this form has developed strongly since 2015-2016 and exploded after Covid-19 thanks to consumer digitalization and the increase of young and self-sufficient international visitors, according to a Best Price representative.

OTA helps small hotels expand their market without large initial marketing costs, while “transparent” room prices for customers. On the contrary, over-reliance on OTAs also causes many accommodation establishments to lose control over prices and profit margins to be eroded by commissions.

According to Mr. Tu, TA and OTA do not need to exclude each other or call for a boycott because each side has its own role. OTA is suitable for groups of individual customers, young customers, who need to book rooms quickly; While travel agents focus on families, high-end guests, groups or those who need a higher level of assurance.