Welcome to the November 2024 edition of Life at Agoda Highlights! In this blog series, we take you inside Agoda to discover our culture and see what’s happening in our offices each month.
From celebrating marriage equality to hosting Agoda Dev Day in three countries, here’s what November had in store for us.
Enjoying Loy Krathong festivities
Loy Krathong is a traditional Thai festival celebrated annually on the evening of the full moon in the 12th lunar month, usually in November. The name “Loy Krathong” translates to “float a basket,” and the festival centers around the act of floating small, decorated baskets, called krathongs, on rivers, ponds, or other bodies of water.
As Thailand is the home of Agoda’s largest office, we couldn’t miss marking this special occasion! Agodans had fun decorating their own krathongs with fresh flowers and floating them in a small pool in the office while enjoying Thai somtam (papaya salad) and learning more about the festival.
Celebrating marriage equality with Agoda Pride
Marriage equality has been officially recognized in Thailand, making it the first country in Southeast Asia to grant equal rights to same-sex couples. In honor of this exciting milestone, the Agoda Pride Employee Resource Group (ERG) held an educational talk featuring K. Kwankaow (Anthropologist and Clinical Sexologist, Thammasat University) and K. Mook (Human Rights Specialist & Advisor to the Thai Parliamentary Committee on Marriage Equality Bill, Fortify Rights), moderated by Tim Hughes (Agoda’s VP of Business Development).
The talk was followed by an interactive Agoda Prize Quiz Night, where Agodans brought their A-game and rainbow spirit to compete for great prizes.
Hosting Agoda Dev Day in three countries
In 2023, we hosted the inaugural Agoda Dev Day, a full-day internal event dedicated to all things Tech at Agoda. This year, we took it to the next level. Agoda Dev Day went global, with editions held across Thailand, Singapore, and India. The action-packed schedules spanned lively debates, keynotes from Agoda leaders, career growth sessions, games, award ceremonies, and fascinating knowledge-sharing sessions from members of the Tech team. As the year draws to a close, Dev Day provided the perfect platform to unite Agodans across teams and geographies, reflect on our achievements, and set our sights on the future.
Launching our Tech Newsletter
November saw the launch of Agoda’s brand-new Tech Newsletter, where we share exclusive insights from Agoda’s Tech team on our latest projects, challenges, and innovations that shape the travel experience.
Winning awards for our Sustainability initiatives
Following our win at The American Chamber of Commerce in Thailand’s Corporate Social Impact Awards for our Tech Camp Day initiative, Agoda was named one of the Top Green Companies at the Asia Corporate Excellence and Sustainability Awards. This recognition highlights our sustainability efforts, including partnerships with WWF, USAID, Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC), and our commitment to the Booking Holdings Climate Action Plan.
