Before joining Agoda, I studied and began my career in real estate and finance. My roles took me across France, the Czech Republic, and the USA before landing in Thailand in 2021 to join Agoda.
Agoda was my first choice for many reasons—it’s welcoming to foreigners with English as the working language, offers exciting career opportunities, and has a strong reputation for hiring top talent, which gave me confidence in my decision.
Since I joined, I’ve discovered the dynamic world of tech companies, and I’ve never once regretted this career shift!
A Day in the Life as an Associate Director in the Customer Support Team
I’m part of the Customer Experience Group, which is our customer support and services team. It’s one of the biggest teams at Agoda, with more than 3,000 employees across the world providing 24/7 support to our customers and partners.
In my three years at Agoda, I’ve worked on three different scopes with three different teams. The company’s constant evolution and growth keep things exciting, so I’m always learning, and I’ve never felt bored at work.
Currently, I’m focusing on building a better customer support experience for Agoda customers booking flights and activities. I collaborate with various teams from product to operations, and others across the organization. My team acts as internal consultants, making customer service more efficient and seamless for our customers, focusing mostly on everything that happens after a booking is made.
The projects I work on are incredibly diverse. For example, I contribute to improving our App self-service capabilities, automating customer inquiries using generative AI, enhancing agent tools like messaging and case management systems, and implementing operational and procedural changes. Every day brings new challenges and opportunities to make a meaningful impact.
Why Agoda is an Exciting Workplace
Agoda is a company that thrives on speed and adaptability. When a new technology emerges that’s worth exploring, we don’t waste time, we allocate resources and start learning about it within weeks. This fast-paced approach keeps the work dynamic and ensures we stay ahead as technology continues to evolve.
Growing at Agoda: No Single Path to Success
Agoda is a growing company in the resilient travel industry, offering many opportunities for development. Internal moves are highly valued here, with many members of the Senior Leadership Team having transitioned between departments. This is a way for employees to always have new things to learn and explore.
Over the past three years, I’ve worked on various projects and developed complementary skills, but the most valuable lesson has been learning how to guide and manage a team, something entirely new for me. Agoda provides workshops, training, and guidance to help managers grow and improve. The culture is centered around experimentation, which means we’re encouraged to try, make mistakes, and learn from them. There’s no single path to success at Agoda; you just need to find what works best for you, and the company will support you every step of the way.
Relocating to Bangkok: Support That Makes Settling in Effortless
I relocated from France and chose to join my Thai partner in Thailand.
The relocation went smoothly. Agoda’s team took care of everything from managing the visa process to arranging short-term accommodation to give me time to decide on where I wanted to live, welcome gifts and so on… I felt supported and in good hands during the entire process.
Bangkok is a vibrant and welcoming city. It’s well connected to the rest of the world, and you can live comfortably thanks to its modern infrastructure. Bangkok is my favorite city in Asia, so after traveling around for over 3 years, I feel very fortunate to live here.
Living in Bangkok: A Healthy and Adventurous Lifestyle
Since I moved to Bangkok, I try to travel at least once a month in Thailand or internationally. It’s super easy to fly to other Asian countries or just go on a trip on the beautiful Thai islands. It’s a very diverse country which is worth exploring- each region has specific culture and food, and you can find forests, mountains, islands and big cities!
I generally feel healthier since I moved here as I find it’s much easier to work out here than in Europe. There are gyms in literally every condo and all around the city and you can practice Muay Thai with great trainers for a cheap price. Thailand is also famous for selfcare and delicious food which helps keep a healthy balance.
Lastly, there is always something new to do or a nice restaurant to try. Many people come visit Thailand as it’s a great place for tourism that draws people from everywhere. So even if you don’t invite friends, many of them may decide to come around by themselves!
Bangkok is a sweet location to build a life. So, if you want a bit of adventure but still live in a comfortable and welcoming city, Bangkok is definitely a great choice!
Building Community in Bangkok:
I’ve quickly made friends with other Agodans, with whom we organize activities outside of work, like going out for a drink, playing golf or even traveling together. Agoda is such a big company with people from all around the world, you can easily find like-minded people, especially by joining Agoda’s social events, employee resources groups, or sports club like football and badminton.
Besides Agoda, I am the President of Chapter ESSEC Thailand (ESSEC Business School Thailand association) in Bangkok. We organize events to gather ESSEC Alumni living in Thailand. The association is very diverse with many nationalities and job profiles represented. It’s very representative of the diversity of people moving to Bangkok and it’s a nice way for me to discover other aspects of living in Thailand.
Cost of Living in Bangkok: Affordable Options for Every Lifestyle
The cost of living in Bangkok offers incredible variety. You can enjoy meals ranging from $1 street food to $100+ fine dining experiences, making Thailand unique in the range of options it provides. Overall, living in Bangkok is more affordable than living in Paris. You can rent a nicer, bigger apartment and enjoy a more comfortable lifestyle compared to most European capitals.
A 50 SQM in Paris ranges between 1,700 and 2,000 EUR (65,000-76,000 THB) per month, in a standard building, with no specific amenities. In comparison, in Bangkok, most flats are in condominiums, which are buildings with private, secure access, a gym, pool and other amenities. This means for half of the price of what you can find in Paris (30,000 THB-38,000THB), you can find more comfortable housing, and more modern.
In Paris, during lunch break, employees would go to a bakery and get a sandwich menu for roughly 8 EUR (~300 THB). Here, for the same price, you can eat in a seated restaurant in a shopping mall and have a menu and drink.
Final Thoughts: Why Agoda is The Place to Be
In my view, what truly stands out is that life often demands a trade-off between career growth and personal happiness. We’re often told that we must “sacrifice” the present to secure a better future. However, at Agoda, you can achieve a unique balance—one that allows you to thrive professionally while enjoying the present. Here, you can travel, explore the world, and embrace life’s experiences, all while being challenged, continuously learning, and investing in your long-term career growth.
