Want to Book on the Web? Try These Sites

The trend is clear: The number of travelers turning to the Internet for reservations is increasing rapidly. A national survey released last month by marketing consultants Yankelovich Partners and Yesawich, Pepperdine & Brown showed that 32% of leisure travelers used the Internet to make at least one reservation in the past 12 months. In the previous year’s survey, the figure was 25%.

We have compiled two lists of Internet sites that act as travel agents, booking plane, hotel and car-rental reservations. The first list shows the 10 most popular reservation sites based on the number of people who visit them. These rankings are the latest monthly figures compiled by the research group Nielsen/ NetRatings.

The second list contains a dozen lesser-known sites suggested by editors in the Travel section.

In both cases, the sites may not necessarily offer prices that are lower than what’s available by contacting airlines, hotels and other travel providers directly. Rules and restrictions vary site to site. Consumers should consider an array of factors--cost savings, convenience, refund policies, customer service (or lack thereof)--before buying online.

Individual travel providers, such as www.southwest.com (Southwest Airlines) and www.marriott.com (Marriott hotels), have been excluded, as have Web sites such as www.mapquest.com and www.smarterliving.com that may offer useful information but do not actually book reservations.

10 MOST VISITED SITES

1. www.expedia.com

2. www.travelocity.com

3. www.orbitz.com

4. www.cheaptickets.com

5. www.priceline.com

6. www.hotwire.com

7. www.itn.net

8. www.travelnow.com

9. www.hoteldiscounts.com

10. www.trip.com

AN EDITORS’ DOZEN

In no particular order:

1. www.quikbook.com: Lists discount hotel rooms for dozens of U.S. cities. Emphasizes upscale hotels and properties popular with business travelers.

2. www.sidestep.com: Scours other Web sites for low prices on car rentals, hotel rooms and plane tickets, including Southwest Airlines. Can search simultaneously when users submit queries on competing sites such as Expedia and Travelocity. Links users directly to travel providers offering low prices. Free download of Sidestep software required.

3. www.site59.com: Specializes in last-minute packages combining air, hotel or car reservations. Includes domestic and international destinations. Books trips 14 days or less before departure.

4. www.go-today.com: Primarily provides discount packages to Europe. Recently began offering air-hotel packages for Las Vegas.

5. www.utell.com: A subsidiary of Pegasus Solutions, one of the major hotel reservations systems used by travel agents. Books hotels worldwide.

6. www.hotellocators.com: Reserves hotel rooms worldwide but emphasizes U.S. and Canada.

7. www.placestostay.com: One of the consumer sites of the WorldRes reservations network. Lists hotels and bed-and-breakfasts worldwide.

8. www.lodging.com: Another all-purpose hotel reservations site with U.S. and international listings.

9. www.rezrez.com: Specializes in a limited number of resort destinations such as Cancun, Mexico, and Vail, Colo.

10. www.savecash.com: Features discounted hotel reservations for the greater San Diego, Phoenix and Palm Springs areas.

11. www.hotelres.com: Offers specially negotiated rates for hotels in Northern California. Search function allows users to specify regions of the Bay Area or even individual neighborhoods in San Francisco.

12. www.generousadventures.com: Auctions lodgings, tours, trip packages and other travel-related services. Profits go to nonprofit environmental organizations.