There's also a constellation of hotel-sorting Web sites to help travelers find their way to the deals. Some of these businesses, such as Expedia, Priceline, and TripAdvisor, have been around for years.

But other, less well-known sites can also steer you toward exceptional hotel deals or experiences. Some specialize in boutique hotels; others offer unusual amenities, such as eBay-like auctions for hotel rooms or surprise vacations.

Here's a sampling of some providers that have found a niche in this crowded market:

Priceline's hotel-price maps. http://travela.priceline.com/travelguides/HotelPriceMap. Priceline, famous for letting its users bid for hotel rooms online, has launched a handy mapping service that has hotels popping up in major cities around the globe, listed by price. Let's say you need a place to stay on Puerto Vallarta's Banderas Bay. Using Priceline's price map, you can quickly narrow down the 58 hotels on Priceline's city map to ones that fit your price and rating. Priceline says its site includes hotel maps in thousands of cities.

Jetsetter. www.jetsetter.com/sales. This luxury-loving, members-only Web tool launched last month with feature stories on a few top-of-the-line hotel experiences. Jetsetter sends staff to almost all the resorts it recommends to write firsthand reports. Then it runs two-day sales.

"We're constantly bringing in new opportunities and new offers," says CEO and founder Drew Patterson. "If you see something today and you like it, great, you can buy it. Tomorrow, there will be a new set of offers."

Mesmerizing photography makes the Web site an exciting destination on its own.

Hotwire. www.hotwire.com. Do you just want to get away - and it doesn't much matter where? Hotwire offers a "today's top deal" that could land you in Portland, Ore., or London. The site is all about saving money and includes a nifty hotel-themed graphic showing how Hotwire's prices measure up to those of Orbitz and Priceline.

Get a room. www.getaroom.com. Get a Room, which describes itself as a partner with Travelocity, also places a premium on price, promising to "unlock the lowest rates on the Web." And it gives users the option of booking the hotel through a toll-free number, 1-800-468-3578. A helpful person answers promptly.

Sherman meter. Click on "Hotel Reviews" at www.shermanstravel.com. The Sherman Meter tabulates hotel reviews from around the globe and produces a score that helps you find the best balcony view in Copenhagen or spa in Barbados. Traveling around Sherman Meter's busy Web site is a journey in itself. The site uses its own reviewers to supplement the writing it gleans from other publications.

Luxury link. www.luxurylink.com. The 13-year-old Luxury Link focuses on premium travel experiences. The site auctions off its travel packages and helps the winning bidder with travel bookings. It also offers no-auction purchase plans. Perhaps its most unusual feature: mystery vacations. The destination isn't revealed until the package is sold - generally at about 50 percent of its retail value, says site cofounder Diane McDavitt. Mystery-vacation bidders do see hints about the destination through the course of the auction, McDavitt says.

"It's meant to be entertaining and fun, and at the end of the day the lucky winner ends up with a terrific package," she says. And while Luxury Link does cater to upscale travelers looking for one-of-a-kind experiences, "everyone loves a deal, no matter how affluent," McDavitt says.

Oyster. www.oyster.com. Oyster sends reviewers to check out hotels in a limited number of locations - just a half dozen now, though the new site promises it is building that list. The reviews make good reading, and the photo tours are spectacular. But with so much territory left unexplored, the Web site's offerings are limited.

Cheapo stay. www.cheapostay.com. Enter the city where you plan to go, or ask Cheapo for a list of popular cities with its best hotel deals. We found a room at the three-star Hotel Praga in Madrid this month for a nonrefundable $66 a night. The site has some quirks; the number of stars on the hotel we were booking changed from four to three as we went through the process.

Online Traveler: Cool Web sites

www.visitlondon.com/offers/where-to-stay

What: Last-minute hotel deals in London, as low as $89 a night, on the city's official tourism site.

Why: Although hotel rates have fallen 12 percent this year in London, it remains expensive for Americans. Any deal can help.

How: Book last-minute. Some deals expire in a week, some in three months.

www.travelzoo.com

What: Gives weekly deals on airfares, hotels, vacation packages. Features a destination of the week.

Why: Can present some bargains because the Travel Zoo staff verifies whether something actually is a deal and boils down the top 20 deals of the week. However, know that suppliers pay Travel Zoo to post their items.

How: Go on the site and add yourself to their weekly "top 20" e-mail list.

www.hihostels.com

What: Site of the nonprofit Hostelling International organization, which represents 4,000 hostels in 90 countries.

Why: Hostels aren't just for teenagers anymore. People of all ages stay in them for an affordable journey.

How: Search for hostels, check reviews, compare prices and book reservations.

- Ellen Creager, Detroit Free Press

Online Traveler: On This Page

Next Sunday: Game Traveler

Nov. 22: Travel Deals

Nov. 29: Travel Bookshelf