Savings From Discount Internet Sites Wander All Over the Map and Back

Confused.com? Keeping track of the ever-growing plethora of Web sites promising travel discounts can be daunting.

With input from The Times' Travel section staff, here's a list of some sites offering deals on flights, lodging, car rentals or all of the above. We also tested sites by scanning air fares and hotel rates for two hypothetical trips: a three-night San Francisco weekend in July and a seven-night New York stay in August. The results, although unscientific, are interesting. You may want to call up this story on Travel section's Web site, latimes.com/travel, and bookmark it so that the links are readily available the next time you're looking for a bargain.

First, a few disclaimers: Prices will vary depending on where you're going and when. A site that delivers the lowest prices one week may have the highest rates later in the month. And in many cases, the rates are no lower than what you could get by booking directly from the airline, hotel or car rental company itself.

Another key caveat with hotels: You may not get your first choice in room types because many lodgings give full-paying customers preference in room selection.

Some discount Web sites require full credit-card payment at the time of booking, and purchases are nonrefundable. Other sites may allow itinerary changes or cancellations but charge a "processing" fee. Some favorites, such as http://www.quikbook.com and http://www.hotelres.com, don't charge such fees.

Here's our list, abbreviated by space limitations:

1 800 USA Hotels, http://www.1800usahotels.com, telephone (800) 872-4683 or (201) 847-9000. Lots of listings, including budget motels and some international destinations. One complaint: The clunky design forces users to continually reenter travel dates. Rates weren't impressive for San Francisco; the New York search was better, yielding a double room at the Paramount for $165 ($30 less than the hotel's lowest promotional rate).

Capitol Reservations, http://www.capitolreservations.com, tel. (800) 847-4832 or (202) 452-1270. Easy-to-use site for hotels in Washington, D.C.; includes descriptions of properties.

Central Reservation Service, http://www.roomconnection.net, tel. (800) 555-7555 or (407) 740-6442. Hotels for 10 U.S. cities, including San Francisco, New Orleans, Boston and Miami. Listings aren't as extensive as competitors', but prices are good. Last winter, I landed the Hotel Diva, near San Francisco's Union Square, for $30 less than at any other site. In our recent New York test, lower-end listings included a midtown Howard Johnson for $109 and the Moderne for $140. Caveat: no real-time reservations. Once you find a hotel and price, you must fill out a request form online or call.