For anyone traveling www.hotels.com is one of the best sites I have found, and I have used it to find good rates at hotels in San Francisco, Atlanta, Seattle, New York and have recommended it to friends traveling who also found it helpful.

I see alot of the same posts here, about where to stay for a specific price and this site will certainly make it easier to find hotel space almost anywhere in the US.

Hope this helps and HAPPY TRAVELS.

Often great prices, but not always. Shop around!

I work p/t at a hotel and we often have guests who have paid more to these online booking agent than our rack rate.

Also, always call & confirm your reservations. At some hotels, expecially smaller non-chain ones, your "request" is faxed to the hotel. There's no guarantee the fax is even read, let alone processed.

Thanks for the tip, rb. I never realized those arrangements were so hmmm...carefree?

Also, on every reservation I've ever looked at, hotels.com charges a $25 cancellation or change fee. Often you can book directly through the hotel and cancel or change with no penalty, depending on the type of rate.

I have not personally ever seen hotels.com beat the hotel by more than a few dollars a night, which is typically not worth it for me because of the cancellation policy. If I really want to save money, priceline is the way to go if I'm sure of my dates, at least for most cities.

I agree with rb_travelerxATyahoo's advice. I also check on the hotel's website and call the hotel directly. Sometimes the individual websites have special offers not found anywhere else. When call I always ask of they have any special deals or discounts (which they don't seem to share with you unless you ask). Most of the time, I get the best or the same rate dealing directly with the hotel, but I have booked hotels on expedia, orbitz and travelhero as well.

If you have a preference (smoking/no) and make resv online, it also helps to call the hotel shortly afterwards. Many of these arrive at our hotel as SMOKING with no other notes listed. We do our best to give you what you want.

I really put this up because so many people are asking where to stay. I like this site because you can comparison shop easily because the site lists price, location, amenities, distance to things to see and pictures of the hotels. If you book through the site you also get discount coupons for restaurants and shopping, which I thought was also a nice extra.

This to me is a good place to START trip planning, since it covers the entire country.

I may have been unlucky, but I have never found the cheapest rates to be on this site.