Guide to Best Web Sites for Business Travel

Minimize hassle and maximize savings with top internet sites

By Betty W. Stark, Business travel consultant and columnist, Stark Consulting

1. Airfare, hotel and rental car search sites that do the work for you and maximize options
2. Frequent flyer links to help you get the most for your miles
3. Business travel newsletters to keep you on top of the information game
4. Online booking programs to help manage your company travel.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Book air, find a hotel, rent a car – fast

There are plenty of travel Web sites that promise the best/lowest/cheapest, but some are better than others.

I recommend: For speedy air searches, use SideStep, Kayak, and Mobissimo (rated best for international carriers). Check Hotels.com and Hotwire.com for hotel deals. For a fast scan of rental car options from several companies, check out BreezeNet.

Make the most of your frequent flyer miles

There are endless ways to accumulate air miles, but the options for using them are getting slimmer. To know when to spend 'em, when to hold 'em, you must stay on top of changing rules and programs:

I recommend: Log on to Flyer Talk where if you've got questions, they've got answers. At Web Flyer, you'll find inside scoop on major programs and the tools to manage your mileage stash.

Keep on top of business travel news

The old saying, 'Knowledge is power' is doubly true when it comes to business travel. To stay on top of all that the airlines, hotels, and rental car companies won't tell you, subscribe to regular online revelations by biz travel gurus.

I recommend: "Joe Sent Me," delivered weekly by veteran road warrior Joe Brancatelli is one of the best for accurate and unbiased information (paid subscription required). Ed Perkins, founding editor of the Consumer Reports Travel Letter, knows a lot about business travel and he shares it in his free newsletter "My Business Travel."

Book through a managed online travel program

If you don't have the interest or time to search multiple web sites for deals and options, an online booking program can give you the best of both worlds.

I recommend: American Express offers an online travel management program for small businesses. Also check out Orbitz, Expedia, and Travelocity -- each has an online business booking program.

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Don't overlook airline web sites. The most sophisticated fare search engines include them in their scan, but it pays to check the fare on your carrier's site, then search using SideStep, Kayak etc. to compare.
• •  Don't waste valuable time searching every fare site; there might be a lower fare out there, but your time has value too.
• •  Some sites, even the most comprehensive, don't check every airline. Several don't include Southwest, some omit JetBlue and other discount carriers.
• •  Booking online can have its drawbacks: if you routinely make a lot of changes to your itineraries, you might encounter problems — some sites have a 'you booked it, you bought it' policy.
• •  If you book an airfare on the internet, then try to make changes by calling the airline reservation number, they will probably tell you they can't help you because they don't have access to online inventory.
• •  At some hotel booking sites, you might not learn the name of the hotel until after you book, but you will know the quality rating upfront.