Practical Traveler - 10 Ways to Cut Your Travel Costs In 2010 - NYTimes.com
http://travel.nytimes.com/2010/01/10/travel/10pracsave.html?em

travel planning

tips and websites - See tips 7, 8, and 9 for hotel options Priceline.com, Hotwire.com and Lastminutetravel.com discounts if willing to pay first. To find best rate, Biddingfortravel.com and Betterbidding.com provide advice and tips from travelers on how to navigate the system. Getaroom.com tells the hotel and price before booking, even lower rate through call center if willing to pay for the room before finding out. Rentals: Homeaway.com, Zonder.com and Rentalo.com. Some specialize in specific regions like Rentvillas.com for Europe or Wimco.com for the Caribbean. 6 to 12 % fee, AirBnB.com connects budget travelers with locals. It's a cross between CouchSurfing.com and vacation rentals section of Craigslist