Web Watch: Find the perfect vacation rental
— -- VacationRoost.com
What it offers:Vacation-home rental booking
What we like:With several new competitors in the vacation rental market, VacationRoost lists more than 100,000 "professionally managed" properties, offering a level of security to travelers who are wary of private rentals. Searches can be launched by destination and/or date, and a handy interactive map lets you zoom in on a location. Search returns are easily refined, with adjacent links that narrow results by number of bedrooms, amenities, property type, etc. Specials are noted in search returns or can be browsed by category in the site's specials area. Links to recently viewed properties follow from screen to screen, as do the dates of the last search. Inventory in Western ski destinations is particularly deep.
What needs work:At this time, VacationRoost offers rentals only in North America and the Caribbean, so you'll have to shop elsewhere for that villa in Tuscany. Although the site will give nightly rates for your dates, booking is not direct — name and e-mail address must be submitted to correspond with a reservations agent (or call an 800 number). The map interface is limited to one vacation area.
— Ben Abramson
What it offers:Personalized recommendations and expert information for more than 1,200 destinations worldwide
What we like:One of several new matchmaking travel sites aimed at vacationers who know they want to get away but aren't sure where, Triporati takes a nightly hotel budget, home airport, time of year and personal preferences (including a customizable ranking of up to 10 interests from extreme sports to meditating) and comes up with suggested vacation spots. What sets Triporati apart is the range and depth of its resulting destination information: succinct overviews written by veteran guidebook writers and other experts, plus location-specific videos, news and blog postings and targeted links to several other planning sources, from Wikitravel to TripAdvisor.
