Your boss is headed out for a trip and you're writing up an itinerary. The way you prepare your manager's itinerary can play a key role in saving him or her time and stress. A well-planned itinerary can also boost your boss's belief that the trip will run smoothly — putting them in the right frame of mind to do business.

Expotel.co.uk
www.expotel.co.uk
Click on hotel search for fast searches by hotel name, location, postcode or event. While not mega-comprehensive, all essential details about the hotels covered are available, including which credit/debit cards are accepted in payment, the cancellation policy of each hotel and very good maps and directions to get there. The city search is useful for major cities, as each city is divided into regions for you to choose your hotel's location.

Only problem with this site is that the searches by location and postcode do not automatically widen to include neighbouring hotels if none are found with the data specified. It also fails to pick up places with the same name; typing in "St Ives" locates the one in Cambridgeshire but not Cornwall or anywhere else. But having tried several online booking sites, this is a common difficulty — few passed this test.

Online booking requires users to log in, but phone booking is available and the number clearly displayed.

Visit London
uk.visitlondon.com
Click on "Book Hotels" for the hotel search page which also lists special offers. Search is by areas of London either by typing in text or pinpointing an area on the map search — the latter is very useful. Once located, each hotel has a photo gallery which provides still pictures of sample rooms and public areas. Booking can be done online or by phone, although group booking needs clearance by phone or email.

Johansens
www.johansens.com
Very appealing site. Good search options, including overseas. The main search page is comprehensive, attractive and clear to use, and the hotel search is fast. The map search option is a little slower, but it's useful for finding a hotel by county. Hotel choices appear in a small panel with images, which then takes you to full pages with attractive changing pictures of the premises, detailed descriptions of the type of hotel and its facilities, as well as the rates and a map. A different approach from other sites, which give more nitty-gritty fact upfront, but great for assessing the ambience of a hotel. Excellent site for country house hotels and you have the peace of mind of knowing that each hotel is approved by a Condé Nast Johansens Inspector. Booking is direct with the venue; clear contact details for each venue are provided which usually include web address, email, phone and fax.

Best Western
www.bestwestern.co.uk
A fast, easy to navigate site which has obviously been carefully designed to help the user. Accommodation is searchable by named hotel, area or location — the site passed the St Ives test with flying colours. Full details of each hotel, including floor plan and room sizes are provided. Accommodation overseas is searchable through a linked site. The international website is more cluttered but still fast and easy to use.

Booking online is through a US portal which still adheres to the UK Data Protection Act. Contact details are full, clear and easy to find for those who prefer to book direct with the hotel.

Radisson Hotels and Resorts
www.radisson.com
An excellent site for booking accommodation overseas although less useful for UK bookings as there is not the breadth of choice. Users can search via a world map or by specifying a town and country. The search engine only recognises the towns where hotels are listed but does then give details of hotels in those towns and others nearby. Clicking on the hotels provides fuller details including a virtual tour. Booking is online or by direct communication with the hotel.

Millennium and Copthorne Hotels
www.millenniumhotels.com
Very easy site to use. A pick list of towns and hotels available within them is quick to use and works worldwide. Picture tours are available for the hotels with occasionally a 360o tour of rooms or video tour of the hotel as well. Details of rooms appear on the online booking screen; occasionally booking needs to be done by email or phone to the hotel direct.

Easy London Hotels
www.easy-london-hotels.com
Browse through the list of hotels supplied or search by specific hotel, area of London or star rating. Onscreen information is good — there are useful FAQs, and information about booking procedures and after sales service, etc. but no phone number is supplied and all enquiries must be made via email.

Hilton
www.hilton.com
Attractive site, easy to use. Fast search, and hotel options appear with small pictures and useful icons to represent facilities at each hotel. In an appealingly long list, however, you discover that some of the hotels are marked as "not available". Useful, possibly, to let you know they exist or if you want to change your search criteria, but otherwise not helpful! Clicking through to "Rates" gives an easy to navigate list of comparable prices at each hotel. Other search options include: near an attraction, near an address, near an airport, and along a route.

Expedia
www.expedia.co.uk
Very easy to use for such a comprehensive site; click the tab "hotels" to open the accommodation window. A helpful list of the most common cities worldwide is provided; users entering a city name not on the list are prompted for further information if the site contains more than one city of that name. An overview of each hotel can then be interrogated for more details; some hotels have video tours of the rooms. Online booking is easy and customer support provides various options by which users can get help, including self-service, email and phone.

LastMinute.com
www.lastminute.com
Very cluttered site but a good window onto hotels abroad. Probably good for last minute bookings as it contains a wealth of special offers, but irritatingly bitty for serious business use. It failed the "St Ives" test (searching for town with several possible locations) and bookings can only be made by phone.

Marriott UK & Ireland
www.marriott.co.uk
Clear site, and quick to search for hotel options. Your choices appear with a large map showing their location relevant to the city centre you have selected, which is very helpful, and the distance. A "zoom" lets you home in on certain areas. Hotels are laid out below the map in an easy-to-view panel, from where you can click on "Select a Rate" to choose from the various room costs available. The "St Ives" test was not very successful — the site produced several for East Anglia but nothing for Cornwall. Other search options include: near an airport, on a particular route, by leisure activity. Hotels have static photo tours and icons clearly showing the amenities available.

Unless you know the Marriott brands (eg Renaissance, Courtyard, Residence) and where they are located, keep your search open, or you can waste a lot of time establishing that there is no Renaissance but there is a Marriott Hotel in your desired destination. However, if a specific brand is part of your travel policy requirement then this is a helpful aspect.