If you are a regular business traveler, and you prefer and can afford the kind of hotel that you use when on business, then your best may be to book through your company's travel agent and make use of the same corporate rates.

If you are travelling alone and arriving at your destination fairly early, you can wait until you arrive at the airport and ask the information/help desk to find you somewhere to stay. I've even done that in London once, which is very risky. Or you can wander the streets of your preferred Paris arrondissement and find a hotel yourself, if you're not carrying much baggage - I've done that too, and met fascinating people in the process (a visiting professor from a South African university).

Nowadays, though, there are several agencies that provide online hotel booking services, and who obtain significant discounts in the process. Recently, I was told of one such agency which deals only with hotels in Paris, which operates from the web site our-paris.com . There are so many hotels in Paris that it is difficult to make direct comparisons between agencies, but I did do a few checks, coming to the conclusion that it was a good idea for anyone considering making online hotel bookings to cross-check at least one other agency before deciding. However, Our-Paris gained my approval on three counts:

1. They cover the well-known French hotels in Paris. Several US-based agencies did not even list the Meridien, which sits over the top of the airport bus terminus at l'Etoile.

2. You can search for a hotel by name (many sites just list all the hotels that match your date, location and price range, so you may have to scroll through several pages to find out about a preferred hotel)

3. They list all prices inclusive of tax, so you can see immediately what it's really going to cost you instead of having to add on the tax yourself.

Our-Paris does not show the discounts which have been applied, but they tell me that 20-30% is typical, and generally makes their rates competitive. However, hotel rates are at least as complex as airline rates, so you do need to cross-check. This is particularly true for expensive hotels, which often give massive discounts under certain conditions, to certain agents.

Another point to bear in mind is that US-based international chains such as Holiday Inn or Intercontinental run their own web sites which offer a wider choice of rooms and often undercut the best agent prices. But beware - their Web Specials are non-refundable. However, if you can get a good discount (check weekends - they are often very cheap) these can be good value for a family because single and double occupancy are usually the same price or nearly so. If you have teenagers, do your best to find rates inclusive of a full buffet breakfast!

Our-Paris does cover several of the US hotel chains.

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