<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Terrell B. Jones, the founder and former chief executive of Travelocity, usually books hotel rooms on Priceline.com for his business trips to New York. He has used the service six times since he left Travelocity in May 2002, paying about $120 a night to stay at the Melrose, the Roosevelt, the Hilton and the Grand Hyatt and $150 at the Waldorf-Astoria, not including taxes or service charges.

Mr. Jones is one of a growing number of business travelers who reserve rooms on Priceline and its smaller rival, Hotwire.com, despite the complexity of the transactions and the restrictions they carry on hotel loyalty-program benefits.

"I use Priceline because I know I can get an excellent price within a quality range I like in roughly the geographic area I want to be in," he said. "And if I'm calling on customers, which I do in New York, it's my nickel."</font>