Cyber Agents

Arranging to get from point A to point B has become a whole lot easier with the help of widely used travel-planning websites such as Expedia, Hotwire, Kayak, Orbitz and Travelocity. Indeed, among U.S. business travelers, 45 million are online—40 percent of whom are bookers—according to a survey conducted by Forrester Research earlier this year.

But what if you also need to stop at point C or point D along the way, or need a restaurant for dinner that's within walking distance of your hotel and quiet enough for a business negotiation? Such a trip could take hours to research and book yourself.

Enter a new breed of travel websites that use both technology search tools and human support to help travelers piece together or keep track of more complex, personalized itineraries.

Josh Steinitz was inspired to start his site, NileGuide, after traveling as a management consultant to such far-flung locations as Bora Bora and seeing the disconnect between the amount of information available to travelers and how difficult it was to plan a trip. "A good travel agent does a lot more than put together the plane tickets and other bookings," says Steinitz, 32. "This is someone who understands your personal preferences."

That philosophy is echoed by the handful of online trip planning websites considered in our chart (below). Some handle reservations; some don't. All account for the fact that every traveler and trip is unique. Think of these online resources as the best sort of travel agents, concerned with making your next business trip manageable for the right reasons.

At Your Service 

AXIOM (American Express Intelligent Online Marketplace)
Web Address: americanexpress.com/axiom
Elevator Pitch: Powered by Rearden Commerce technology, American Express' service can be used to book flights, hotel rooms, restaurants and entertainment from a single browser interface. The service also handles audio- and web-conferencing arrangements when holding a meeting online is a better alternative to the trip being considered.
Pros: Changes and cancellations to itineraries are sent out proactively to e-mail, as specified.
Cons: Your company will need to set up a private account to use this service.
Mobile Support: Offers optional BlackBerry app
Calendar Features: Booking details are automatically added to the traveler's electronic calendar.
Pricing: Contact American Express for pricing.

Compete 4 Your Seat
Web address: compete4yourseat.com
Elevator Pitch: Narrowly focused on providing travelers with tough-to-schedule flight plans. You submit your destination preferences; a network of travel agents then bids to accommodate you.
Pros: A time-saver for someone traveling to a tough-to-reach destination, especially as airlines cut back on flight options
Cons: There's a chance that no one will bid for your business. Plus, you don't get results instantly.
Mobile Support: Alerts are sent via e-mail, but you have to visit the website for more information.
Calendar Features: None
Pricing: Free

Nileguide
Web Address: nileguide.com
Elevator Pitch: Positioned as a personal travel planner that will make recommendations specific to each traveler's needs; you assemble your trip by selecting the types of things you'd like to do from expert recommendations and aggregated content.
Pros: Travelers can create a permanent archive of all itineraries.
Cons: Focuses on what you do when you arrive somewhere; it doesn't help you get there. Services are currently limited to major cities worldwide.
Mobile Support: Working on mobile integration
Calendar Features: You can print a free itinerary on paper or download it as a PDF to take with you, but the site's calendar doesn't currently integrate with other calendar apps.
Pricing: Free