Online Travel Stocks Stranded

"While Expedia has been very successful in building the world's leading online travel site in under a decade of operations, we also believe there are opportunities to meaningfully improve our travelers' experiences," says Expedia spokeswoman Wendy Grover in an email statement. "More specifically, we are setting out to reinvent the way travelers plan, purchase and enjoy travel -- again -- through investments in our technology infrastructure, investments in our data warehouse to enhance our CRM capabilities, improvements to our traveler care centers, the introduction of a significant loyalty program in early 2007 and other improvements."

Expedia also will refund the difference in price and kick in a $50 coupon if someone finds a cheaper rate for any service it offers. Travelocity and Orbtiz also have price guarantees.

To complicate matters further, airline, hotel and rental-car companies also vow that consumers can get the best deals on their sites.

"We do think it's confusing for consumers," says Travelocity's Peluso.