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Priceline, the revolutionary online airline and hotel booking service which has been phenomenally successful in the United States (it sold 10,000 air tickets in its first six weeks), has launched in Hong Kong. The company offers a unique concept where customers get to name their own price on airline tickets and hotel rooms. Sound too good to be true? Well, the catch is that although you get to type in where you want to go or stay, on which date and how much you want to pay, Priceline determines which airline you fly with (and at what time) or which hotel you stay at. Credit card details must be submitted before you bid and if Priceline finds a vendor, the transaction is made. No refunds or exchanges are available. In doing so, the company says you can save up to 30 per cent on published fares (www.priceline.com.hk).

Frequent travellers who don't like to dine alone may be interested in ClubTable, a new service which books communal restaurant tables in countries where you're doing business. Log on to www.clubtable.net, state where and when you will be travelling and join up with other members who are there at the same time. Although the organisers stress this isn't a dating service, there is a women-only section for those who want to network without further connotations. There's an annual charge of 45 euros (HK$308), and if you don't get the opportunity to use the service in the first year, membership is automatically extended until you do.