Excuse me a minute. Let me put my hat on. There! That's better. Why, you might well ask, am I putting on a hat to write this review? Is it sexy? No - not really. Is it a back-to-front baseball cap? Please! No! I'm 37! Am I going bald and need to keep my head warm? No - you're wrong there - just greying a bit - well, a lot. NO - you're all totally wrong. I've put my hat on so that I can doff it (I rather like that expression) to the rather entrepreneurial types at www.laterooms.com. They have very, very nearly got it very, very right.

I have a good friend who's an hotelier, so I know a little bit about the hotel industry. It's not exactly rocket science to work out that an empty hotel room has associated costs, yet earns nothing. Why has it taken so long for somebody to come up with the notion that "A cheap, but occupied, hotel room makes more money than an expensive un-occupied one"?

They have a pretty extensive database of hotels, mainly based in the UK. These hotels despair at holding unsold rooms with rack-rates that nobody's actually going to pay. Answer - sell them at a knock-down price through this web site. and it's quite a professional web site, I have to say!

The hotelier sells the room and makes more than (s)he would for keeping the room empty. And you, the customer, get a room (and often, a very good one) for a very reasonable price indeed.

So, quite simply, the later you book, the better deal you are likely to get. It stands to reason. However, you can book about 2-3 weeks in advance and still get a decent deal. How late you dare leave it is up to you - it depends on how important your booking is. If you NEED to be somewhere, book early. If you just fancy a dirty weekend away, leave it later. You'll probably get an even cheaper thrill! Did I REALLY say that?

It is, to be honest. You get a full link-up to the hotel and, where it exists, its web site. You know what you're getting (unlike if you try to book with, say, priceline). You get a genuine quote for the room and you can decide whether to take it or leave it. Unlike priceline. They just work in very different ways.

Well, only just. At present, having selected your great deal, you might be disappointed to find that there's only very rarely a "Click here to book your fantastic rate" button. Usually, it's just a 'phone number for the hotel. What? Yep! You have to shut down your internet connection (OK - so I'm not on ISDN), 'phone the hotel and claim the "laterooms rate" and pray that you aren't ridiculed as a sad cheapskate. That's what you expect, first time. You won't actually get treated that way! Personally, I love the impersonality of on-line booking and loathe having to 'phone them up. But then, I've got Amanda - and she's happy to do the talking.

Yes, in a way. I got Amanda to call them. She's very good like that. She got through to reservations and quoted the laterooms code and cited the quoted rate...Pregnant pause....Slight embarrassment all round. (Glad it was her on the 'phone, and not me). It started to become clear that their receptionist hadn't heard of laterooms. Amanda - again, you have to understand that she's like this - insisted that they DID actually exist. She was asked to hang on. She did. She's pretty obliging when chasing a bargain (a true Scot, you inderstand). After a few minutes of manager-consultation, the rate was confirmed and the booking was made. As ever, my credit card was billed. I have SOME uses! Tickety-boo - a good evening's work! And we had a fantastic stay.