• March 1, 2005

Alexandria, Va.-based Five Star Alliance announced on Monday the launch of a new luxury hotel booking site, promising to allow luxury hotels the ability to control the presentation of their brand while still aggregating them onto a single site.

Luxury hotels listed by Five Star are free, but can choose to pay to become "partners," which includes an enhanced photo gallery, increased promotion, and the ability to promote special events or deals on the site.

For site users, Five Star offers over 1,000 member hotels--with details on each hotel such as the activities offered and whether the hotel is child-friendly--and includes recommendations on the best suites in a given establishment.

--Shankar Gupta