Many of the internet travel sites are alive with discussion of pod hotels, which take as their inspiration the no-frills cubes favored by Japanese businessmen. But the coverage almost always lumps them together as good values.

They aren't. Here are the big new players and the wildly-different markets they serve:

EasyHotel (www.easyhotel.co.uk). With three properties now open in west London, plus one in Switzerland and one in Budapest, it's one of the most reliable budget pod names. A Zurich property opens on Nov. 20. These orange, mostly windowless cabins are the limit in simplicity (bed on the floor, no closet, kiosk bathroom), and they cost from $52 a night as long as you book far in advance, although $80 or $90 is more commonly quoted. Still, that's not a bad price for central London, where a standard family-run B&B can cost $150 a night.

But that latter value comes with a warning: When an easyHotel is nearly full, its prices can sometimes surpass those of nearby B&Bs, so make sure you compare the price you're quoted.

YOtel (www.yotel.co.uk). After many delays, U.K. millionaire Simon Woodroffe opened his pod hotel brand, designed to within an inch of its life, at Gatwick Airport, an hour south of London (a Heathrow outpost opens soon). First of all, that's much too far from town to be useful to tourists, since you'll have to pay another $25 round-trip each time you want to reach the city by train. Worse, YOtel charges about $50 to $80 for every four hours of use. If you want a full night's sleep, then, you'll be paying at least three times that.

That clinches it: YOtel may be a conversation piece, but to proclaim it a value for tourists is just lazy. The fact that the word "hotel" is part of its name doesn't help clarify the fact that it's actually just a fancy rent-a-couch for naps, yet the big travel magazines won't stop pretending it's more than that.

A new Dutch brand, Qbic (www.qbichotels.com), charges about $65 a night in Amsterdam (Antwerp and Maastricht will open early next year). Room pods, designed in part by Philippe Starck, contain combined work-or-eat desks, and can be lit in various neon-hued colors. Check-in is by self-service kiosk, and vending machines take the place of minibars or a cafe. Rooms are cleverly designed and simple indeed, and staff leaves you alone, which is why prices are so low -- and a good value.

Metronaps (www.metronaps.com). Like YOtel, this concept (currently based inside the Empire State Building) is really geared toward business people who need quick shuteye. Unlike YOtel, its name is honest: One uses it for naps, not overnight lodging. But at $14 for just 20 minutes, it's hardly something a money-scrimping tourist can realistically rely upon.

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