A remarkable new website has just gone online, designed to get you a better deal on your next hotel stay than the hotel at which you've earlier made a reservation. Because it requires that you first have such a reservation, I haven't myself been able to test it. But it has the potential to be a remarkable tool for travelers.

Backbid.com operates a bit like Cruise Compete, the website that circulates your cruise desires among hundreds of travel agents, asking them to bid for your business--that is, to state the price and the ship they're able to obtain for your vacation needs. But Backbid.com is somewhat different.

On Backbid.com, travelers post the details of hotel arrangements they've already made (room cost, dates, and amenities) -- without specifying the name of the hotel itself -- and hotel members of the site can then compete to undersell or outbid the deal and get the traveler to switch to them.

It's somewhat like Priceline.com, only in reverse. They do all the comparison-shopping on your behalf, and you just sit back and pick the deal you like best. The site claims to have 100 hotel partners and counting -- though currently only in the U.S.

The new site is also a nothing-to-lose proposition. You've supposedly already found and booked a hotel you're willing to use, so if you don't see a deal that you like better, you're still good-to-go with your original choice.

The continuing ingenuity of online entrepreneurs is a marvel to behold!