A Website that Lets You Ask for What You Want in Your Next Apartment Rental

Scores of websites provide you with short-term apartment rentals in cities all over the world. The typical service simply lists what's available, and then asks you to identify the apartment you'd like, for the dates you'll be in residence.

iStopOver ( www.istopover.com ) used to be that kind of service. It lists vacation apartments available for rent in numerous popular cities. But this month, they've added a special feature called Wise Ask! which you can access after registering on the site.

WiseAsk! asks you to specify all the special features in which you're interested. For example: "A pet-friendly two-bedroom apartment in Paris with a balcony for grilling barbecue, a breakfast-serving café within one block, and all for under $200 a night." Or: "A Chicago apartment whose kitchen is already stocked with food, and Wi-Fi enabled."

Says iStopOver's president: "There are no restrictions on what you can ask for, no matter how quirky the request or preference."

Apprised of your requests, iStopOver sends them to all the landlords with whom they work. Soon (the amount of time needed isn't stated), the service will respond to you with offers of exactly the kind of apartment you're seeking. You then accept the booking or, if nothing suitable is offered, you need not accept anything.

This, as I see it, is a reverse online travel agency. It's similar to the well-known Cruise Compete ( www.cruisecompete.com ), which invites would-be cruise passengers to declare what kind of cruise they're seeking, and what kind of price would be suitable; Cruise Compete then invites its many cruise-selling travel agents to bid on your business, to respond with offers of what they're willing to sell you and at what price.

It will be interesting to see whether iStopOver.com enjoys a large amount of additional business because of its WiseAsk! service.