With the travel industry desperate for your dollars, some companies are now coming up with some pretty creative ways to lock in your business.

One concept is to put your vacation on a layaway plan.

With Applecore Hotels in Manhattan you can book your room early to lock in a low room rate, then pay it off in increments.

Once you check out, you pay any remaining balance.

Don’t worry if you have to cancel your reservation – do it 24 hours in advance, and you’ll get your money back.

Hyatt is now working with a company called e-Layaway to sell pre-paid cards to redeem for a hotel stay.

This one’s not really a true layaway – it’s actually a gift card.

It’s not a bad idea for a gift for someone else, but it’s not going to save you any headaches on your own travels.

Then there’s the “bill me later” option.

This is available with JetBlue, Continental, AirTran, Hotels.com and other travel providers.

You don’t pay when you book, and you get up to 90 days to pay off your bill.

But if you don’t pay up, you’re looking at nearly 20 percent interest.

Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

For more money-saving ideas, don’t miss our Budget Travel section.

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