…being a nominee this year is a pretty good start.

We're happy to report that BudgetTravel.com is one of five nominees for this year's Webby Award in the Travel Category. The four other websites are all super-innovative, in our humble opinion: &beyond, Kayak, LonelyPlanet.com, and Tripkick. Last year's winner was Farecast.

The nominees are chosen by members of the The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences. This year's winners will be announced on May 5.

Meanwhile, you and everyone else in the country are invited to vote in a separate Webby People's Voice Award. Last year, Kayak was the people's choice. Between now and April 30, you may register to cast a ballot in this year's competition at pv.webbyawards.com.

Like we said, we'd love to receive a Webby award. But win or lose BudgetTravel.com is staying focused on its mission—to help you keep a step ahead. With the sour economy, getting away is a lot harder to do. That's why we're especially thrilled to make travel easier with several tools, such as:

• Our Nonstop Caribbean and Nonstop Mexico tools, which help you quickly find the beach destinations that can be reached from your home airport without any layovers. (Because nothing kills the fun like a layover.)

• Our red-hot Real Deals section, where you can quickly find vacation packages by destination, budget, or theme—all vetted by Budget Travel editors.

• My Budget Travel, where you can share your Travel Journals, photos, and videos—free. (Because every traveler has a story.)

We'll soon be taking these features to the next level, while rolling out new innovations. All of our efforts will put your insights and recommendations right in the mix with our own strategies and advice. Thanks for reading, and feel free to e-mail us with us with suggestions for improvement at letters@budgettravel.com.