Leading online travel site Priceline.com (NASDAQ: PCLN) is perhaps best known for its pitchman, pop culture icon William Shatner. But to in-the-know investors, this stock is more known for booking big profits.

Now you might think that with the country in a recession, online travel stocks wouldn't be doing very well. But actually, the opposite is true.

According to a recent article in Investor's Business Daily, many corporate travel managers have been forced to cut the cost of basic travel expenses due to the recession. "Firms are telling execs to move their seats from the front to the back of the plane -- and to find budget-class hotel rooms." Bingo!

William Shatner has returned for the 11th year as the enigmatic spokesperson and premier negotiator for lower travel costs for Priceline.com (NASDAQ: PCLN).

Priceline is confident that Shatner can pick up where he left off as an effective voice for the online discount travel service.

There is reason for optimism at the company. Priceline revenues and earnings for the first nine months of the year increased by 30%, outpacing the meager 2% increase in retail sales for the period, and besting the 8% increase in sales for e-commerce retailers, as well.

Revenues and earnings for the fourth quarter are also expected to run well ahead of the retail sales figures for the period.

At the current price of $65 per share, Priceline is trading at under 10 times forecasted earnings for the year. The market appears to be significantly undervaluing the company at this price level, as several analysts are lowering the stock to a neutral position based on the recent rise in price that took the stock near their target levels.

Additional concerns affecting the analysts' view of Priceline include the general softening of consumer demand, declining hotel pricing and the strengthening of the U.S. dollar.

In reality, these same concerns can be viewed as a positive for the company.

This post is part of AOL Money & Finance's Best & Worst in Money 2008 feature.

Well, 2008 has come and gone. If you were looking to be entertained over the past 12 months, you had a lot of choices. From Batman's battle with the maniacal Joker to Hannah Montana singing her little heart out in 3-D, there was something for everyone. Let's look at five of the hottest properties that made their way into the heart of the cultural mindshare in '08.

Up first is The Dark Knight, the second iteration of director Christopher Nolan's new vision of the Caped Crusader. That movie killed at the box office, and Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) could not have been happier. Knight scored almost $1 billion at the global box office. More than half that number was captured in the domestic marketplace. There's no question that the movie mesmerized the collective intellect of the audience. There's also no question that Heath Ledger, who tragically passed away earlier in the year, impressed everyone with his portrayal of the chaotic and cruel Joker villain. I, however, do have a question. Is it just me, or was Knight not as awesome a film as the hype makes it out to be? I saw it, thought it was okay. I don't know, I'm just not sure that this new entry in the cinematic Batman mythos would have brought in as many bucks if the notoriety of Ledger's death wasn't attached to these particular reels of celluloid. To be honest, I didn't think Ledger did that unique of a job. And I thought The Joker's voice was annoying, almost sounding like Sam Raimi -- did anyone else happen to think that? Maybe it's just me. Nevertheless, I salute the success of Knight and respect the project for the impact it had on theaters 'round the world.