When we re-did ourweb-site... one major thing we re-did was our new Gift Certificates tied in with Ellen's little Gift Shoppe... it works really neat... the whole thing happens right online... the recipent of the gift certificate gets a code on the certificate that they enter when they go online to make a reservation... all they have to do is enter the code  during the online checkout process... the gift certificate amount is then automatically deducted just like they paid cash towards their stay...

pretty cool.... check it out