Fuel Interactive

What Fuel Interactive does

Fuel Travel (DBA: Fuel Interactive) is a privately held SaaS company founded in 1993 and headquartered in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, that sells a modular hotel software suite to independent hotels, resorts, condotels, and hotel management groups. Its core products include a conversion-focused booking engine, a channel manager, a white-label hotel mobile app with embedded digital key functionality, a Guest Messaging Solution (GMS) for automated email/SMS campaigns delivered through Twilio, an owner portal, and the Fuel Gauge analytics dashboard. The platform integrates with major property management systems (Oracle Hospitality, Maestro, IQWare, Springer Miller, chorum-pms, Agilysys, Stayntouch) and with the two dominant hotel lock providers (ASSA ABLOY, Onity DirectKey), allowing real-time inventory, rate, and mobile-key interoperability.

The business model is primarily subscription-based SaaS revenue, with the mobile app priced from $250 per month and other modules sold on quote-based per-property subscriptions, supplemented by professional services for implementation and training. Go-to-market combines direct sales with demo requests and free digital marketing evaluations, OEM/white-label distribution through branded mobile apps, and referral co-selling via PMS integration partners. The company also operates the #1-ranked Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast and an active blog as top-of-funnel content marketing aimed at independent hoteliers.

Leadership is thin — led by COO Stuart Butler and VP of Business Development Susan Spivey (appointed 2020) — and the firm is bootstrapped with no disclosed external funding, venture investment, or acquisition activity. Per the careers page, headcount is approximately 10 employees, though firmographic estimates range to 51–100, and the company claims hundreds of hotel customers and over 1,000,000 cumulative bookings facilitated since inception.

Name

Fuel Interactive

Legal name

Fuel Travel

Website

https://fueltravel.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1993

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Hotel Software

akta.pro primary industry

Hotel CRS & Booking Engines (THALADAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

White-Label Booking Engine Platforms (SaaS/Widget) (THALADAN)

Keywords

• Hotel booking engine
• Hotel mobile app
• Guest messaging platform
• Hotel digital key
• Hotel channel manager

Headquarters

HQ city

Myrtle Beach

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. SaaS Subscriptions - Booking Engine: The Fuel Booking Engine is sold as a SaaS subscription to independent hotels and property groups, generating recurring revenue through monthly or annual subscription fees. The platform is white-labeled for hotel partners.
2. SaaS Subscriptions - Mobile App: The Fuel Contactless Mobile App is sold as a subscription starting at $250 per month. Hotels receive a fully customizable, white-label app with digital key, check-in/out, booking, and messaging features.
3. SaaS Subscriptions - Guest Messaging Solution: The Guest Messaging Solution (GMS) is a cloud-based SaaS platform sold on a subscription basis, enabling hotels to run automated email and SMS campaigns. SMS pricing is handled through Twilio integration at under 1 cent per message.
4. Digital Key Add-on: Digital key functionality is offered as part of the mobile app subscription, integrated with ASSA ABLOY and Onity locking systems. Revenue is bundled within the mobile app subscription.
5. Professional Services - Implementation & Training: Fuel provides implementation, training, and onboarding services as part of customer onboarding, including product training sessions, documentation, and support for SaaS applications serving the hotel and golf industry.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Fuel Travel sells a modular, SaaS-based hotel software suite for independent hotels, resorts, condotels, and management groups. The suite bundles a conversion-driven booking engine, channel manager, white-label mobile app with embedded digital key, guest messaging solution (email/SMS/push), owner portal, and analytics dashboard, with deep PMS and locking-system integrations. The platform is purpose-built to help properties drive direct bookings, reduce OTA commissions, and automate the end-to-end guest journey from booking through stay.

Product overview

Fuel Travel offers a modular hotel software suite built since 1993, comprising the Booking Engine as the core reservation platform, Channel Manager for distribution, Mobile App as the guest-facing interface with digital key capabilities, Guest Messaging Solution for automated communications via email/SMS/push, plus add-on modules for analytics (Fuel Gauge) and owner management. The products are designed to work together to drive direct bookings and reduce OTA reliance.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Fuel Booking Engine: A conversion-driven hotel booking engine with advanced integrations and mobile-first design
• Fuel Guest Messaging Solution (GMS)
• Fuel Gauge Analytics Dashboard
• Fuel Mobile App

Products and services

• Hotel Booking Engine Conversion-driven hotel booking engine with mobile-first design, advanced PMS integrations, and real-time data for direct online reservations. Supports room upgrades, packages, and add-ons to drive upsell revenue for independent hotels, resorts, and management groups.
• Hotel Channel Manager Hotel channel management solution that enables properties to distribute room inventory and rates across multiple online travel agencies and booking platforms from a single interface.
• Hotel Mobile App White-label, custom-branded hotel mobile app (starting at $250/month) that enables guests to plan and book stays, check in, unlock rooms with a digital key, access itineraries, message staff, and use concierge features.
• Hotel Digital Key Mobile access technology integrated into the Fuel hotel mobile app that lets guests securely unlock their rooms with a smartphone, eliminating the need for a front-desk visit or physical key card.
• Guest Messaging Solution (GMS) Automated guest communication platform that supports email, SMS, and mobile app push notifications with 16 triggered message templates across the guest journey including booking confirmations, pre-arrival, check-in, and post-stay outreach. SMS delivered through Twilio at under $0.01 per message.
• Owner Portal Portal module that gives hotel property owners access to relevant performance data, reports, and management tools for their properties.
• Fuel Gauge Analytics Dashboard Visual analytics dashboard that consolidates hotel marketing and ecommerce performance data to support data-driven decisions across the property.

Quantifiable outcome

• 25% higher guest satisfaction score for properties offering digital check-ins
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration9 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• ASSA ABLOYcoreTechnology or Integration · 1 May 2020Fuel integrated with ASSA ABLOY, the world's largest provider of hotel locking systems, enabling guests at properties with ASSA ABLOY locks to use the Fuel Contactless Mobile App as a digital key for room access without visiting the front desk. This integration greatly expanded the addressable market for Fuel's digital key solution.
• Onity DirectKeycoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2019Fuel integrated with Onity's DirectKey mobile key system in late 2019, enabling hotels with Onity locks to use the Fuel mobile app for keyless room entry. Combined with the ASSA ABLOY integration, this covers a significant portion of the hotel locking system market.
• MaestrocoreTechnology or IntegrationMaestro PMS is a Property Management System integration partner with Fuel's booking engine. Hotels using Maestro can seamlessly sync room inventory, rates, and reservations with the Fuel Booking Engine for real-time data accuracy.
• IQWarecoreTechnology or IntegrationIQWare PMS integration enables hotels using IQWare property management to connect with Fuel's booking engine and mobile app solutions, ensuring real-time rate and inventory synchronization.
• Springer Miller (SMS)coreTechnology or IntegrationSpringer Miller (SMS) PMS is integrated with Fuel's software suite, allowing hotels running SMS property management to connect with Fuel's booking engine and guest-facing tools.
• Oracle HospitalitycoreTechnology or IntegrationOracle Hospitality PMS integration enables large hotel properties using Oracle's property management system to connect with Fuel's booking engine and mobile app technology for seamless guest booking and management experiences.
• chorum-pmscoreTechnology or Integrationchorum-pms is an integration partner that connects with Fuel's booking engine, enabling hotels using chorum property management to sync inventory and rates with Fuel's direct booking tools.
• AgilysyscoreTechnology or IntegrationAgilysys PMS integration enables hotels using Agilysys property management solutions to connect with Fuel's booking engine and guest-facing software for real-time data synchronization.
• StayntouchcoreTechnology or IntegrationStayntouch cloud PMS integrates with Fuel's booking engine and mobile app solutions, enabling hotels to offer mobile check-in, digital keys, and direct booking through the Fuel platform.
• TwiliocoreTechnology or IntegrationTwilio provides the SMS backbone for Fuel's Guest Messaging Solution, enabling hotels to send automated text messages to guests. Twilio integration ensures reliable, scalable SMS delivery at competitive pricing starting at less than 1 cent per message.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• BookingSuite (Booking.com): Booking.com's SaaS arm (BookingSuite) offers websites, booking engines, and digital marketing tools for independent hotels under the Booking.com brand, bringing massive scale and distribution leverage that overlaps with Fuel's broader direct-booking toolkit.
• TravelClick (Amadeus Hospitality): Amadeus' TravelClick division offers an enterprise hospitality suite covering CRS, booking engine, digital media, and GMS, competing with Fuel in the management-group and larger independent-hotel end of the market.

Emerging players

• Atomize: Atomize is a hotel revenue management system that integrates with PMS and booking engines to optimize pricing; it complements — and increasingly competes — with Fuel's analytics-driven upsell and rate workflows.

Direct peers

• Cloudbeds: Cloudbeds offers an all-in-one hospitality platform with PMS, booking engine, channel manager, and payment tools targeting independent hotels and hostels, directly competing with Fuel's integrated suite on the same customer segment.
• Little Hotelier: Little Hotelier targets small independent properties and B&Bs with a booking engine, channel manager, and website builder — a near-identical product wedge to Fuel's hotel-targeting modular suite.
• SiteMinder: SiteMinder is a leading hotel distribution platform combining a CRS/booking engine, channel manager, and direct booking websites for independent hotels and groups — direct one-to-one overlap with Fuel's booking engine, channel manager, and direct-booking proposition.
• Revinate: Revinate is a hotel CRM and guest messaging platform that also powers direct booking and guest experience workflows — overlapping head-on with Fuel's Guest Messaging Solution and direct-booking engine.
• Profitroom: Profitroom builds hotel booking engines, channel managers, and marketing/website platforms primarily for independent hotels and resorts, with comparable booking engine and direct conversion functionality to Fuel's core product.
• SHR (Sceptre Hospitality Resources): SHR provides CRS, booking engine, CRM, and revenue management for hotels; its CRM and direct-booking capabilities overlap tightly with Fuel's booking engine and Guest Messaging Solution modules.
• ThinkReservations: ThinkReservations provides booking engine, PMS, and channel manager software designed specifically for small and independent hotels and B&Bs, competing for the same mid-market segment as Fuel.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/fueltravel
• Facebookfacebook.com/fueltravel
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/fuel-travel

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Fuel Interactive