What Availability Online does

Availability Online is a privately held SaaS provider of a direct, commission-free online booking engine targeted at small to mid-sized lodging properties in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Founded in 1996 by Tom Lichtman (formerly of IBM Research and David Sarnoff Laboratories) and operating as a subsidiary of VTweb.com from Rutland, Vermont, the company has been generating commission-free bookings for lodging operators for over 28 years and was reportedly the first in the industry to offer online room availability displays. The platform serves bed and breakfasts, inns, vacation rentals, farm stays, campgrounds, RV parks, and small hotels/motels through a self-serve, product-led go-to-market model anchored by a 30-day free trial with no credit card required.

The product is a web-based booking engine compatible with all website platforms (WordPress, SquareSpace, Wix, GoDaddy, and traditional HTML), offered under two annual subscription tiers: Basic at $125/year and Premium at $240/year, with a 90-day money-back guarantee and free setup and support. The Premium tier adds monthly calendar displays (1-24 months), iCal export feeds syncing to Airbnb, VRBO, Booking.com, Expedia, and TripAdvisor, TripConnect integration with TripAdvisor on a Cost-Per-Click basis, integrations with nine third-party PMS systems (Clubessential, eCamping, GuestSuites, Guest Tracker, iMagic, Reservations 7.0-9.0, Sticky Guest, Vacation RentPro), tax/fee calculations, Google Analytics (GA4) e-commerce tracking, and Google AdWords PPC tracking. The booking engine is PCI-DSS compliant and certified Hacker Safe by ScanAlert.

Revenue mechanics are anchored in annual subscriptions, with an upcoming 2025 partnership with Ascent Payment Solutions expected to add transactional payment processing revenue. Distribution is direct-to-consumer through the company website supplemented by referral partnerships — notably FarmStay USA (offering discounted $100/$190 pricing) and ONNA Web Design (offering discounted WordPress designs). The company operates with approximately 4 dedicated employees, including founder Tom Lichtman, General Manager Julie Niles (since 2000), head developer Terry Heinel (since 1995), and web designer Hillary Summerton (since 2003), and has not raised any institutional funding.

Name

Availability Online

Legal name

Availability Online

Website

https://availabilityonline.com/

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Availability Online is a privately held SaaS provider of a commission-free online booking engine serving small to mid-sized lodging properties — including B&Bs, inns, vacation rentals, farm stays, campgrounds, and small hotels — across the US, Canada, and UK, operating since 1996 with annual subscription pricing from $125 to $240.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Online Booking Engine Software for Lodging

NAICS

Other Travel Arrangement and Reservation Services (56159)

akta.pro primary industry

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

akta.pro secondary industries

Booking Engines & Direct Web Booking (THALACAD), Direct Booking Platforms & Booking Engines for Hosts/Managers (THAMALAE), Travel Management & Booking Infrastructure (GDS/Channel Managers/Booking APIs) (BPAMAIAO)

Keywords

• Direct booking engine
• Lodging reservation software
• Vacation rental booking
• Commission-free reservations
• Property management integration

Headquarters

HQ city

Rutland

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, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Annual Subscription - Basic Plan: Annual subscription at $125/year providing secure reservation forms, 2 availability display options, seasonal nightly rates, credit card collection, and ADA accessibility.
2. Annual Subscription - Premium Plan: Annual subscription at $240/year including all Basic features plus enhanced visual settings, 6 display options, advanced tax/fee calculations, iCal export, PMS solutions, and marketing features.
3. Payment Processing (Upcoming): Full payment processing through Ascent Payment Solutions partnership planned for 2025. Merchants process guest credit cards directly from administration center.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Availability Online provides a direct, commission-free online booking engine for small to mid-sized lodging properties including bed and breakfasts, inns, vacation rentals, farm stays, campgrounds, and small hotels/motels. The web-based SaaS platform displays room availability, accepts secure online reservations, collects credit card information, and syncs to third-party OTAs via iCal feeds, with annual subscription plans (Basic $125/year, Premium $240/year) and a 30-day free trial. The Premium tier adds PMS integrations, TripConnect TripAdvisor integration, iCal export feeds, monthly availability calendars, and marketing/analytics tooling.

Product overview

Availability Online is a direct booking engine platform for small to mid-sized lodging properties, consisting of two subscription tiers: Basic Plan ($125/year) and Premium Plan ($240/year). The core Availability Online Booking Engine enables property owners to display room availability, accept secure online reservations, and manage bookings directly from their website without OTA commissions. The Premium Plan adds monthly calendar displays, PMS integrations, iCal export feeds to Airbnb/VRBO/Booking.com, TripAdvisor TripConnect interface, tax/fee calculations, and advanced marketing tools including Google Analytics and Google AdWords tracking. A Property Management Solutions (PMS) add-on connects to third-party property management systems (Clubessential, eCamping, GuestSuites, Guest Tracker, iMagic, Reservations, Sticky Guest, Vacation RentPro) for automatic vacancy syncing and reservation downloads. The platform also offers FarmStay USA member discounted pricing and web design partnerships through ONNA Web Design. Payment processing integration via Ascent Payment Solutions is available for Premium subscribers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Availability Online Booking Engine A direct, commission-free web-based booking engine sold as an annual subscription (Basic $125/year, Premium $240/year) designed for small to mid-sized lodging properties (B&Bs, inns, vacation rentals, farm stays, campgrounds, small hotels/motels). Enables property owners to display room availability, accept secure online reservations, and collect guest credit card information directly from their own website without third-party OTA commissions. Compatible with all website platforms (WordPress, SquareSpace, Wix, GoDaddy, HTML), PCI-compliant, with a 30-day free trial (no credit card) and 90-day money-back guarantee.
• Ascent Payment Solutions Integration Full payment processing integration in partnership with Ascent Payment Solutions, allowing lodging merchants to process guest credit cards directly from the Availability Online Administration Center. Offers Interchange Plus pricing, direct merchant relationship with FDIC-insured funding, PCI compliance certificate support, free chargeback support, and no setup, contract, or cancellation fees. Available to Premium subscribers as part of the 2025 roadmap.

Named customers2 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration19 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Ascent Payment SolutionscoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2025Upcoming full payment processing integration for 2025. Ascent specializes in lodging credit card processing with transparent Interchange Plus pricing, direct merchant relationship with FDIC-insured funding, free chargeback support, and no setup/contract/cancellation fees.
• FarmStay USAcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerAvailability Online offers discounted FarmStay USA member pricing (Basic $100/yr, Premium $190/yr) and promotes farm stay bookings through joint marketing. The partnership specifically targets agricultural tourism properties seeking direct booking capabilities.
• ONNA Web DesignminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorWeb design partner offering professional WordPress designs to Availability Online users at discounted rates. Helps lodging properties get professional websites with integrated booking engines.
• TripAdvisor (TripConnect)coreTechnology or IntegrationTripConnect Certified Partner allowing direct booking engine linking to TripAdvisor listings. Properties gain 'Official Site' button on their TripAdvisor page with Cost-Per-Click model - pay only when guests click through, no commissions on resulting bookings.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Little Hotelier: Booking engine and property management platform purpose-built for small hotels, B&Bs, and hostels. Direct competitor in the small-lodging booking engine niche with similar value proposition of direct booking alternatives to OTAs.
• ThinkReservations: Reservation and booking engine software specifically designed for B&Bs, inns, and small lodging properties. Directly comparable in target customer and commission-free direct-booking positioning.
• ResNexus: Reservation management and booking engine for small to mid-sized lodging properties including B&Bs, inns, and campgrounds. Overlaps directly in PMS integration and small-property focus.
• WebRezPro: Cloud-based property management and booking engine for vacation rentals, B&Bs, inns, and small hotels. Competes in the same small-lodging SaaS market with PMS integration and channel management.
• OwnerRez: Vacation rental software providing booking engine, channel management, and PMS for small vacation rental managers. Direct overlap in the vacation rental booking engine segment.
• Booking Ninjas: Booking engine and PMS built on Salesforce for hotels, B&Bs, and vacation rentals. Overlaps in small-lodging booking engine functionality with cloud-based SaaS delivery.

Broad incumbents

• Cloudbeds: All-in-one hotel management platform offering booking engine, PMS, and channel manager. Larger and more broadly positioned, but serves the same small-to-mid-sized lodging customer base with overlapping functionality.
• SiteMinder: Global hotel commerce platform with channel manager, booking engine, and demand acquisition. Larger scale player targeting hotels of all sizes, including smaller properties that overlap with Availability Online's customer base.
• eZee Absolute: Hotel booking engine and PMS from eZee Technosys serving hotels, B&Bs, hostels, and vacation rentals. Comparable in small-to-mid-lodging focus with broader geographic reach.

Emerging players

• BookingLayer: Booking engine and online check-in tool for boutique hotels, B&Bs, and campsites. Emerging in the same small-lodging booking niche with modern UX and direct booking focus.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/AvailabilityOnline

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 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 Availability Online