Staff & History
We are dedicated to providing our clients with the tools and support they need to make the internet a profitable piece of their business.
Our Staff & Support
Availability Online, and its parent company VTweb.com is made up of 4 dedicated employees. The personal touch is how we do business. We pride ourselves on taking care of our customers and understand how important it is to talk to a real person when you have a problem. We provide free support and always take the time to handle cases on a personal basis.
Tom Lichtman
Tom is the founder, owner, and system administrator of Availability Online.
He has been a presence in the hospitality industry’s internet space since 1985. His background includes working as a leading hardware and software designer for a major tech company.
In addition to his work with Availability Online, Tom is also the founder and head of two other companies: VTweb and SideKick Lab Trading Card Publishing.
Julie Niles
Julie is the General Manager and head senior support tech for Availability Online and has been with the company since the year 2000.
In addition to her work with AO, she also offers local SEO, website content development and other basic web marketing services.
Terry Heinel
Terry has served as the head software developer for VTweb and Availability Online since 1995.
He brings over 30 years of programming experience to his role, having worked with various companies across the country in addition to his long tenure with AO.
Hillary Summerton
Hillary is a professional web designer specializing in WordPress designs. She has been working with and along side VTweb and Availability Online since 2003.
Hillary has designed 100’s of websites for small to large businesses throughout the US, Canada, and the United Kingdom.
Foundation
Our business is built on a foundation of broad industry experience, extensive technical knowledge and a dedication to superior client support. This solid foundation has enabled us to become a leading provider of direct booking engine software systems for lodging properties. Having worked with innkeepers for more than 25 years we understand many of the issues facing you today and have developed web-based applications that can help you take advantage of the tremendous opportunity the internet presents.
Experience
The lodging industry has been a focus of ours since 1996 and we have gained substantial insights into what makes a lodging website more successful. Availability Online was developed in close collaboration with lodging proprietors to be a powerful, effective and affordable tool for lodging establishments. We were the first in the industry to offer online room availability displays and have been leading ever since.
Knowledge
At Availability Online we keep up with the pace of technology so you don’t have to. Our founder and owner, Tom Lichtman, designed circuit boards and supercomputers for IBM Research and David Sarnoff Laboratories before starting Availability Online. We are continually incorporating new technology to lead the industry and as new technology arises we will be the first to enhance our service with it.