What is ARI (availability, rates and inventory)?
Updated By Akkrev
ARI is the live data on which rooms a hotel has free, at what prices, under which rules. Booking sites, channel managers and some AI tools all run on it.
ARI stands for availability, rates and inventory: which room types are free on which dates, at what price, with what restrictions (minimum stay, closed to arrival, non-refundable and so on). It’s the data a channel manager sends to every booking site.
ARI and AI
Some companies now pass ARI feeds straight to AI platforms. DirectBooker, for example, uses an ARI feed from DerbySoft to surface hotels’ live prices and direct booking links inside AI assistants through MCP.
With good ARI data, an AI can quote the right price. To turn that quote into a booking, the guest or their agent still has to get through the hotel’s booking engine.
Why it matters for AI visibility
Availability and rates AI can read help it describe and recommend you accurately, especially for date-specific questions.