[Seeking Advice] I've Built a Web App to Help Small Businesses Fill Empty Appointments – Which Niches Need This Most?

[davegibbs]

Hey everyone,

I'm a developer and fellow entrepreneur, and I've recently put a new web application live. It's designed to address a common and frustrating problem for small service businesses, and individuals working within those niches: lost income from unexpected empty slots in their schedule.

The application provides a straightforward way for them to:

• Quickly advertise and fill those sudden openings (e.g., due to a last-minute cancellation).
• Easily promote discounted appointments for quieter periods to attract more bookings.

It's built to complement existing booking systems, not to be a full replacement, focusing purely on getting those tricky empty slots filled.

I'm now trying to refine my focus and work out which specific types of small businesses, or individual practitioners/freelancers within those businesses, would benefit most from this kind of service. I'm thinking of scenarios where a single filled appointment could easily justify a small, affordable monthly subscription and significantly boost their income. My current focus is on filling slots within a tight window, in the next 1-5 days.

I'm genuinely committed to building a product that truly serves the needs of local businesses and individuals, helping them make more revenue. Your real-world experience and perspectives would be incredibly valuable in helping me refine my target audience.

I'd really appreciate your insights on:

1. Which industries or types of small service businesses (or individuals working independently within them) do you think suffer the most from last-minute cancellations or have significant "downtime" that they'd love to fill quickly?
2. For these businesses/individuals, how critical is it to fill a slot within a very short timeframe (e.g., 1-5 days)?
3. Are there any specific challenges or workflows unique to certain niches or individual roles that make this problem particularly acute for them?

Thanks in advance for any advice

 

[fisicx]

1. Taxi drivers, van drivers, hairdressers.

2 & 3. No idea, you need to ask them.

Can’t really see this working. If I’m a hairdresser and Julie cancels how is anyone going to know there is an empty slot?

 

[davegibbs]

Thanks very much for the reply. Much appreciated

To give a bit of context with regards to your question "how is anyone going to know there is an empty slot", here is how the web app currently works:
1. Business adds a slot they want to advertise
2. The slot appears on their dedicated profile page which can be viewed by the public
3. Someone sees the slot and requests the booking
4. Business is notified and accepts the booking and adds it to their system
5. Customers can also favourite a business so that they can be notified whenever any last minute slots from that business become available.

The notifications aren't yet in the web app, but i think that could be a good feature moving forward.

So far, I’ve been reaching out to businesses such as hair salons, restaurants, pet services and personal trainers, and had no replies from any of them, hence me posting here to try to understand if I'm barking up the wrong tree. I figured they would be good candidates for this kind of service, as (I assumed) they struggle more with last minute cancellations.

The original idea came from thinking that if a restaurant is consistently fully-booked on a Saturday night has a last minute cancellation, someone could snap up the booking if they put it on the site, and it's a win-win for both parties. Most restaurants currently don't have a good outgoing channel for advertising these kinds of slots, as it's always the customer who books on their website or phones them up to book.

 

[fisicx]

Way too complicated. The hairdresser just needs to post on their FB page they have a slot tomorrow. Much simpler than updating their profile page on your site then hoping someone visits the site.

If it were a Wordpress plugin it might have some legs but TBH there are already a load of booking plugins that you can use.

 

[davegibbs]

I think that's the reason for this whole post, and why I'm looking for niches where it would be a valid tool for them to use. Hairdressers who have a strong social media presence may not be the most suitable industry. Plumbers could be. I don't know. One filled £150 plumbing job covers your web app subscription for a year!

Also, the web app is designed to be pretty friction-less. Takes seconds to get a slot up on the dedicated profile page, and "business/customer" communication is pretty sharp too

Also, a Facebook post is merely text. The link on their page is actionable. They can book it instantly through the link, no DMs, no phone calls, no back-and-forth. This is a key difference. Don't want to be replying to 10 different people who want the slot. That's my thinking anyway.

 

[fisicx]

your app needs to be integrated on the plumbers site. It needs to be integrated with the GBP.

Hoping a potential customer will bookmark your website and then remember it exists on the day the sink leaks to check if the plumber is free.

I’ve been trying to think of any local service where this app would be useful and actually work but I’m struggling.

And even if you did find a niche the chances of anyone paying for the service is going to be close to zero.

Sorry to be all negative but this seems like a solution looking for a problem to solve.

 

[davegibbs]

Thanks for taking the time to share your perspective. I really do appreciate the honest feedback, and not negative. Any comment I take to be useful, as I do want to build something that is wasting my time.

My aim is to address the specific challenge of quickly filling unexpected empty slots for certain types of service businesses, and your comments certainly give me more to consider regarding broad applications.

Thanks again for your thoughts.

 

[Lucan Unlordly]

I can't see beyond hairdressers for this....and I can see another use.

I have a 6 mile run across town to get my 'barnet' sorted.
As well as specific time slots it would be really useful to know if my Barber is having a slow day. The weather has a lot to do with this as do major sporting events, FA Cup etc., on TV plus second guessing when the kids break up or go back to school has an impact on wait times.

 

[Gecko001]

Most small service businesses can have other things to do when there is a gap in in their schedule. In fact many very busy such businesses welcome those times when they have time where they can attend to admin. and all sorts of odd jobs in connection with running a business.

I should think that it is the bigger businesses, who have several employees, that would need this service, if at all it is needed. A business where if a booking is cancelled, there will be an employee with nothing to do as there are other people in the firm who do all those admin tasks and odd jobs.

So unless you can get those bigger firms interested in this service, perhaps you could struggle.

 

[Paul Carmen]

Why would anyone sign up for this (I'm not saying they wouldn't, I just don't understand why they would), can you explain the features and benefits to a customer; as if not, that will be why you had no responses?

There are already loads of local searches for most types of services, but these are on primarily on Google, then Facebook, Bing, YouTube etc, where local businesses can post on their GBP/Facebook page to promote offers.

For your solution to work you'd need a captive nationwide audience, and loads of local searches, or be linking to Google/Bing search results somehow. If you don't have this, it would not help any local business fill last minute cancellations.

 

[davegibbs]

I can't see beyond hairdressers for this....and I can see another use.

I have a 6 mile run across town to get my 'barnet' sorted.
As well as specific time slots it would be really useful to know if my Barber is having a slow day. The weather has a lot to do with this as do major sporting events, FA Cup etc., on TV plus second guessing when the kids break up or go back to school has an impact on wait times.

Why would anyone sign up for this (I'm not saying they wouldn't, I just don't understand why they would), can you explain the features and benefits to a customer; as if not, that will be why you had no responses?

There are already loads of local searches for most types of services, but these are on primarily on Google, then Facebook, Bing, YouTube etc, where local businesses can post on their GBP/Facebook page to promote offers.

For your solution to work you'd need a captive nationwide audience, and loads of local searches, or be linking to Google/Bing search results somehow. If you don't have this, it would not help any local business fill last minute cancellations.

Most small service businesses can have other things to do when there is a gap in in their schedule. In fact many very busy such businesses welcome those times when they have time where they can attend to admin. and all sorts of odd jobs in connection with running a business.

I should think that it is the bigger businesses, who have several employees, that would need this service, if at all it is needed. A business where if a booking is cancelled, there will be an employee with nothing to do as there are other people in the firm who do all those admin tasks and odd jobs.

So unless you can get those bigger firms interested in this service, perhaps you could struggle.

Way too complicated. The hairdresser just needs to post on their FB page they have a slot tomorrow. Much simpler than updating their profile page on your site then hoping someone visits the site.

If it were a Wordpress plugin it might have some legs but TBH there are already a load of booking plugins that you can use.

Thanks so much for all your valuable feedback – truly insightful!

You've collectively highlighted some critical points, especially around the initial complexity and the 'chicken and egg' challenge of bringing businesses and customers together. I've taken this on board and have now tweaked the site's direction significantly.

We're now niching down to MedSpas, aesthetic, and wellness businesses. Crucially, Availabook is evolving into a search and discovery marketplace for last-minute appointments. This means customers will be able to actively find and book available slots at local businesses, directly addressing that disconnect you mentioned between businesses needing to fill gaps and customers looking for immediate openings.

To kickstart this, we're offering businesses free access during our launch period while we build out the full map discovery feature. Those who join now also lock in our special 50% off lifetime launch price, with their subscription only beginning once the map officially goes live. This helps us build the business base, ensuring there's plenty for customers to discover when we launch that side.

The goal is to provide a dedicated platform where new clients can easily discover your last-minute slots, turning those cancellations into revenue and helping businesses maximise their capacity.

Thanks again for helping shape this!

 

[fisicx]

Still doesn’t answer the question about how the customer is going to know about the app. Then convince them to install on their phone. Then get them to use the thing.

 

[davegibbs]

Still doesn’t answer the question about how the customer is going to know about the app. Then convince them to install on their phone. Then get them to use the thing.

Well, that'll be down to good old marketing, outreach and advertising, as per the methods most businesses use to attract a customer base. It's a website and not a mobile app at this stage, btw.

 

[fisicx]

If it’s a website you have even less chance of success.

The only way anyone will know of the vacant slot is if they happen to be looking at the website. Your web app could send an email to everyone who has registered but the salon could do that without your app.

No matter how good your marketing, the whole process is far to complicated.

 

[GLAbusiness]

your problem is that your target audience is people looking for a last minute slot. I can't see how you can generate the taction for this to work.

 

[fisicx]

Pulled a muscle during some vigorous oscillating exercise. Picked up the phone and called the massage parlour to see if they had a slot tomorrow. All good. Happy end for me.

No app required.

I suspect most people will just call, text, message or email to see if there is free spot. The chances of them even remembering the website and the free slots have been uploaded are slim. Even worse, the slot shows as being free but by the time I’ve logged in and filled in the form it’s already gone.

 

[Lucan Unlordly]

I suspect most people will just call, text, message or email to see if there is free spot.

Ok if you can get through to someone, which I'm finding particularly difficult these days.

 

[fisicx]

Ok if you can get through to someone, which I'm finding particularly difficult these days.

That maybe so but a website that needs constant updating and marketing by local businesses isn’t the answer.

 

[Mark T Jones]

Unfortunately I think you have a solution looking for a problem.

My wife works as an osteopath 2 days a week. They have a pretty slick online booking system. Last-minufe cancellations do happen, but they make no attempt to fill them - they use the time to catch up on notes, do CPD or probably talk about horses.

I think your market would need to be high-earning professionals- but you still have the problem of balancing supply with demand (because if they try a few times and dont get a result they will promptly bin the app)

And of course, youll need a pretty chunky marketing budget.

 

[fisicx]

We're now niching down to MedSpas, aesthetic, and wellness businesses.

Suppose I've got my botox treatment booked for next month. My diary is planned and everything is good. You have a cancellation and have a slot available in two days. Why would I be interested in coming early for something that isn't due? How would I even know this slot is free?

It the same with your other targets. People plan their spa days and yoga classes. They aren't even looking for next day availability.

 

[SpriteScenes]

This sounds more like a component of a system than an application in itself. A statement of requirements might include the following options when discussing your feature.

Options:

- Offer it as a free service and find a way to monetise it.

- Include it as a feature of a wider service. Build a platform that includes add-ons you can charge for.

- Monitor customer behaviour, including the features they use. This will enable you to see which features they might pay for.

- Don’t rely on business staff to do anything. Automate the process as much as possible. Your application could execute the entire process from a click provided by the customer who is cancelling the appointment.

- Tell the customer that they must confirm their booking ahead of the appointment. The confirmation process should include payment. The system will cancel the appointment if they don’t confirm the appointment, and this will initiate the rebooking process.

- Customers who accept slots that come from cancellations must pay at the same time.

This is a quick set of notes with a few thoughts. The point is, you should automate the process and have the customers do the work. It would probably be part of a system that has a much wider scope.

 

[fisicx]

And it needs to be integrated into the business website/CRM. It’s just not going to work as a standalone system.

 

[davegibbs]

Ok if you can get through to someone, which I'm finding particularly difficult these days.

This is exactly what sparked the idea in the first place

 

[davegibbs]

Unfortunately I think you have a solution looking for a problem.

My wife works as an osteopath 2 days a week. They have a pretty slick online booking system. Last-minufe cancellations do happen, but they make no attempt to fill them - they use the time to catch up on notes, do CPD or probably talk about horses.

I think your market would need to be high-earning professionals- but you still have the problem of balancing supply with demand (because if they try a few times and dont get a result they will promptly bin the app)

And of course, youll need a pretty chunky marketing budget.

Thanks for the feedback, Mark. And you're right about finding the correct market fit. My original question was asking about which niches would be suitable for this solution. Which I'm homing in on, bt not quite there yet

 

[davegibbs]

Suppose I've got my botox treatment booked for next month. My diary is planned and everything is good. You have a cancellation and have a slot available in two days. Why would I be interested in coming early for something that isn't due? How would I even know this slot is free?

It the same with your other targets. People plan their spa days and yoga classes. They aren't even looking for next day availability.

Thanks once again for the valuable feedback, fisicx. I honestly do welcome your comments, as I'm getting nearer to working out how to pivot this, if necessary.

Ideally, I'd want to aim my offering at something like GP appointments, as they're so hard to get at the moment, and people would jump at the chance of getting one of those sooner rather than later. However, people generally don't cancel appointments, and merely don't show up, but by the time that happens, the time slot has been and gone.

So I think it could be applicable in specific circumstances, but it's about finding the industry where it's most needed.

 

[davegibbs]

This sounds more like a component of a system than an application in itself. A statement of requirements might include the following options when discussing your feature.

Options:

- Offer it as a free service and find a way to monetise it.

- Include it as a feature of a wider service. Build a platform that includes add-ons you can charge for.

- Monitor customer behaviour, including the features they use. This will enable you to see which features they might pay for.

- Don’t rely on business staff to do anything. Automate the process as much as possible. Your application could execute the entire process from a click provided by the customer who is cancelling the appointment.

- Tell the customer that they must confirm their booking ahead of the appointment. The confirmation process should include payment. The system will cancel the appointment if they don’t confirm the appointment, and this will initiate the rebooking process.

- Customers who accept slots that come from cancellations must pay at the same time.

This is a quick set of notes with a few thoughts. The point is, you should automate the process and have the customers do the work. It would probably be part of a system that has a much wider scope.

Great feedback, SpriteScenes, and very informative. I'm gonna have a good think about your comments this afternoon, and see what I can think of.

 

[Jeff FV]

MOTs.

My car goes in for its MOT today, my daughter’s goes in tomorrow. I booked them both nearly two months ago. Been going to the same garage for years, interestingly this year, when I phoned to book the appointments, they rather apologetically said I now had to pay up front. Not a problem, but I surmise they have had a number of no shows of late.

Anyway, I digress, a couple of weeks ago my sister phoned me - could they borrow my car? They had to collect their son from Heathrow in a few days time, but discovered their car’s MOT had lapsed, and they couldn’t book one for a couple of weeks. Now, if there had been a site advertising available MOT slots, they would have used that.

 

[davegibbs]

And it needs to be integrated into the business website/CRM. It’s just not going to work as a standalone system.

If it's ok with you, I'm going to share the site, so you can have a look at the landing page, and judge accordingly, to see if you can suggest any areas that I could possibly pivot to, or any other industries you feel this might work. I'm not sure this would be strictly classed as advertising, as I don't feel my target audience is in this forum, so I'm merely sharing for honest critical feedback and ideas. Feel free to remove this comment if you feel that it breaks the rules. My website is availabook dot com.

 

[davegibbs]

MOTs.

My car goes in for its MOT today, my daughter’s goes in tomorrow. I booked them both nearly two months ago. Been going to the same garage for years, interestingly this year, when I phoned to book the appointments, they rather apologetically said I now had to pay up front. Not a problem, but I surmise they have had a number of no shows of late.

Anyway, I digress, a couple of weeks ago my sister phoned me - could they borrow my car? They had to collect their son from Heathrow in a few days time, but discovered their car’s MOT had lapsed, and they couldn’t book one for a couple of weeks. Now, if there had been a site advertising available MOT slots, they would have used that.

Very interesting! Thanks Jeff. That's a great example of what I want to achieve with Availabook. I need to research more into this, as it sounds like an interesting industry to explore. I really do want to find the niche which finds this the most valuable.

 

[Paul Carmen]

Unfortunately, unless you can get huge sign up and buy in in any niche, then this will never trump a Google search.

You can see every local business worth its salt on a local google/maps search and contact them. GBPs have a booking link in the listing too, some companies will have live booking info in the search/website too (we do for demo's and consultations), and have built this to appear in search results for some clients.

So, unless you have well over 50% of the businesses signed up in every area, it will be easier for a customer to carry out this "booking slot" research all via a local Google search.

The MOT booking scenario would suffer from the same issue, in that the reason you can't get an emergency slot is they all book up well in advance, so there aren't any. The big players like Halfords, Quick Fit, Formula 1 etc all have live local MOT booking on their websites.

The only way you'll avoid this being a meaningless directory, is if you can get huge local sign up first, plus get these local companies to regularly update their booking info, or have some sort of API link if the have their own booking setup. This will be difficult to do, if not impossible.

We built a web sign up app like this for local pubs and restaurants during Covid, and local business either weren't interested, or didn't keep their info up to date. Our research showed that it would have needed a big marketing budget to stand even a small chance of working nationally.

 

[Gecko001]

I can see how you could market this to the businesses that have free slots, but to the people who will download the app and use it to find free slots?

The thing is that most people will aspire to finding a good, hairdresser, wellness centre etc. and sticking with them. They like building a rapport with them, and they understand that they might not get the appointment at a particular time.

However, there could be a market out there. I suggest you should aim the app at people who are fed up with not being able to get an appointment that they want with a particular service. They might have had poor service and are thinking of leaving that particular hairdresser wellness centre, etc, and not getting the time slot they want is the last straw. Your app might be seen as a saviour for them. They will not have to search out competitors, ring them up or go to a website which are often confusing or just plain annoying regarding bookings, to find out if there is a time slot they want. Hence, concentrating the marketing of the app as a means to narrow down searches to only firms that have a certain time slot and save a lot of time might work, if you could convince enough people to use your app instead of the regular search engines.

 

[Paul Carmen]

I can see how you could market this to the businesses that have free slots, but to the people who will download the app and use it to find free slots?

It's a website, so it would have to rank very well organically via local search (time consuming and potentially expensive to do), or use PPC search/local service ads to get in front of customer searching (decent marketing budget needed).

Unless this can be heavily monetised, it's difficult to do. This looks viable only if you had VC funding upfront to burn through to market the business, it probably needs TV or at least door drop flyer ads to get any kind of national traction unless it ranks locally for the intended searches/businesses.

 

[davegibbs]

Thanks again everyone for the incredibly direct and honest feedback. It's been really valuable in helping me refine Availabook's direction.

I think you’ve all highlighted the core challenge perfectly: people don't typically browse for last-minute appointments, and Google is of course dominant. You also pointed out the specific pain of customers being "fed up with not being able to get an appointment they want" and the desire for a "saviour" app.

I still think there could be room for an instant alternative slot finder for aesthetic and wellness services (or a more suitable industry - answers on a postcard).
* For the Customers: When their usual place is booked, or they need a quick appointment now, Availabook helps them instantly find and book available slots at local businesses without the hassle of calling around. It's for those moments of frustration when they can't get in.
* For Businesses: It's a new channel to capture high-intent clients who are actively looking for an alternative, immediate appointment because their preferred option isn't available.

Another possibility for the website is to focus more on the offers/discounts side of things, where a business wants to offer a typically quiet slot with a discounts/reward. Eg. Tuesday at 5pm at a local restaurant - 50% off main courses on table for 4. I mean, that’s just off the top of my head.

Thoughts?

 

[davegibbs]

Also, another note. I’m not trying to be the next Google. I just want to do it locally in my hometown to start with, and branch out from there, hopefully making enough money from it to sustain my lifestyle. If it takes off, great, but I really just want to be a solo founder/developer and make a living for me and my family.

 

[davegibbs]

For the heck of it, I asked a few AI sites for some ideas that Google won't be as good at helping with, and although there were some generic, terrible ideas for a pivoted direction, these were interesting:

1. Last-Minute Van Helper
Problem: You find a great deal on Facebook Marketplace, but can't arrange immediate transport.
The Advantage: Connects customers who need a van for an instant purchase with a driver who is free right now. This solves the logistical gap between finding a same-day deal and getting it home, a problem that traditional van services, which require advance booking, can't solve.

2. Crisis Cleaning Slots
Problem: Good cleaners are booked weeks in advance, making it impossible to find one for a last-minute need.
The Advantage: Monetises same-day cancellations. When a customer cancels, that time slot can be offered at a premium rate to someone in urgent need of a cleaning, which is a service that wouldn't normally be advertised.

3. Emergency Handyman Slots
Problem: Finding a quality tradesperson for an immediate repair is nearly impossible.
The Advantage: Fills last-minute gaps in a tradesperson's schedule (e.g., a postponed job) with paying customers. It provides a direct channel for professionals to sell their newly available time without relying on their existing, but often slow, word-of-mouth networks.

So, I guess it's all about finding a niche where people can find immediate time slots for something that won't be fixed by searching on Google, or spending a lot of time ringing around lots of different people.

 

[fisicx]

The only way this is ever going to work is if it’s integrated and automated.

And you are an SEO magician. If anyone searches for a cleaner or whatever you need to be number 1.

And the slot needs to be available. Which means as soon as someone books the van driver the listing gets deleted.

There are significant marketing and technical challenges to overcome. It’s all doable but won’t be easy or cheap.

 

[GLAbusiness]

All scenarios depend on getting people to download your app. In general most people download apps they will use frequently, not ones that are just in case. I don't think you have a use case which will drive users to your app. I think you need to partner with someone who already provides a popular app and make it available to user of the popular app.

 

[fisicx]

All scenarios depend on getting people to download your app. In general most people download apps they will use frequently, not ones that are just in case. I don't think you have a use case which will drive users to your app. I think you need to partner with someone who already provides a popular app and make it available to user of the popular app.

It’s not even an app. It’s a website.

 

[GLAbusiness]

Same argument OP needs to take a user perspective not just a service provider one.

 

[davegibbs]

Same argument OP needs to take a user perspective not just a service provider one.

I'm ready and waiting to take a user perspective, if I knew who the user was That's what I'm trying to ascertain - which market this solution would fit best.