Set up and manage taxes for Direct booking
Set up taxes for your Direct booking (SiteMinder booking engine) so guests see the correct tax on their bookings and you comply with local tax laws and regulations.
Tax settings in Payments > Taxes apply to your Direct booking engine only, not your connected channels.
If you're setting up taxes for connected channels instead:
Connected channels (OTAs): for channels such as Booking.com or Expedia, set up taxes in each channel's extranet, or contact the channel's support team for help.
Channels Plus: set up taxes and fees in Distribution > Channels Plus > Setup, under Taxes and fees.
⚠️ Before you start:
The Payments > Taxes tab only appears if you have Direct booking enabled for your property.
You need Admin user permissions to add, edit, or delete taxes for your booking engine, and Payments must be enabled.
Where will my guests see tax?
Guests booking through your SiteMinder direct booking engine see tax information on:
The page where guests confirm their reservation
The reservation confirmation e-mail
The booking confirmation page
The rate displayed, if your tax settings are inclusive
💡 Any taxes you set up in Payments > Taxes are added to the reservation at the time of booking. For taxes collected directly from guests at the property, such as a city or tourism tax paid on arrival, describe the tax in your property's Terms, conditions and privacy policy so guests know it's payable on arrival.
Add a new tax
To add a new tax for Direct booking:
Go to Payments > Taxes.
Click Add tax.
Enter a name for the tax (for example VAT, GST, Sales Tax, or Percentage Tax)
Choose either percentage or fixed amount.
For percentage tax, enter the percentage and select what to apply it to: All rooms and extras, All rooms, or Extras only.
For fixed amount tax, select when to apply it (per booking, per night, per person, etc) and enter the amount.
Click Save.
Tax settings for Direct booking rates
Two settings control whether tax is included in the rates guests see on your booking engine and in the direct rates shown in your inventory grid. You can set these independently.
Do guests see prices with tax included on my booking engine?
Use the Show rates including tax and service charge on the direct booking engine setting to control whether guests see tax in the price before checkout.
Select (tick) this setting to show guests the final price including all taxes before they check out. This avoids surprising guests with extra fees at checkout.
Clear (untick) this setting to show guests rates without taxes first, with taxes added at checkout.
Do rates in my inventory grid include tax?
Use the Include tax and service charges on Inventory grid rates for the booking engine setting to control whether the direct rates in your inventory grid include tax.
Select (tick) this setting to display direct rates in your inventory grid with taxes included. The rates you set are the final price guests see, including all taxes and fees. This aligns what you see in your inventory with what guests pay.
Clear (untick) this setting to display direct rates in your inventory grid without taxes. The rates you set are the base price, and taxes are added separately. Guests pay the final price (base rate plus taxes) when they book.
Edit a tax
To change a tax name, percentage, or fixed amount for Direct booking:
Go to Payments > Taxes.
Click on the pencil (edit) icon on an existing tax.
Select Edit tax.
Make your changes.
Click Save.
Delete a tax
To delete an existing tax for Direct booking:
Go to Payments > Taxes.
Click on the pencil (edit) icon on an existing tax.
Select Delete tax.
Click Delete to confirm.