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Tax settings for Direct booking: FAQs

Updated over 2 weeks ago

How do I set up taxes for my direct booking engine?

Go to Payments > Taxes. Tax settings in Payments > Taxes apply only to your Direct booking. These settings do not affect your connected channels. Each channel has its own tax settings that must be set up directly with each channel.

Where will guests see taxes on my booking engine?

Guests will see tax information on your booking engine on:

  • The page where guests confirm their reservation

  • The reservation confirmation e-mail

  • The booking confirmation page (if you select Show rates including tax and service charge on the direct booking engine). If not selected, taxes only appear at checkout

What are the two main tax settings and how do they work?

There are two key tax settings that affect how rates display:

Show rates including tax and service charge on the direct booking engine:

  • When selected, guests see final prices including all taxes on your booking engine

  • This helps avoid surprising guests with additional fees at checkout

  • If not selected, guests see base rates first, then taxes added at checkout

Include tax and service charges on Inventory grid rates for the booking engine:

  • When selected, your inventory grid displays rates with taxes included

  • When not selected, your inventory grid displays rates without taxes

  • This setting helps align what you see in your inventory with what guests see when booking

How do I handle tax rate changes and seasonal taxes?

Update tax settings manually when your local tax rates change. You can only set current tax settings, not future ones. For temporary or seasonal changes, update taxes on the effective date.

Note: Bookings use the tax rate from the day the guest books, not the day they stay. For example, if a guest books today for next month, they'll get today's tax rate, even if tax rates change before their stay.

How do I set up different tax rates for rooms compared to extras?

If you need different tax rates for rooms compared to extras, set up multiple taxes. When creating each tax, specify what it applies to: All rooms, or Extras only.

How do I set up extras with different tax rates?

  1. Create a new tax and select Extras only in Tax applied to.

  2. Click Save.

  3. Click the pencil icon to edit the tax.

  4. Select which extras this tax applies to.

  5. Click Save.

Can I apply taxes to specific room rates?

No, taxes cannot be applied to specific room rates. Taxes can only be applied to all room types or specific extras.

Will updates to tax settings affect existing bookings?

When you create, edit, or delete a tax, the change only applies to new bookings. Existing bookings keep their original tax settings.

Should I use tax-exclusive rates when tax changes are coming?

We recommend using tax-inclusive rates if you expect future tax changes. If using tax-exclusive rates:

  • Only offer non-refundable rates with full payment at booking

  • Avoid partial payments

  • Be aware that refunds may be complicated if tax rates change

This is because tax changes between booking and stay dates can affect refunds and partial payments.

Why are rates on my booking engine incorrect or different from my inventory grid?

If rates on your booking engine appear different from your inventory grid/they do not appear correct, check your tax settings:

  • If Include tax and service charges on Inventory grid rates for the booking engine is selected but Show rates including tax and service charge on the direct booking engine is not selected, your inventory grid will show rates with tax but your booking engine will show rates without tax (before the checkout page). The final rate will only show once the rate is selected on the checkout page

  • If Include tax and service charges on Inventory grid rates for the booking engine is not selected but Show rates including tax and service charge on the direct booking engine is selected, your inventory grid will show rates without tax but your booking engine will show rates with tax

For consistent rate display, ensure both settings are aligned.

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