City tax inclusive rates allow you to advertise rates with all mandatory taxes included, meeting regulatory requirements and providing transparent pricing. When enabled, the system automatically calculates and includes city tax in your displayed rates whilst maintaining accurate financial posting.
For sites wishing to continue sending rates exclusive of City Tax, no changes to their current system setup are required.
However, sites that need to send rates inclusive of City Tax will need to make some minor configuration adjustments to enable this functionality. Once enabled this will affect all rate plans.
How city tax inclusive rates work in Rezlynx
When the city tax inclusive mode is enabled within Guestline Rezlynx:
The system calculates the total rate including taxes.
City tax is automatically calculated based on your configured rules.
The accommodation portion is reduced by the city tax amount.
Both components post together in room billing.
Important: Once you have enabled inclusive mode, existing bookings won't be affected - only new bookings will use the inclusive mode.
How city tax inclusive rates work for online sales
Distribution Hub automatically sends inclusive rates to all connected Online Travel Agents (OTAs) and to the Direct Booking Manager (DBM) when the feature is enabled. No additional configuration is needed for rate distribution.
Important considerations for OTA distribution:
OTAs charge commission on the total inclusive rate.
This includes commission on the city tax component.
Factor this into your pricing strategy.
Monitor your net revenue after the change.
Enable city tax inclusive rates
To enable city tax inclusive rates, follow the 3 steps below:
Step 1: Before you enable city rate inclusive rates
Important: If you use Google Connector with city tax, you must enable inclusive mode to maintain compliance. Google Connector will be automatically disabled for non-compliant properties.
Before you enable city tax inclusive mode, please ensure you have:
User permissions to change rate settings.
Reviewed your current rate plans and city tax rules.
Considered the impact on your pricing strategy, especially when selling via OTAs.
Reviewed any templates in Template Editor which reference additional city tax charges.
Step 2: Enable city tax inclusive mode
⚠️Important: Once you have enabled inclusive mode, existing bookings won't be affected - only new bookings will use the inclusive mode. All rate plans will be affected by this change.
To enable city tax inclusive rates, follow these steps:
Navigate to System, System, then Ini Settings.
Select Rate Plans from the side menu, then scroll down to City Tax.
Tick Enable City Tax Inclusive Rates and then click Update.
The system now displays all rates, across all rate plans, inclusive of city tax. Your base rate configuration remains unchanged - the system performs automatic back-calculation to determine the accommodation and tax components.
Allow time for all distribution channels to update with your new inclusive rates.
Step 3: Test your configuration
After enabling inclusive mode, check that your rates display correctly. Remember this will only be seen on new bookings, not existing bookings.
To test and verify the configuration, follow these steps:
Navigate to Guest Journey, Property, then Availability.
Select a day or date range on the Availability chart to open the rate search window.
Select a date range and rate plan with city tax attached in the search window, then click Find Rates.
Check the displayed rates show as expected, then select the rate to create a test booking.
Once in the Create Reservation screen, scroll down to the Room & Rate section and click Rate Analysis.
📌Tip: The booking lines show the total gross value including city tax and any surcharges, while the Rate Analysis shows the breakdown of charges.
Check the city tax charges are showing as expected. Select Options, then Change to test other occupancies or rate plans.
When ready to end testing, click Back in the bottom left to exit without saving.
Manage existing bookings
Existing bookings created before enabling inclusive mode:
Retain their original exclusive pricing.
Continue to show city tax separately.
Display an information message when edited.
Don't require any manual adjustment.
The system ensures guests pay the price they were originally quoted.
Room billing
By default, city tax posts are grouped with the rate plan charges.
To separate postings in room billing, follow the steps below:
Navigate to Guest Journey, Billing, then select Room Billing.
Select the booking with grouped postings.
Select the charges, then select Options, then Ungroup Transactions.
Troubleshooting
Rates appear lower than expected: The displayed rate is now inclusive. Your net revenue remains the same, but the accommodation portion appears reduced due to the included tax.
"Please Check" flags in reports: These occur with complex city tax calculations. The system provides the closest possible value. Review these bookings for accuracy. This report is only accessible in DACH region.
OTA rates not updating: Allow up to 24hours for channel updates. If rates don't update, check your channel manager connection status in Distribution Hub Monitoring page.
Google Connector disabled: This happens if you're using city tax but haven't enabled inclusive mode. Re-enable inclusive mode and contact support to reactivate Google Connector.