This article explains how hotels can bundle multiple products into packages or manage products with different tax rates using product rules in the PMS. These offerings can then be displayed in DBM and GuestStay, making it easier for guests to add value to their stay while ensuring accurate tax handling.

For example...

Previously, you could only offer a single product - for example late checkout - to sell online with GuestStay and DBM.

With this option, you can now offer packages that bundle together product items - for example a Romatic package bringing together accommodation, food & beverage, and spa items - to sell online with GuestStay and DBM.

Requirements

Before you begin, ensure:

Always check product configurations and tax settings before adding to product rules to avoid errors.
The product rule can only use one band. Multi-band rules cannot be exposed to guests via DBM or GuestStay.

You have access to the PMS, products and product rules.

Create a package for online sale with GuestStay and DBM

To create a product rule for sale online, follow the steps below:

Navigate to System, then within Rates select Product Rules.
Select New Product Rule.
Create a new product rule, and ensure:
- Expose as upsell: Select this box and the PMS option to enable manual selection of the product rule within the reservations upsell tab.
- For packages: you include all the products required for the package.
- For multi-tax products: include items with different tax treatments.
- For bands: include only one band per product rule, as multi-band rules cannot be exposed to GuestStay or DBM.
When ready to continue, click Save.
Select the new Distribution tab, as shown below:
Select where the product should be offered, including:
- PMS only if no boxes are selected.
- DBM.
- Available in GuestStay, Kiosk, and Guest Portal.
Select Which rate plan offers this product rule by clicking into the box and then selecting the required rates from the drop down.
Choose When should the product be available by selecting a date range.
Choose How would you like to handle upsell requests for this product, which can be done via:
- Instant Confirmation: This option is not currently available.
- On request: Select this to create a request which will need to be accepted or rejected by your property. The guest will not be charged for the item until it has been confirmed by the property or until the guest arrives.
Within Would you like to charge for prepaid bookings select yes to add to the prepayment total, or no to request payment on arrival for the product.
If required, click Edit Order to change the order of products displayed online.
On the right-hand side of the screen, complete the:
- Product name as it should be shown online.
- Description upto 2000 characters
Click Add Image to upload or drag and drop.
Click Save and this will re-sync this information to the Distribution Hub.

After saving the changes in PMS, the products will be in sync between PMS and distribution.

Important considerations

Product rules respect stock control settings in PMS. If any product within the rule has stock control enabled and reaches zero availability, the entire product rule becomes unavailable to guests.

For product rules containing child or infant products:

DBM: Product rules containing infant products will not be shown to guests at all.
Child products with no children in reservation: Product rules containing child products will still display, but pricing excludes the child products.
Child-only product rules: If a product rule consists only of child products and the reservation has no children, the rule will not be shown.

What guests see

Guests will see the product rule in the upsell section during booking (DBM) or after arrival (GuestStay).
Pricing is calculated for their specific reservation.
Guests do not see the underlying structure of multiple products or tax treatments.

Managing requests

When a guest requests a product rule, it creates a single request in the PMS Guest Requests page marked as Request: Upsell Package.

The hotel can then:

Review the request details.

Confirm the request to provide all included services.
- Manually add the product rule upsell to the reservation in the Reservations Upsell tab.

Decline the request if unable to fulfil it.

Important for DBM requests:

For multi-room reservations, the request is attributed to the first room with a warning icon indicating it may apply to any room.

If the guest prepaid and the hotel declines the request, a warning reminds the hotel to process the refund separately.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I create product rules with different date ranges or pricing periods?

Not at this time. Product rules must use a single band, which means one date range and one set of pricing rules. If different pricing is needed for different periods, hotels need to create separate product rules.

What's the difference between using this for packages versus multi-tax products?

The functionality is the same - creating a product rule with multiple products. The difference is the business purpose:

Packages: Adding multiple products or services that guests purchase together. For example, breakfast, parking, and spa items.

Multi-tax products: Managing single offerings that require different tax treatments for accounting purposes. For example, food items with varying VAT rates.

In both cases, guests see a single product to request.

How does this help with Germany's 2026 tax changes?

Starting in 2026, Germany will apply different VAT rates to food and beverage products. Product rules allow hotels to create a single offering, like "breakfast", that correctly applies different tax rates to the underlying components – with reduced rate for food and standard rate for beverages - whilst presenting it as one item to guests.

What happens if one of the products in a product rule isn't configured correctly?

The Distribution tab will show an error indicating the product rule cannot be exposed. You would then need to fix the product configuration issues before it can be offered to guests.

Can I offer product rules as direct bookable items rather than requests?

Currently, product rules can only be offered as requests that hotels confirm or decline. This gives hotels control over availability and capacity.

Do product rules work for both DBM and GuestStay?

Yes, once you expose a product rule through the Distribution tab, it will appear in both DBM during booking and GuestStay after arrival for guests to request.

How do prepayments work?

If you enable prepayment in DBM, guests pay when they complete their booking. The request in the PMS will show that it has been prepaid. If your hotel declines the request, you need to process the refund separately and directly to the booker.

For multi-room bookings, which room gets the product rule?

The request is attributed to the first room in the reservation, but a warning indicates it could apply to any room. You can then communicate with the guest to confirm which room should receive the services or items.

What happens if a product in my product rule runs out of stock?

If any product within the product rule has stock control enabled and reaches zero availability, the entire product rule becomes unavailable to guests. You should monitor stock levels for all products within their product rules.

How do product rules work with children and infant products?

Product rules handle child and infant products differently:

Product rules containing infant products will not appear in DBM at all.

If a product rule includes child products but the reservation has no children, the rule will still display with pricing that excludes the child product components.