21% VAT on accommodation in 2026: how to update your hotel website and booking flow

January is price-comparison month every year, but in 2026 it is extra intense. Guests suddenly see 21% VAT on accommodation in your checkout, in your confirmation email or (worse) not consistently everywhere. The outcome is predictable: more drop-offs, more questions at reception, and debates about amounts ("but your website said something else").

So you do not have a VAT problem, you have a consistency problem: your website, booking engine, payment page, emails, and invoices must tell the same story. This how-to gives you a practical checklist: where things break and how to close the gaps in 48 hours.

What changed on January 1, 2026 (and why your website is at risk now)?

Accommodation and related provisions to 21% (impact on price display)

As of January 1, 2026, accommodation in the Netherlands is subject to 21% VAT. In practice, this means: the moment a guest sees a stay (room page, package page, checkout), your price display and VAT messaging must be correct at every step of the flow.

Why it breaks right now: many hotels only update the PMS or booking engine, but forget website prices, microcopy, the FAQ, or email templates. And January is exactly the month when guests compare quickly and abandon faster when anything feels unclear.

Separate facilities (like breakfast/pool) often 9% (impact on packages)

Separate facilities can fall under a different VAT rate (often 9%). That sounds like detail work, but it is the real source of all-in chaos. Think breakfast, parking, late check-out, bike rental, or wellness access.

The risk is not only administrative, but mostly about trust: if your checkout shows a total without a logical split or explanation, guests will feel like you quietly raised prices.

Quick decision tree: do you have 3 places where it goes wrong? (pricing, checkout, confirmation)

Prices on your site (rooms/packages) vs prices in your booking engine

Check this in 2 minutes:

Does your from-price on room pages match the first step in the booking engine?
Does "incl. VAT" (or "excl." for business rates) appear the same way everywhere?
Are packages (with breakfast/wellness) easy to understand, or do they feel like an unexplained all-in price?

If you already see a mismatch here, guests see it too. And in January, they simply click away.

Confirmation email/invoice vs payment page (different amounts create distrust)

The biggest conversion killer is not VAT itself, but different totals:

payment page shows X
confirmation shows Y
invoice specifies something else (or no split at all)

That triggers distrust, chargeback risk, and extra support.

OTA vs direct booking: consistency and trust

If you sell via OTAs (like Booking.com) and directly through your site, your message must feel the same: clear, honest, no surprises. After a VAT jump, you can actually build trust with clear direct-booking microcopy.

Checklist 1: fix pricing on your hotel website (front-end)

Room pages: from-price and what is included (incl/excl VAT)

For each room type, open the page and check:

Do you show "From EUR ..."? Add "per night" and "incl. VAT" (or explicitly "excl." if that is your model).
State what is included: accommodation, tourist tax not included, breakfast optional.
Avoid vague bundles like "incl. all facilities" with no explanation. That is exactly where VAT confusion starts.

A small real-world check many hotels miss: the listing page (rooms overview) often uses a different price source than the room detail page. If those do not match, you are in trouble immediately in January.

Packages: communicate an all-in price without confusion

All-in packages are the minefield in 2026. You do not need to fill your site with VAT tables, but you do need to be clear:

Name the components: 2 nights plus breakfast plus wellness access.
Add plain language: total price includes VAT; in the confirmation we specify accommodation and separate facilities.

FAQ: why is it more expensive since 2026?

Create or update a short FAQ with one goal: remove anxiety.

As of January 1, 2026, VAT on accommodation is 21%.
Some separate facilities may be taxed differently.
You will see this reflected as a specification in checkout, confirmation, and invoice.

This prevents a wave of emails and calls in January.

Checklist 2: update the booking flow (booking engine): 21% accommodation, 9% separate facilities

Rate setup: accommodation at 21% and add-ons at the correct rate

Tool-agnostic step-by-step plan (works for most engines and PMS connections):

Verify your base rate (room rate): is it set to 21% for stays in 2026?
Go through every add-on: breakfast, parking, pet fee, late check-out, bike, wellness.
For each add-on, check: is it truly a separate service in your setup, or quietly part of the room price? That determines whether you can differentiate at all.
Test on mobile: that is where explanations disappear and only the amount remains.

Common mistake: add-ons were baked into the room price "for convenience" years ago. Then everything automatically becomes 21%, or you end up with illogical invoice lines.

Split an all-in price: justify the allocation and make it visible

If you sell an all-in package as one price, you want two things:

Internal: justify the allocation (market-based value for breakfast, wellness, parking).
External: show a clear specification in checkout and confirmation (accommodation versus facilities), so it does not feel like a math trick.

Practical approach:

Pick fixed values per component (e.g., breakfast EUR 15 p.p.p.d., parking EUR 12 per night).
Have your engine or invoicing split the lines.
Add one short sentence in checkout: total includes VAT; itemization follows in confirmation/invoice.

This is the trending mistake in 2026: all-in prices that never split anywhere, creating guest questions and potentially skewing your accounting.

Coupon codes/packages: prevent discounts from breaking your VAT logic

Discount codes and packages often create weird side effects in your VAT settings:

Is the discount applied to the total or to specific lines (accommodation versus add-ons)?
Test at least 3 coupons: percentage, fixed amount, free breakfast.
Note: "free breakfast" is technically often a 100% discount on an add-on. If that add-on is misconfigured, you get a confusing invoice.

Checklist 3: advance payments in 2025 for stays in 2026 (and vouchers)

Deposits and prepayments: the stay date is the source of truth

January pain often comes from bookings made in late 2025 (with a deposit) for stays in 2026. That creates 2 risks:

the deposit was processed at the old rate while the stay falls under 21%;
the guest later sees an extra charge and feels it is unfair.

Make it explicit in your flow:

Add to prepayment: VAT rate is based on the stay date; specification appears in the confirmation.
Make sure confirmation and invoice remain logical: deposit, remainder, and VAT on the right lines.

Vouchers: what you promise on the voucher page determines the debate

Around December and January, gift cards are standard for hotels. If you sell vouchers:

check whether it is open value or a specific package/stay;
review your wording (e.g., redeemable in 2026, or 2 nights including breakfast).

The text you put on your voucher page often determines whether you face disputes later.

Microcopy and terms: prevent disputes before they start

On your site, there is one place where you can truly buy peace: clear terms and payment microcopy:

prices include VAT;
VAT rates may change due to legislation;
how you handle advance payments and itemization.

Keep it simple. Long legal pages do not help your reception team.

Checklist 4: keep emails, invoices, and terms consistent and legally safe

Confirmation emails: your trust document

Make sure it includes at least:

total amount plus date(s)
a short VAT line (incl. VAT; accommodation and any facilities are specified separately)
for packages: list the components

If your confirmation email is vague, you will get screenshots of your room page in your inbox.

Invoice layout: lines per VAT rate and recognizable descriptions

Business guests, and increasingly leisure guests, want an invoice that is correct and easy to understand.

Split lines: accommodation (21%) and breakfast/parking (where applicable, 9%).
Use recognizable descriptions, not just internal codes.
Make your invoice terminology match the wording in checkout.

Terms: 2 paragraphs that save you a lot of trouble

You do not need to publish a legal novel. You do need:

1 paragraph about VAT changes due to legislation;
1 paragraph about deposits and remaining payments;
cancellation terms whose amounts match your booking engine.

And if you want to handle this with a partner: choose someone who can fix the website and booking flow together, so prices, flow, and communication become consistent in one go.

SEO and conversion: turn the VAT change into a direct-booking opportunity (instead of OTA)

Transparency in your Book Direct block

After a VAT increase, the reflex is often: say as little as possible. In 2026, it works the other way. In your Book Direct block, add:

Always price including VAT
No surprises: VAT itemization in checkout and confirmation
Direct contact for questions

It reduces friction, especially on mobile.

FAQ and microcopy: less drop-off without ugly pages

Combine:

a short FAQ on the site,
microcopy in checkout,
consistent terms (accommodation, breakfast, parking).

That removes noise without turning your website into accounting software.

Channel strategy: keep your message consistent across OTA and your own site

In January, guests search locally and compare fast. If OTAs create a different price impression, you win on trust with clarity and consistency.

48-hour implementation plan (priorities) plus who to involve

Day 1: inventory

Create a list (ideally in one sheet):

all room pages and package pages
booking engine rate plans and add-ons
email templates (confirmation, prepayment, voucher)
invoice template(s)
terms pages

Involve at minimum:

revenue/pricing
front office (they get the questions)
your web developer or the technical contact at your booking engine

Day 2: go live and test

Apply the changes and test:

desktop and mobile
payment flow (iDEAL/credit card)
mail delivery (does the confirmation arrive and does it make sense?)

Test scenarios you truly must run

Test at least these 4 scenarios:

Booking for a 2026 stay with (partial) prepayment: verify amounts in email and invoice
All-in package with breakfast: verify split and description
Add-on (parking/late check-out) added: verify rate and invoice lines
Buy and redeem a voucher: verify wording and emails

January tip: fix mismatches first (amounts and wording). Optimization can wait, conversion leaks must be closed today.

Mini FAQ

Does 21% also apply to breakfast?

Not automatically. Breakfast can fall under a different VAT rate as a separate facility. For your website and booking flow, the key is that breakfast is handled as an add-on or as a clearly defined part of a package, so the invoice and confirmation remain logical.

How do you split an all-in price in practice?

Use fixed, defensible component values (market-based): what does breakfast normally cost separately, what does parking cost, what is wellness access worth? Have checkout and the invoice list those lines, and communicate one sentence in checkout stating that the specification follows.

What if I already (partly) paid in 2025 for a 2026 stay?

Then consistency is critical: the guest must see the same story on the payment page, in the confirmation, and on the invoice. State in your prepayment screen and terms that the VAT rate is based on the stay date and that you clearly include VAT itemization in the confirmation/invoice.

Free "VAT and Booking Check" via WhatsApp: send your website and booking link, and we will review your 21%/9% setup (pricing, all-in split, emails) and share a short action plan.