Hotel Booking Free 3.28.0-rc.7 is the Core reference package for Product 1.0 RC. It installs and operates without Pro or a license. Free owns the 3.9.0 database schema, room and booking records, availability locking, server-side quotes, base pricing, the basic Tax Engine boundary, payment dispatch, signed booking access and the Language Navigation public contract. Its public APIs are the integration surface for themes and extensions.
The Free package does not contain commercial Pro runtime, license enforcement, premium updater logic, online gateway implementations, iCal parsing or the Pro-only customer and OTA modules. Aurelia can render Free surfaces, and a missing Pro package is non-fatal. Existing booking, tax, payment and external inventory records remain readable and protected when Pro is unavailable.
Upgrade and verification
Back up the database and current package, replace Free first, reload PHP workers and flush a persistent object cache when enabled. Confirm the schema option, permalinks and a real Search, Room Detail, Book Now, Confirmation and Admin request. Preserve immutable booking snapshots and do not use plugin uninstall as a rollback. If the paired Pro package is active, install its matching RC after Free and run the full pair regression.
Free remains the authority for server totals and inventory. Browser values, theme markup and Pro enrichment cannot replace that authority. Keep this note aligned with the accepted package manifest before publication.