When travelers search for your hotel by name or look for accommodation in your destination, they often see your Google listing before they reach your official website.

Google Business Profile, still often referred to by its former name Google My Business, is the panel that appears in Google Search and on Google Maps.

It can display photos, reviews, location, contact details, amenities, and, in some cases, rates and booking options. Its purpose is to help travelers quickly understand whether your property suits their stay and how they can contact you or book.

Not having a Google Business Profile, or leaving it incomplete and outdated, is therefore more than an image problem. It can make it harder for your property to stand out, reach new guests, and guide them toward booking directly.

In this article, we explain how Google Business Profile works for hotels, which accommodation businesses can use it, and which elements to optimize to improve visibility.

You’ll also find a free downloadable guide with step-by-step instructions, screenshots, and direct links to Google’s official documentation.

What is Google Business Profile, and why does it matter for hotels?

Google Business Profile is the free tool that allows you to manage how your property appears in Google Search and on Google Maps.

A hotel listing can display the property name, location, directions, phone number, official website, photos, reviews, check-in and check-out times, and key amenities.

When the property is connected to Google’s hotel systems through Google Hotel Center, the profile can also display rates, availability, and booking links.

To be effective, your hotel’s Google listing should answer three questions immediately:

• Is this the property I am looking for?
• Does it offer what I need?
• How can I book or get in touch?

When the answers are not clear, travelers may move on to the next listing without ever visiting your website.

Which accommodation businesses can have a Google Business Profile?

Hotels and eligible hotel-like accommodation businesses can have a Google Business Profile. Vacation rentals and rental apartments generally cannot.

According to Google’s official eligibility guidelines, a business must have a physical presence and interact with customers during its stated opening hours to qualify for a Google Business Profile.

In hospitality, eligible businesses generally include hotels and similar properties that offer overnight stays, are publicly identifiable, and have a front desk or on-site management.

Vacation rentals and property managers follow a different process.

Vacation rentals and property managers: how to appear on Google

Properties offered exclusively as rentals, such as vacation homes and apartments, cannot generally use a standard Google Business Profile.

A vacation rental can still appear on Google through the official Google Vacation Rentals program, which is managed through Google Hotel Center.

In this case, you cannot create the listing directly yourself. The property data must be sent to Google by an approved connectivity partner, such as a PMS, channel manager, booking engine, or booking platform.

You can find the list of approved partners on Google’s dedicated partner page.

Property managers can create a Google Business Profile for their own company if it has an eligible business location. The profile represents the management company, while the individual apartments are published through Google Vacation Rentals.

The distinction can be summarized as follows:

For more information about eligibility requirements and how the channel works, consult Google’s official page on Google Vacation Rentals.

How to create or claim your hotel’s Google listing

Before creating a new Google Business Profile, search for your property by name on Google and Google Maps.

Your hotel listing may already exist because it was created in the past, perhaps by a former employee, or generated automatically by Google using information from other sources.

If the listing already exists, do not create a second one. Claim the existing profile instead so that reviews, photos, and business information are not split across two different results.

If no hotel listing exists yet, you can create one at business.google.com/add by entering the property name, category, address, phone number, and official website.

Google will then offer one or more verification methods, such as video, phone, email, or another available option.

How to optimize Google Business Profile for more visibility and bookings

Optimizing Google Business Profile does not mean filling in every available field or adding as many keywords as possible.

It means helping Google understand what type of property you operate while giving travelers the information they need to choose, visit your website, and book.

To do that effectively, the profile needs to serve four purposes: make your property relevant for the right searches, reduce uncertainty, guide guests toward the direct channel, and build trust before the stay.

1. Help Google understand what type of property you operate

Your name, category, address, and contact details are the foundation of the profile. If they do not accurately describe the property, even strong photos and reviews will be less effective.

Use the real hotel name and the correct category

The name on your hotel listing should match the name used on your signage, official website, and guest-facing materials.

Adding phrases such as “best city-center hotel,” “cheap hotel in Rome,” or a list of amenities may violate Google’s guidelines.

The category, such as Hotel, Bed & Breakfast, Farm Stay, or Serviced Apartment, must also reflect how the business actually operates.

Keep your name, address, and contact details consistent

Your name, address, phone number, and website should be consistent across Google, your official website, booking engine, booking platforms, and other major online channels.

Pay particular attention to the map pin. It should mark the entrance guests actually use. A pin placed at the back of the building or on the wrong street can lead to calls, delayed check-ins, and negative reviews before the stay has even begun.

Also check that the phone number is active and that the website link leads to the property’s official site.

2. Help travelers decide whether your property is right for them

People who open your hotel listing are often comparing several properties. They want to find the information that will quickly confirm or rule out their choice.

Your profile should therefore answer the questions that come before booking: where exactly the hotel is located, what types of rooms it offers, whether parking is available, whether pets are allowed, whether it is suitable for families, or whether spa access is included.

Focus on the details that influence the decision

Check that your check-in and check-out times, amenities, accessibility features, parking, food and beverage options, Wi-Fi, pool, gym, spa, and pet policies are accurate.

Google may also pull some details from other sources, so review the visible attributes regularly and make sure they still reflect your current offer.

Listing an amenity that is no longer available can create the wrong expectations. Failing to mention one that you do offer can remove your property from consideration for travelers who see it as essential.

Write a description that helps travelers decide

Avoid describing your hotel with generic phrases such as:

❌ “Welcoming hotel in a convenient location, ideal for an unforgettable stay.”

A more useful description would be:

✅ “28-room hotel a five-minute walk from Amsterdam Centraal, with private parking, family rooms, and check-in available until 11:00 p.m.”

Use photos to show the full offer

Your photos should help travelers understand exactly what they can book.

If you sell four room categories but your profile mostly shows the suite, guests considering a standard or family room will not have enough information to make a decision.

If five out of ten rooms have been renovated but your photos only show the renovated ones, guests may arrive with the wrong expectations and express their disappointment in a negative review.

Show the exterior, entrance, main room categories, bathrooms, views, shared spaces, breakfast room, and key amenities.

Decorative details can help communicate the atmosphere, but they should not replace images that clearly show the size, layout, and actual features of the spaces.

3. Use reviews and guest feedback to improve your profile

Reviews are essential when optimizing Google Business Profile because they reveal what guests notice, which information was unclear before arrival, and which aspects of the property they see as strengths or weaknesses.

For example:

• If several guests say the entrance is difficult to find, review the map pin, exterior photos, and pre-arrival directions.
• If reviews frequently mention parking, the distance from the city center, or spa access, this information may not be clear enough on your profile or website.

When you reply, remember that you are not speaking only to the person who wrote the review. You are also showing future guests how you handle compliments, problems, and criticism.

Personalize your responses to positive reviews. When replying to negative ones, acknowledge the issue when it is genuine, clarify the situation without attacking the guest, and explain what you have done to address it.

4. Create a simple path to direct booking

A well-optimized profile creates interest. To turn that interest into a booking, the next step on your website needs to deliver on the same promise.

Link to the right page

The link should lead to the property’s official website and make it easy to reach the rooms, availability, and booking engine.

Open the profile on your phone as a new guest would and try to make a booking.

Can you enter your dates and see an available rate in less than a minute? Or do you need to search for the booking button, move through several pages, close pop-ups, and start again?

If people click through from your Google Business Profile but do not book, your website may need improvement.

Keep your profile, website, and booking engine consistent

The rooms and amenities shown on Google should be easy to find on your website.

If your profile highlights a family room, spa, or parking, visitors should be able to find the relevant information and conditions quickly.

The same applies to room names, images, and policies. Different terminology across Google, your website, and the booking engine can make travelers question whether they are looking at the same offer.

Why doesn’t your direct rate appear on Google Business Profile?

Having a hotel listing on Google is not enough to display rates and availability. For that, you need another Google service: Google Hotel Center.

Google Business Profile manages the hotel’s public identity, including its name, address, contact details, photos, amenities, and reviews.

Google Hotel Center manages the information connected to booking, including rates, availability, landing pages, free booking links, and Hotel Ads campaigns.

To display a direct rate, your property therefore needs to be connected to Google Hotel Center. You cannot normally set up and manage this connection yourself.

Your booking engine, PMS, channel manager, CRS, or another connectivity partner sends Google the necessary information, including:

• availability;
• rates;
• booking conditions;
• landing pages;
• the data required to match the rates with the correct property.

Once Google has received and approved the data, it can display the hotel’s official website among the available booking options.

What are free booking links?

Free booking links are unpaid options that Google can display in hotel search results using the information received through Hotel Center.

Travelers see the hotel name and the available rate for their selected dates. When they click, they are taken to the official website or booking engine, where they can complete the reservation.

Google does not charge for clicks generated through these links. However, the provider managing the integration may apply its own fees or conditions.

What to check with your provider

Ask your booking engine, PMS, or channel manager whether it can activate Google’s free booking links for your property.

Also check:

• how frequently rates and availability are updated;
• which page opens after the click;
• whether users are taken directly to your booking engine;
• how clicks and bookings are tracked;
• whether the service involves additional costs.

The rate shown and the final price must match

The rate displayed on Google must match the price guests find on the booking page.

If Google shows a rate of €120 but the booking engine charges €145, travelers may lose trust and immediately return to comparing offers on OTAs.

Frequent discrepancies can also lead Google to limit or disable the property’s booking links.

Currency, taxes, occupancy, mandatory fees, availability, and booking conditions must remain consistent throughout the entire journey.

How to identify where the path to booking breaks down

Do not look only at how many views your Google Business Profile receives.

Also analyze website clicks, phone calls, direction requests, search queries, and interactions with booking links.

Looking at these metrics together can help you identify where improvements are needed:

• Many views but few website clicks may indicate that the profile does not communicate enough value or answer travelers’ main questions.
• Many website clicks but few bookings suggest friction on the landing page, in the booking engine, or around rates and booking conditions.
• Repeated phone calls about the same topics show that important information may not be visible enough.
• Direction requests combined with reviews mentioning a difficult-to-find entrance may point to an incorrect map pin or unclear exterior photos.
• High engagement but few direct bookings may also mean that the OTA rate is more visible, more competitive, or easier to book.

To measure the traffic your Google Business Profile sends to your website, track the link used in the hotel listing.

You can create a trackable URL with Google’s Campaign URL Builder, making this traffic easy to identify in Google Analytics.

Per analizzare il traffico che dal Google Business Profile arriva al tuo sito, traccia il link che inserisci nella scheda hotel. Puoi farlo con lo strumento Campaign URL Builder di Google che ti permette di personalizzare il link per renderlo riconoscibile in Google Analytics. 

Mistakes to avoid on Google Business Profile

The most overlooked mistake: not reviewing access permissions

One of the most common problems with Google Business Profile arises when the only owner of the hotel listing is a former employee, consultant, or agency the property no longer works with.

At that point, even a simple change, such as updating the phone number or replying to a review, can become difficult.

To avoid this, the primary ownership should remain with an account controlled directly by the property. Employees, consultants, and agencies can be added as additional owners or managers without sharing passwords.

Google distinguishes between:

• Owners, who can manage users and control ownership of the profile;
• Managers, who can update information, publish content, and reply to reviews without having full administrative control.

It is also advisable to give at least two internal team members access to the profile and review the user list regularly, especially after staffing or provider changes.

Now that you know which elements make your property’s presence on Google effective, you can move from theory to action.

We have created a practical guide that takes you through the setup and management of Google listings for hotels and vacation rentals step by step, with direct links to Google’s official guidelines.

FAQs