For many travellers, your Google Business Profile is the first thing they see about your hotel: on Google Maps, in search results, and as a source for Google’s own AI features. It’s also one of the few places outside your own website where you control what travellers see. This guide covers setting it up properly and keeping it working.
Why does a Google Business Profile matter for a hotel?
Because it decides whether you appear when someone searches for a hotel in your area, and what they see when you do. Google says local results are mainly based on relevance, distance and how well-known a business is, and that businesses with complete and accurate information are more likely to show up.[1]
It’s also one of the places AI tools can read about you when travellers ask for recommendations. Our guide to AEO for hotels explains how that works.
How do you claim and verify your hotel’s profile?
Search for your hotel on Google Maps. If a profile already exists, claim it; if not, create one. Then verify it using the method Google offers you. Google recommends verifying your business so you can manage the profile,[1] and a hotel’s profile must be claimed and verified before you can edit all its amenities from the dashboard.[3]
Two rules from Google’s guidelines are worth knowing before you start:
- One profile per location. Don’t create more than one profile for the same hotel, in one account or several.[2]
- Use your real-world name, as it appears on your signboard, website and stationery, without extra keywords.[2]
What should you fill in?
Fill in everything that applies, and make sure it matches your website and OTA listings exactly:
| Field | What to do |
|---|---|
| Name | Your real-world name only, not “Hotel X, Best Lake View Rooms”[2] |
| Address and map pin | Exact address; check the pin is on your entrance, not the main road |
| Phone | The number guests actually reach, the same one used everywhere |
| Website | Your own website, ideally the page with your booking engine |
| Category | The category that best describes you, such as hotel, resort or guest house |
| Hotel details and amenities | Fill in every service and amenity in the “Hotel details” section: Wi-Fi, parking, pool, restaurant, accessibility and so on[3] |
| Opening hours | Leave them: hotels can’t edit business hours, because they’re open 24 hours to guests[3] |
| Description | Two or three plain sentences: what kind of hotel, where, and what makes it worth choosing |
If your hotel’s class rating is wrong or missing, Google says to contact its support team through the help centre.[3]
Which photos should you add?
Real, recent photos of what guests will actually get. Google recommends adding photos and videos to your profile.[1] Aim to cover:
- Every room type, in daylight, showing the bed, the space and the view
- Bathrooms, honestly lit
- The entrance and how it looks from the road, so guests recognise it on arrival
- Common areas: the reception, the lawn, the rooftop, the pool
- Food and the restaurant, if you have one
- The surroundings that make your location special
Skip heavily filtered images and stock photos. Guests compare photos with reality, and their reviews will say so.
How should you handle reviews?
Ask every guest, reply to every review, and never take shortcuts. Google lets you share a direct review link or QR code,[4] and it says more reviews and positive ratings can help your local ranking.[1] Its policy prohibits incentives for reviews and selectively asking happy guests,[5] and its own tips for replies are to stay polite, short and specific, and never promotional.[4]
Our guide to getting more Google reviews without breaking the rules covers timing, example messages and replies.
What are Google’s free booking links?
Free booking links let your booking site appear on Google when people search for hotels, showing your site or hotel name with the room rate for the dates they’ve chosen.[6] Google says there’s no cost for clicks on free booking links, and that it collects no payment for placement.[6]
To decide which links to show, Google uses signals including consumer preference, value to the user, landing page experience and the historical accuracy of the prices you send.[6] So a fast booking page and accurate rates matter.
If you use a booking engine or reservation system, you may already be connected to Google through your provider, and they can set up your links.[6] Ask them. It’s one of the simplest ways to send guests from Google straight to your own website.
What mistakes should you avoid?
- Keywords in your name. It breaks Google’s guidelines.[2]
- Duplicate profiles for the same hotel.[2]
- A wrong map pin, which sends guests to the wrong lane.
- Details that don’t match your website and OTA listings, such as an old phone number.
- Outdated photos of rooms you’ve since renovated.
- Unanswered reviews, especially negative ones.
- Incentives or gating for reviews, which Google prohibits.[5]
What does a monthly profile routine look like?
Fifteen minutes a month: check that every detail still matches your website, add a few recent photos, reply to any review without a reply, and update amenities if anything changed. For the wider picture, work through our 15-point AI visibility checklist, or book a free AI visibility audit. HostOS’s AI Visibility Optimization service keeps your profile and listings consistent and re-runs the audit every month.
For a destination example, see how to get a Udaipur hotel recommended by AI tools.