A practical guide for hotel operators
When was the last time someone at your property checked your Google Business Profile?
Not just your reviews. Your amenities, photographs, booking links and the information Google is displaying about your hotel.
As AI changes how travelers search, keeping this information accurate is becoming increasingly important.
Consider the difference between someone searching for “hotels in San Francisco” and asking AI to “find me a boutique hotel in San Francisco with EV charging, pet-friendly rooms and a restaurant.”
The second search requires much more detailed information about your property.
Google recommends keeping your Business Profile up to date to support visibility across its search experiences, including AI-powered search.
So, where should hotel operators focus their attention?
1. What should you prioritize?
| Action | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Review your amenities and attributes | Make sure parking, EV charging, pet policies, Wi-Fi, accessibility features and other amenities are accurately listed. These details help Google match your property to relevant searches. |
| Check your business categories and description | Ensure Google correctly understands your property type and what makes it distinctive. |
| Verify booking and website links | Check that travelers can reach the correct website and booking experience. Hotel booking links may be managed through Google’s hotel integrations. |
| Keep your photographs current | Show your actual rooms, amenities, restaurants and facilities, particularly after renovations or upgrades. |
| Monitor customer reviews | Reviews help travelers evaluate your property, and Google’s local ranking guidance identifies review count and positive ratings as relevant signals. |
2. What should you maintain regularly?
Here’s a simple maintenance schedule your property team can follow.
| Frequency | Recommended action |
|---|---|
| Weekly | Respond to reviews and check for Google-suggested changes to your listing. |
| Monthly | Add relevant photographs, check booking links and review profile performance. |
| Quarterly | Audit amenities, attributes, categories, descriptions and contact information. |
| Whenever something changes | Update renovations, new facilities, restaurant offerings, parking policies and other guest-facing information. |
One thing many operators don’t realize is that Google can update your Business Profile using information from customers and third-party sources.
That means information about your property can change without your team making the edit.
Regularly checking your listing is just as important as updating it.
3. What shouldn’t you waste time on?
There’s plenty of advice circulating about how to optimize for AI search. Not all of it is supported by evidence.
Posting on Google every week: Google Posts can communicate offers, events and announcements, but there’s no confirmed direct AI ranking benefit from posting frequently.
Uploading photographs just for the sake of it: Current, useful photographs help travelers evaluate your property. There’s no established AI ranking advantage to uploading a particular number each month.
Chasing guaranteed AI rankings: No agency or platform can guarantee that updating your Google Business Profile will make your hotel appear in AI-generated recommendations.
Focus on accurate information and a better guest experience before investing in unproven optimization tactics.
The bottom line
Your Google Business Profile is one of several sources Google can use to understand your property.
Keeping it accurate doesn’t guarantee you’ll appear in AI search results, but it helps ensure Google has the right information when travelers search for the experiences and amenities you offer.
Before spending more money trying to improve your AI visibility, make sure Google actually knows what your hotel offers.
