Hotel or vacation rental for Google? What your property can have on Google Maps (2026)

Updated: 9 November 2026

Many owners of apartments and holiday homes try to create a Google Maps listing and Google rejects or suspends it. It is not a glitch: Google treats hotels and vacation rentals differently. This guide sums up what Google's official help pages say today, with sources at the end.

Google's three questions

Google's help for lodging businesses decides the category with three questions. Does your business...

...have a front desk or on-site management?
...accept overnight guests?
...have its property and business address listed publicly?
If you answer yes to all three, you are a hotel or a related category (hostel, bed and breakfast, inn, farm stay, aparthotel...). If you answer no to any, Google says you are likely a vacation rental.
The name does not matter: calling yourself 'Hotel' does not make you a hotel for Google.

If you are a hotel

To appear on Search and Google Maps you need a verified Business Profile, managed by the owner or an authorised representative. Google expects the hotel to accept overnight guests and to have a front desk and a manager or owner on site. From the profile you can add your phone number, amenities and website.

If you are a vacation rental

The Business Profile rules say rental or for-sale properties 'such as vacation homes' or vacant apartments cannot have a profile. Rental offices can. Google does have a separate vacation rentals section:

It appears alongside search results and is free: Google says there are no fees for the referrals or bookings it generates.
Google requires a furnished space private to the guest, short-term stays and cleaning between stays. Shared rooms, partial houses and peer-to-peer rentals are not eligible for now.
An individual owner cannot join alone today: Google says individually owned rentals are not eligible at this time. You need to be a property management business with a direct booking website, or already be listed on a booking site integrated with Google.

Common mistakes

Creating a Business Profile for a holiday rental: it breaks the rules and Google may suspend it.
Inventing a 'front desk' or opening hours that do not exist to pass as a hotel.
Assuming outdoor lodging (campsites, glamping) works the same way: Google says it is not eligible in its lodging results.

If you cannot have a Google listing

There are other free places where AI assistants and maps read lodging data: OpenStreetMap, Apple Maps (Apple Business) and Tripadvisor, each with its own rules. We have a guide for each. And your own website with clear details is still the foundation.

How iQuota helps

iQuota publishes hotels and vacation rentals in AI assistants through its connector, with availability, prices and direct booking with no commission and payment at the property. It does not replace Google or guarantee that an AI will recommend you: it is one more channel, and it does not depend on having a Google Maps listing.

Want your hotel or vacation rental in AI assistants with direct booking and no commission? The first 30 hotels join free until 30 June 2027.

See the Founding Hotels programme

Frequently asked questions

Can I create a Google Business Profile for my holiday apartment?

No. Google's rules exclude vacation homes and rental apartments. Only a rental office that serves customers in person can have one.

How does Google decide if I am a hotel?

With three questions: front desk or on-site management, overnight guests and a public address. One 'no' and Google treats you as a vacation rental.

Does it cost anything to appear as a vacation rental on Google?

Google says it is free, but an individual owner cannot join alone: you need a property management business with a direct booking site or an integrated booking site.

Sources

More guides for hotels

More guides for hotels →

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