Structured data (schema.org) for hotels and holiday rentals: what to put on your website in 2026

Updated: 8 November 2026

Structured data is a block of invisible code that tells Google, Bing and other software what your page is: a hotel, at this address, with these photos and these check-in and check-out times. It is often sold as the trick for appearing in AI assistants. What the official pages say is more modest, and this guide sums it up with the sources at the end.

The short answer

The essentials in five points:

It helps search engines and assistants understand your property's basic facts without doubt. Google recommends the JSON-LD format.
Google says there are no additional requirements and no special structured data needed to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode: the page has to be indexed and eligible to show with a snippet.
Google does not guarantee that your structured data will show up in results.
Review stars that a hotel marks up about itself on its own website don't show in Google.
The vacation rental rich result is limited to sites that meet eligibility criteria and have Hotel Center access; adding the code is not enough.

Which type to use

In schema.org the general type is LodgingBusiness (which is also an Organization and a LocalBusiness). Its subtypes are:

BedAndBreakfast, Campground, Hostel, Hotel, Motel, Resort, VacationRental.
For units (rooms, apartments, houses) there is Accommodation, with subtypes such as Room, HotelRoom, Suite, Apartment or House, linked to the property with containsPlace.
The schema.org hotels guide suggests modelling three things: the property, its units and the offer with price and terms (makesOffer / itemOffered).

Which properties are worth it

Those describing facts the guest can also see on the page:

Basics: name, description, address, telephone, image, geo, checkinTime, checkoutTime, amenityFeature, numberOfRooms, petsAllowed, starRating, priceRange.
starRating is for an official classification; schema.org suggests naming the rating body in author.
amenityFeature (LocationFeatureSpecification) doesn't say whether a service is free or paid: if parking costs extra, say so in the text.
Exact coordinates, real photos and your tourist registration number, if you have one, help avoid being confused with another property.

What doesn't work or no longer exists

Common mistakes in older guides:

Self-serving reviews: Google says that if the reviewed entity controls the reviews about itself, its pages using LocalBusiness or Organization markup are ineligible for review stars. A hotel is one.
FAQ: Google stopped showing the FAQ rich result in Search on 7 May 2026. The markup does no harm, but no longer produces that result.
In June 2025 Google announced it was retiring several result types to simplify the results page; none of the lodging types or LocalBusiness was on the list.
Marking up what isn't visible: Google's guidelines require markup to be a true representation of the visible content. Otherwise a manual action can remove rich results.

Holiday rentals and prices: partners only

Two Google documents that are often quoted but don't help a property on its own:

Vacation rental structured data: Google says the feature is limited to sites meeting certain eligibility criteria, working with a Google Technical Account Manager and with Hotel Center access. It requires, among others, identifier, image, coordinates with at least 5 decimal places and at least 8 photos (at least bedroom, bathroom and common area).
Hotel price structured data: it lets Google Hotels check that a partner's price matches the booking page. It is not a rich result a hotel earns from its website alone.

How to test it for free

Three official tools:

Google's Rich Results Test: shows which Google rich results a URL or code snippet could generate.
Schema Markup Validator (validator.schema.org): checks all schema.org markup without Google-specific warnings.
Search Console: if Google finds valid markup of a supported type, a report shows valid items and errors.
Bing announced JSON-LD support in 2018, with a markup validator in Bing Webmaster Tools. On the Microsoft Advertising blog (8 Oct 2025) Microsoft explains that schema markup helps search engines and AI systems understand content.

How iQuota helps

Each property's official page on iQuota already carries Hotel or VacationRental markup built from the listing data: address, coordinates, photos, amenities, registration number and phone when present, and check-in and check-out times, plus a direct booking link. The same data reaches AI assistants through our connector. Neither we nor anyone else can guarantee that Google or an AI will show you: markup helps them understand you correctly, it doesn't let you skip the queue.

Want an official page with direct booking and complete markup, connected to AI assistants? The first 30 hotels join free until 30 June 2027.

See the Founding Hotels programme

Frequently asked questions

Do I need structured data to appear in Google's AI Mode?

According to Google, no: there are no requirements or special markup for AI Overviews or AI Mode. The page must be indexed and eligible to show with a snippet. Markup helps your facts be understood, but it is not an entry ticket.

Can I get my review stars in Google with schema?

Not for reviews of your own hotel on your own website: Google doesn't show stars in that case.

Which format should I use?

Google recommends JSON-LD where your site allows it; Microdata and RDFa are also supported. Bing supports JSON-LD.

Sources

More guides for hotels

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