Your hotel website in several languages: what Google and Bing ask for (hreflang, no redirects, no empty translations)

Updated: 9 November 2026

A German or Italian traveller searching on Google, or asking an AI that relies on a search engine, should land on the version of your website in their language. Google and Bing publish specific rules for this. This is what they say (sources at the end).

How Google knows a page's language

From the visible text. Google says it does not use the HTML lang attribute or the URL to detect language. So each version must be truly translated: title, text, buttons and prices, not just the menu.

One address per language

Google compares country domains, subdomains and subfolders. For a hotel, the simplest is usually one subfolder per language (yourhotel.com/en/, /es/, /it/…): easy to maintain and all on the same host. What Google does not recommend is switching language with a parameter (?lang=en).

hreflang tags, done right

Add them in one of three ways: in each page's <head>, in the HTTP header or in the sitemap.
Each version must list itself and all the others. If two pages don't point to each other, Google ignores the tags.
Use ISO language codes (en, es, it, pt, el for Greek) and, if you like, country codes (en-GB, pt-PT).
Add an x-default version: the one shown when no language matches the browser.
Example of what must appear on every version: <link rel="alternate" hreflang="es" href="https://yourhotel.com/es/"> · hreflang="en" · hreflang="it" · hreflang="pt" · hreflang="el" · hreflang="x-default"

Don't redirect visitors without asking

Google asks you to avoid automatic redirects from one language version to another and not to adapt content by IP. If you want to help, add a visible language selector or a notice the visitor can close: that way Google and AI crawlers can read every version.

Beware of mass machine translation

Google's spam policy targets generating many pages through automated transformations, translation included, that add little value. Translating with a tool is fine if someone reviews the result. Bing also asks each version to change what really differs: terminology, examples, rules or details.

5-minute check

Open your website in another language: does the address change (/en/, /it/) and is all the text translated?
In your browser, "View source" and search for "hreflang": every version should appear, including the page itself, plus x-default.
Open the website from another country or with another browser language: it should not send you to another version by itself.
In Search Console, check that each version is indexed.

How iQuota helps

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Frequently asked questions

Do I need one domain per country?

No. Google presents subfolders as a simple, low-maintenance option; a country domain only makes sense if you target one specific country.

Is lang="en" in the HTML enough?

It helps browsers and accessibility, but Google says it does not use it to detect language: it looks at the visible text.

Can I translate with an automatic tool?

Yes, if you review the result. What Google's spam policy targets is generating many low-value pages with automated translation.

Sources

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