Help guests (and AI) find your entrance: address, Plus Codes, coordinates and arrival point on Google Maps and Apple Maps (2026)

Updated: 10 November 2026

A farmhouse at the end of a track, a house with no street number or a hotel whose reception is round the back: if the official address doesn't lead to the door, guests arrive late and annoyed, and whatever maps or an AI assistant say will be just as vague. This guide sums up what Google Maps Help, Google Business Profile, Apple Business, Google Search Central and schema.org say, checked on 10 November 2026 (sources at the end). Where we could not confirm something, we say so. No setting guarantees that a map or an AI will recommend you.

Plus Codes: an "address" for places without a number

According to Google (Plus Codes page and Google Maps Help):

A Plus Code is like a street address for places that don't have one. It is based on latitude and longitude, open source and free, and works online or offline. Google pitches it for rural areas and places with no streets or street names.
How to get it: in Google Maps, press and hold the exact spot to drop a pin and tap the panel that appears; the Plus Code is there to copy or share.
How to write it: with the town, as in Google's example "JJXX+HR8, Seattle". Someone already in the area can search for the code alone. Offline, Google Maps may show the global code with an area prefix, such as "9C5M8QQ7+V8".
A Plus Code represents an area, not a point: the more characters after the "+", the smaller it is. The pages we read do not give the exact size: not confirmed.
Google says it can define a specific location for a conventional address, for example different entrances to the same building. Useful if the reception, car park or gate is not where the postal address points.

Google Business Profile: address and pin

According to the "Manage your business address" help page and Google's guidelines:

Enter a complete, accurate address using only information that is part of the official address. P.O. boxes are not accepted.
If the address has no street number or Google can't find it, you can pin your location: select "Adjust" and move the map until the pin points to your business. Put the pin on the entrance guests use, not in the middle of the estate.
Add cross-streets or nearby landmarks only where the official address doesn't pinpoint the business. Google advises against entries such as "Across from…" in the address.
Hiding the address and showing only a service area is for businesses that serve customers at their location. The guidelines say nothing specific about lodging, but a hotel or country house receives guests at its address, so showing it is the consistent choice.
Google's address pages don't mention Plus Codes. Whether Google accepts a Plus Code in the address field: not confirmed. Use it in your instructions and on your website, not instead of the official address.

Apple Maps: location and entrance in Apple Business

According to the Apple Business guide:

When adding a location, enter the address and, if the marker sits over the wrong building, drag the map or enter coordinates until it is in the right spot.
Apple suggests switching to Hybrid or Satellite view to see your entrance more easily. For a first location there is verification and review by Apple.
In Apple Business's technical (API) documentation, coordinates use WGS-84 with at least 5 decimal places (about 1.1 m) and no more than 7, and there are fields for access points (accessPoints) and a display point. Whether the web portal lets you mark separate entrances: not confirmed.
Whether Apple Maps searches for or shows Plus Codes: not confirmed. For Apple, give coordinates as well as the Plus Code.

Your website: address and coordinates in structured data

According to Google Search Central and schema.org:

In LocalBusiness structured data (lodging types work too), "address" is required and "geo" is recommended. Latitude and longitude need at least 5 decimal places.
In schema.org, "geo" is used on a Place and its value is GeoCoordinates (or GeoShape); GeoCoordinates has latitude and longitude in WGS 84. Example with made-up numbers: "geo": {"@type": "GeoCoordinates", "latitude": 37.12345, "longitude": -5.12345}.
Use the coordinates of the entrance you want guests to use, the same ones as on Google and Apple.
Google does not guarantee that structured data will be shown in results, and whether AI assistants read it when answering is not confirmed. What you do control is that the information is the same everywhere.

Arrival instructions that work

Our practical advice (not a Google or Apple rule):

One fixed block on your website, in the booking confirmation and on your listings: official address, Plus Code with the town, and coordinates with 5 decimal places.
The real arrival point: where to park, which gate or door to use, where reception or the key box is.
The last stretch explained with visible landmarks: "after the junction, 800 m of dirt track". If sat-navs send people down an unsuitable track, say so.
A photo of the entrance, and a note if a particular kind of car is needed or there is no mobile signal at the end.
Check the pin on Google Maps and Apple Maps every year on a phone, as a guest would.

What is not confirmed

So as not to over-promise:

That Apple Maps understands Plus Codes.
That the Apple Business portal lets you mark separate entrances (it only appears in the API).
That Google accepts a Plus Code in the Business Profile address field.
The exact size of a Plus Code's area for each code length.
That AI assistants use Plus Codes, coordinates or structured data when answering.

If you run a rural property or one without a street number

What travellers typically ask AI assistants:

How to get there and whether sat-nav takes you right to the door.
Whether the last stretch is unpaved, whether a high car is needed and where to park.
What time you can arrive and how to collect the keys if nobody is there.
Keeping this clear and identical on your website, on Google and on Apple avoids wrong answers.

How iQuota helps

iQuota makes independent properties available to AI assistants with direct booking, payment at the property and 0% commission, with the price and terms each property sets, including arrival directions. We don't manage your Google or Apple listings and we cannot guarantee that an AI assistant will recommend you.

Run a rural property or one without a street number and want AI to give your real prices, terms and directions, with direct booking and no commission? The first 30 hotels join free until 30 June 2027.

See the Founding Hotels programme

Frequently asked questions

What is a Plus Code?

A free, open-source Google code based on latitude and longitude that works like an address for places without one. It is written with the town, as in "JJXX+HR8, Seattle"; offline it may appear in global form, such as "9C5M8QQ7+V8".

How do I get the Plus Code for my entrance?

In Google Maps, press and hold the exact spot of the entrance to drop a pin and tap the panel: the Plus Code appears there to copy.

My address has no street number: what do I do on Google?

Enter the official address and, if Google can't find it, use "Adjust" to move the pin to your business. Add cross-streets or landmarks only if the official address isn't enough.

Can I set my entrance on Apple Maps?

In Apple Business you can drag the map or enter coordinates to place the location, using Satellite view to see the entrance. Whether the portal lets you mark separate entrances is not confirmed.

How many decimal places should my coordinates have?

Google Search Central asks for at least 5 in structured data; Apple Business's API also asks for at least 5 (about 1.1 m) and no more than 7.

Sources

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