A holiday-hours checklist for Google and your website

A customer planning a holiday visit needs a date, an opening time and a clear way to book or buy. Give them the same answer wherever they find your business. This guide walks through a suggested review of Google Business Profile, your website and the next step a customer takes after reading your hours.

Late October is a good time to prepare November and December schedule changes. Choose the dates that matter to your business and your customers. The workflow below applies to a local shop or service business with customer-facing hours. An online-only business can use the website and support-schedule steps. The example is fictional, and the checklist is an editorial recommendation.

Start with an approved schedule

Ask the person responsible for staffing to approve each exception. Put the date, location and local time zone in one working note. Include the next regular opening date after a closure. Assign one person to update the public information and another to check it from a customer’s view.

Write service differences separately. A shop might close at 3 p.m. while its last collection slot ends at 2:30 p.m. A consultant might accept bookings online during a week when appointments are unavailable. Record what a visitor can do at each time, including how soon someone will answer an enquiry.

Keep the note accessible to everyone answering the phone. If the schedule changes, update that note first and repeat the checks below. This gives the team a specific answer to use in replies.

Check whether Google hours apply to your business

Google’s business representation guidelines distinguish regular customer-facing hours from seasonal schedules and individual exceptions. Some business types, including businesses operating only by appointment, should not provide opening hours. Check the guidance for your business type before adding a schedule. Online-only businesses should also check Business Profile eligibility before creating a profile.

For a profile you manage, sign in with its linked Google Account. Google’s profile-editing guide explains access and says edits are reviewed before appearing publicly. Plan a follow-up check after submitting changes.

Enter individual exceptions in Google Business Profile

Google’s current Special hours instructions cover brief changes and closures of up to six consecutive days. They recommend confirming holiday dates even when the usual schedule applies. Special hours require the profile to use “Open with main hours.”

1. Open your Business Profile and select Edit profile, then Hours.
2. Edit Special hours. Review a suggested date or add the date you need.
3. Enter opening and closing times, or mark that date closed. Add another interval if the day has a break.
4. Save. Return to Special hours to check the stored dates.

Google directs businesses closing for seven consecutive days or longer, or for an unknown period, to its temporary-closure workflow. Different recurring service times, such as delivery hours, belong under More hours. Follow the linked Google guidance for your situation.

Update the website where customers make decisions

Work outward from the page customers use to visit or book. For a single-location shop, start with the contact or location page. For a business with several locations, give each location its own dated schedule. Add a short notice near the booking or collection link when the exception affects that next step.

In the fictional repair-shop example, the notice could read: “December 24 opening hours: 9 a.m.–1 p.m. Final collection is at 12:30 p.m. We reopen December 28 at 9 a.m. All times are local to our shop.” This tells a customer when to arrive and when service resumes.

Review the footer if it repeats opening hours. Check the contact form’s confirmation message and any automated email that promises a response time. Put an end date on the notice and assign someone to remove or update it after the exception passes. Keep a dated record of what you changed.

Follow the booking and buying path

Open the website on a phone and follow the same link a customer would use. Inspect the available appointment times or collection windows for each exception date. Check the confirmation screen too. A schedule notice and an available slot should describe an appointment your team can fulfil.

For an online-only business, publish the support response schedule beside the contact route. If order processing changes, state the processing dates you control and distinguish them from a carrier’s delivery estimate. Ask the colleague responsible for fulfilment to approve the wording before publication.

Use a test or preview mode for booking checks where available. Stop before placing an order or reserving a customer slot. Record any mismatch with the exact page URL and assign it to the person who manages that system.

Verify the public answer and keep a short record

1. View your Google listing as a visitor and check the relevant future dates wherever the interface exposes them. Compare the dates with your approved schedule.
2. Open your location page and booking path on mobile. Confirm the notice is readable and the next action matches the schedule.
3. Review the social profiles and directory listings your customers use. Add or update a dated notice where needed.
4. Record the checked URLs, the date of review and the person responsible for each remaining edit. Schedule another review before the first exception.

If a Google change remains under review, retain the submitted details and check its status through Google’s profile-editing guidance. Keep your website notice current while you follow up. A submitted edit and a publicly visible change are separate checkpoints.

Give the team one answer to share

Finish with a short message containing the affected date, location, service hours and next opening time. Share it with the people handling enquiries. After the holiday, review questions customers asked and use them to improve the next schedule notice.

The finished result is a public schedule customers can use, a booking path that reflects it, and a named person who will keep both current. Repeat the same routine for a staff-training day or any other planned change. Google’s linked instructions were checked on October 25, 2026; interface labels and availability can change.