Keep your listing accurate during holidays and stay eligible for 'open now' searches. Step-by-step special hours setup, common mistakes, and Google's rules.
Nothing frustrates a customer more than driving to a business that Google said was open, only to find it closed for a holiday. Beyond the annoyance, it damages trust and can generate negative reviews. Google Business Profile lets you set special and holiday hours precisely so this never happens — and keeping them accurate is both a customer-service essential and a subtle ranking and trust signal. This guide covers how to use GBP special and holiday hours effectively.
Accurate hours seem basic, but they are one of the most impactful details on your profile — because being wrong about them directly costs you customers and reviews.
Customer trust: When your hours are accurate, customers trust your listing. When they are wrong, that trust evaporates instantly.
"Open now" searches: Google surfaces businesses that are open for "open now" and time-sensitive searches. Accurate hours make you eligible; inaccurate ones can cost you these searches or send customers to a closed door.
Negative reviews: A customer who arrives to find you unexpectedly closed often leaves a frustrated review — a costly outcome from an avoidable error.
Profile completeness and signal: Accurate, maintained hours contribute to a complete, actively-managed profile.
Getting hours right, especially around holidays, is a small effort with outsized impact.
Regular hours are your standard weekly operating hours. Set these accurately and keep them current if your schedule changes.
Special hours override your regular hours for specific dates — holidays, special events, or any day your hours differ from normal. This is where most businesses fall short, leaving Google to display regular hours on days they are actually closed or on reduced hours.
Using special hours is how you handle exceptions without permanently changing your regular schedule.
Google prompts you around major holidays, but you should proactively set holiday hours for every holiday that affects you.
Set them in advance: Enter your holiday hours before the holiday arrives so your listing is accurate when customers search.
Mark closures clearly: If you are closed for a holiday, set the special hours to closed for that date so customers know.
Set reduced hours precisely: If you are open with different hours, enter the exact times.
Cover all relevant holidays: Major national holidays, plus any regional or industry-specific days that affect your schedule.
📊 Flento Data: Businesses that consistently maintained accurate holiday and special hours avoided the frustrated "they were closed" reviews that commonly hit businesses around holidays — protecting both their ratings and their customer trust.
Special hours are useful beyond holidays:
Events: Adjusting hours for a special event, private booking, or unusual day.
Seasonal changes: Temporary hour changes for a season, promotion, or renovation.
One-off closures: Staff training days, inventory days, or any single-day exception.
Extended hours: Temporarily longer hours for a busy period, so customers know you are available.
Any time your hours differ from normal, special hours keep your listing accurate.
Set them proactively: Do not wait for Google to prompt you — enter special and holiday hours ahead of time.
Review regularly: Check your hours periodically to ensure they remain accurate, especially before holidays.
Coordinate across locations: For multi-location businesses, ensure every location's special hours are set correctly — a major undertaking without the right tools.
Keep them consistent: Where possible, ensure your hours match across your GBP, website, and other listings.
🔥 Quick Win: Use Flento to monitor your Google Business Profile — including catching hours issues — and, for multi-location businesses, to keep profile details consistent across every location. Setting accurate holiday hours ahead of each holiday is one of the easiest ways to protect your rating and trust, and monitoring ensures nothing slips through, especially across many locations.
Accurate special and holiday hours prevent frustrated customers, protect your reviews, and keep you eligible for "open now" searches. Set holiday hours proactively before each holiday, use special hours for any exception, and keep everything consistent — especially across multiple locations. Keep your profile accurate and monitored with Flento.
