How to update holiday hours on Google and your website
A holiday schedule can be accurate in the staff group chat and still be wrong on the website. A guest checking Google may see regular hours while an ordering page accepts a pickup time the team cannot fulfill.
Choose the hours first, put them where guests look, and check the result on a phone. This short checklist works for a restaurant, salon, shop or service business that has public opening hours.
1. Write the actual plan down
For each date, record the local opening and closing times, whether the business is closed, and whether a service has different hours. A restaurant might close the dining room early while takeaway ends earlier still. A salon may take appointments during a shorter window.
Give one person responsibility for confirming the final schedule. If there are multiple locations, prepare a separate entry for each. Do not copy one shop’s hours to every branch without checking.
2. Add special hours to Google
Google Business Profile lets a business set special hours for a temporary schedule without changing its regular hours. Google says special hours can cover a temporary change or closure of up to six consecutive days; its guidance covers longer or unknown closures separately. Confirm the current rules in Google’s special-hours instructions.
In the profile you manage:
- Open Edit profile, then Hours.
- Find Special hours and select the date you need to review or add.
- Enter the actual opening and closing time, or mark the business closed.
- Save the change and check the displayed date and time.
Google’s current instructions allow separate time periods for a day and explain how to handle hours that cross midnight. If delivery or pickup has different operating times, check whether Google’s More hours guidance applies to that service.
Not every business should display regular hours. Google’s business representation guidelines describe exceptions, including some appointment-only businesses. Follow the guidance for your actual business type.
3. Update the website and the booking or ordering path
Put the temporary schedule where a guest will see it before making a decision. Depending on the business, that may be near the location and hours, the booking action, or the menu and order button.
Then check the next step. If the store closes early, the website should not offer an appointment or pickup time that the team cannot fulfill. A message on the homepage may not change an ordering provider’s operating schedule; check the actual provider settings as a separate task.
If you edit a site through Semperi, review the proposed website change before publication. Check the connected workflow for your business; this article does not assume that changing a website also changes Google or an ordering provider. See the website overview and the Google Business Profile page.
4. Check the result like a guest
On a phone, look up the business and open the website. Check:
- the right location and date;
- the hours displayed on the business profile;
- the website’s hours and any temporary notice;
- available ordering or booking times, if offered;
- a phone number or contact route for an unexpected question.
If a value has not appeared where you expected it, return to the relevant service and check its status. Do not assume every service updates at the same moment.
5. Return to the regular schedule
Special hours are for the selected dates. After the event, check that regular website, profile and booking or ordering hours are still correct. Remove temporary notices when they no longer apply.
For a broader set of checks, use the restaurant local SEO guide. Holiday hours are one part of keeping local business information accurate, not a guaranteed way to change search rankings.
