Apartments on Google without a Business Profile: what Google allows, why profiles get suspended and how to reach guests anyway

What Google's rule says

A Google Business Profile is meant for businesses that have in-person contact with customers: the customer comes to their premises, or they go to the customer. Google's eligibility guidelines therefore list what cannot have a profile, and among the examples are rental or for-sale properties such as vacation homes, model homes and vacant apartments. Sales or leasing offices, on the other hand, can be verified.

The logic is simple. A profile on Maps promises that someone can come to the address and be served. A hotel with a reception meets that promise. An apartment without a reception does not, because a guest cannot knock on the door and ask for a room for the night.

Who may have a Business Profile and who may not

There are borderline cases, such as a family guesthouse where the owner genuinely welcomes guests during opening hours. We check such cases one by one, based on what actually happens at the address, not on what the property is called.

What happens if you open a profile anyway

A profile for an apartment often gets created at first and works for a while. The problem comes later. Google re-checks profiles from time to time, and any user or competitor can suggest an edit or report a profile. Once Google finds that the property is ineligible, the profile is suspended.

• Reviews disappear from view. Years of ratings are no longer shown to guests.
• Reinstatement is hard, because the reason for the suspension is still there.
• You lose time in season, when visibility is worth the most.

That is why we do not open ineligible profiles for clients, even though it would look like a quick win in the short term.

Google's holiday rental search: the route for apartments

When a guest searches Google for "apartments Vodice" or "Ferienwohnung Primošten", besides ads and Maps they see Google's accommodation search, where they compare properties by price, dates, photos and ratings. For holiday homes and apartments this part of Google is called Google Vacation Rentals, and it appears in Search, on Maps and in Google Travel.

The host does not enter data into it directly. It comes from partners approved by Google: calendar and booking systems (channel managers) and platforms. Approved partners include, for example, Beds24, Lodgify, Rentals United, Octorate and Kross Booking. Only large managers with many properties connect to Google directly.

Your property probably already appears on Google through Booking or Airbnb, but every such booking carries their commission. The point is to have your own link next to them, at your price, where the guest can book directly.

Six steps to direct guests from Google

1. Check your property's status. Renting out in the household without a reception means no Business Profile. An agency with an office or a hotel with a reception can have one.
2. Choose a calendar and booking partner. It must be on Google's partner list and sync the calendar with Booking and Airbnb, so there are no double bookings. If you already use such a system, check whether it is a Google partner.
3. Set up your own booking pages. Each apartment needs its own page with photos, prices, a calendar and direct booking or an enquiry form, in your guests' languages.
4. Connect the partner to Google and check that the booking button leads to your website, not to a platform.
5. Collect reviews. After check-out, send the guest a short message asking for a rating. Ratings are shown to guests comparing properties.
6. Measure. Tag links from Google so the report shows how many enquiries and bookings come from Google and how many from platforms.

If you show prices on your own website in Croatia, from 17 November 2026 they must come with an anchor price, and the site must publish a CSV or XML price list. The details are in our anchor price guide.

Mistakes we see with hosts

1. A Business Profile opened at the house address, with the category "Hotel" or "Lodging", and no reception.
2. A separate profile for each apartment in the same house.
3. Opening hours set to "24 hours" at a property where nobody welcomes guests.
4. Bought or swapped reviews. Google removes them, and the profile can be penalised.
5. A booking page that doesn't work on a phone or has no calendar, so the guest gives up and goes back to the platform.
6. A calendar that doesn't sync with the platforms, leading to double bookings.

How we handle it at Digital Momentum

For hosts we build a website with a calendar and direct enquiries, connect it to a booking partner that sends the property to Google's holiday rental search, and set up tracking so you know how many guests come directly. We also work with hosts who have no company or sole trade, and we show prices including VAT. All details and prices are on the page for holiday rental hosts.

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