Holiday Hours Checklist for Small Businesses

Why it matters

• In a Yext survey of 1,000+ US consumers, 44% said they had visited a closed location in the past year because of inaccurate business hours, and 73% said they're unlikely to return if a business is listed as open online but turns out to be closed (Yext, May 2022).
• Google says customers are 70% more likely to visit businesses with a complete Business Profile (Google Business Profile Help).

The checklist

1. Make your list. Write down every date from Thanksgiving (Nov 26) through New Year's Day (Jan 1) when your hours are different. Note whether you're closed or list your open and close times. Also note any holiday when you're open your regular hours.
2. Update your website first. Put your holiday hours where people look: your contact page, footer hours or home page. Apple says the hours on your place card need to match the hours published on your official website whenever possible, so your site is the anchor.
3. Google: set special hours. Go to your Business Profile, select Edit profile, then Hours. Next to "Special hours," select Edit, choose or add each date, set your hours or check "Closed," then Save.
   • Confirm official holidays even if your hours don't change. Google says this makes it clear your hours are accurate.
   • Special hours only show if your business hours are set to "Open with main hours."
   • Special hours cover up to 6 days in a row. If you're closed 7 or more days in a row, Google says to mark the business Temporarily closed.
   • On Google's holiday dates, a warning may appear on your profile saying your hours might differ. In the Yext survey, 52% said they aren't confident visiting a business when they see that message.
4. Apple Maps: use Apple Business. Apple Business Connect is now called Apple Business. Sign in, choose Brands, then Locations, select your location, adjust Special hours and Save.
   • Holiday open hours need to be different from your standard hours. If yours are the same, leave them alone.
   • Closed all day? Add the day as temporary hours marked closed.
5. Bing Places: check early. Bing says hours updates can take 7 to 12 days to process, plus more time to appear on Bing, and frequent changes can cause delays. Bing's help pages for owners don't describe a holiday hours setting, so make sure your listed hours are right by about Thursday, November 12. Make any fix in one pass, then leave the listing alone.
6. Facebook: check your Page hours. On your Page, go to About, then Details, then Hours, and choose "Open on selected hours." Meta's help pages describe weekly hours, not a separate holiday setting. Meta says customers want to know when you're open, particularly during holidays, and that if you don't update your hours, your business may appear closed. We suggest also posting your holiday dates on your Page.
7. Check, then clean up. Search for your business on Google, Apple Maps, Bing and Facebook, and compare each one with your website. After New Year's Day, take down the holiday note on your website.

Rather hand it off?

Holiday Hours Sync ($99) from Pastel Brands updates your holiday hours on Google, Apple Business and Bing Places, and on your website with your approval, so customers see the same hours wherever they look. See how it works at pastelbrands.com/holiday-hours/

Sources. Yext press release, May 26, 2022: prnewswire.com/news-releases/yext-research-finds-that-nearly-half-of-us-consumers-experience-inaccurate-business-hours-301555524.html. Google Business Profile Help: support.google.com/business/answer/10515606 (complete profile), /6303076 (special hours), /6333474 (holidays). Apple Business User Guide: support.apple.com/guide/business/configure-location-attributes-abcbdc543423/web, support.apple.com/guide/business/edit-or-remove-a-single-location-abcb7fc491ec/web, support.apple.com/guide/apple-business-connect/welcome/web. Bing Places FAQ: bing.com/forbusiness/help/frequentlyAskedQuestions. Facebook Help: facebook.com/help/1623755557908631. Meta Business Help: facebook.com/business/help/464618030623795. Pastel Brands, a Digital Architects company. pastelbrands.com