For tourism businesses (accommodation, seaside or mountain restaurants, leisure activities, wine cellars, tourist offices), the season concentrates a large share of the year’s revenue. Tourists do not know you: they discover you on Google, often on their phone, the day before or the same day. Your Google profile must be ready before the first visitor.
Here is the checklist to follow, a few weeks before opening.
Why plan ahead
Three reasons to prepare your profile in advance:
- tourists decide on Google, comparing a few profiles in a few minutes;
- changes take time: Google reviews your edits before publishing them, sometimes in a few minutes, sometimes in several days, as its help on what happens to your edits explains;
- mistakes are costly in season: wrong opening hours in the middle of August mean lost customers and negative reviews.
1. Opening hours and opening dates
- Update your seasonal opening hours, often different from the rest of the year.
- If you close for part of the year, clearly indicate your opening dates, and use the “temporarily closed” status during the closure rather than made-up opening hours.
- Fill in the season’s public holidays in your special hours.
2. Photos: show the season
Your profile photos may date from winter. Add recent seasonal photos: terrace open, pool filled, summer dishes, outdoor activities. An appealing, up-to-date photo is often what makes a tourist click.
3. Amenities, services and menu
- For accommodation, check your seasonal amenities (pool, air conditioning, bikes) and indicate that they depend on the season where applicable. See our article on accommodation amenities.
- For a restaurant, publish your summer menu directly on the profile. See our article on services and menus.
- For an activity, list your services and the booking link.
4. Reviews: get the machine going again
At the start of the season, your latest reviews may date from the autumn. Tourists look at how recent reviews are: from the start of the season, prepare your QR codes, cards or displays to ask every satisfied customer. Our guide to getting more reviews details the compliant methods.
Tourists readily leave reviews in foreign languages: reply in their language when possible, it is an appreciated sign of attention.
5. Posts: your seasonal calendar
Google posts are made for the season: opening, events, night markets, evenings, menus of the moment, local activities. Schedule them in advance so you do not have to think about them in the middle of the rush.
6. Get ready for the volume of reviews
In season, reviews arrive in large numbers, just when you have the least time. Plan:
- a fixed slot to reply, even a short one, several times a week;
- prepared replies for frequent situations, to personalize;
- particular vigilance on negative reviews: in season, a recurring problem (waiting, cleanliness) is quickly fixed if spotted early. See our method to reply to negative reviews.
7. After the season: take stock
At the end of the season, take an hour to analyze your reviews and insights: which themes came up? Which searches brought your profile up? Did your action rate improve? This review prepares the next season. See our articles on analyzing reviews and your profile’s insights.
A concrete example
A water sports centre open from May to September was still showing its winter hours (“closed”) in May, and its latest reviews dated from the previous summer. Before the following season, it updated its opening hours three weeks in advance, added around fifteen photos, published one post a week and installed a QR code at the till. Over the season, it received four times more reviews than the previous year, and calls from Google rose markedly from the very first weeks.
How Replik helps you prepare for the season
With Replik’s profile management, you update opening hours, special hours, amenities, services and menu in one place, and you are alerted if Google changes your profile. Google posts are written with AI and scheduled in advance. Replik suggests a reply to every review, even at the height of the season, and your insights let you take stock afterwards.
The calendar at a glance
- D-30: seasonal opening hours, opening dates, public holidays, seasonal amenities.
- D-21: new photos, seasonal menu or services, booking link checked.
- D-14: review collection tools ready (QR codes, cards, welcome booklet).
- D-7: first posts scheduled (opening, events, local activities).
- During the season: a slot to reply to reviews several times a week, one post a week.
- End of season: review of reviews and insights, opening hours and status updated for the closure.
Frequently asked questions
How long before opening should you update the profile? Ideally three to four weeks before, to give Google time to review your changes and the first tourists time to find you.
Should you switch to “temporarily closed” off-season? Yes, if your business is really closed for several weeks. It is clearer for internet users than empty opening hours, and Google keeps your profile and reviews.
How do you handle reviews in foreign languages? Reply in the customer’s language when you can, even briefly. A translation tool or a prepared and proofread reply is often enough.
Should you publish posts even in the low season? Yes, one or two a month: announcing reopening dates, preparations, new features. They keep your profile alive between two seasons.
In short
A good season is prepared on Google: up-to-date opening hours and dates, seasonal photos, complete amenities and menu, a fresh push for reviews, scheduled posts, and an organization to handle the volume of replies. Start with the free audit of your profile a few weeks before opening.