Holiday Hours on Google, Yelp, and Apple Maps: A Bay Area Owner's Guide
Picture this: it's the Friday after Thanksgiving, and a customer sits in traffic on 880 to get to your shop because Google said you were open. You're not. There's a sign on the door and a note on Instagram, but nobody updated the listings where most people actually check hours.
Holiday hours are one of the easiest things to get right online, and one of the most commonly missed. In this guide I'll walk you through what to update, where to update it, and a simple routine so you only have to think about it once a season.
Why holiday hours matter more than you think
When someone searches "bakery near me open now" or "plumber open Christmas Eve," the answer they see usually comes from your listings, not your website. If those listings show your regular hours on a day you're closed, a few things can happen:
Wasted trips. A customer shows up to a dark storefront and leaves annoyed.
Missed business. If you're open on a day when competitors are closed, but your listing doesn't say so, you lose the people who would have come to you.
Mixed signals. When Google, Yelp, and Apple Maps each show different hours, customers aren't sure which one to trust, and neither are you when they call to ask.
The good news: the major platforms all have a separate place for holiday or special hours, so you can add one-off changes without touching your regular weekly schedule.
Step 1: Make a list of the dates that affect you
First, write out every date between now and early January when your hours will be different. Common ones for Bay Area businesses:
Thanksgiving week. Thursday is the obvious one, but many owners also change hours on Wednesday or Friday.
Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.
Your own closures. Staff holidays, a week off between Christmas and New Year's, inventory days, or a private event.
Extended hours. Retail shops, restaurants, and gift-focused businesses often stay open later in December. Those count too.
Other holidays you observe. Lunar New Year, Diwali, Hanukkah, or other days that matter to you and your customers. Plenty of Bay Area businesses close or change hours for these, so add them to the same list.
Write down the exact hours for each date, not just "closed" or "short day." You'll be typing the same information into several places, so having it in one note saves time and prevents mistakes.
Step 2: Update Google Business Profile first
Google is where most local customers check hours, so start there. Google Business Profile has a feature called special hours, which is meant for exactly this. Here's the general process:
Search for your business name on Google while signed in to the account that manages your profile, or open the Google Business Profile app or Google Maps.
Choose the option to edit your profile, then find the hours section.
Look for special hours and add each date with its open and close times, or mark it as closed.
Save, then check your listing a day or so later to make sure the change shows up.
A few tips from experience:
Add dates early. Put your holiday hours in a few weeks ahead so customers planning their week see the right information.
Confirm the days you're open normally too. If Google asks you to confirm holiday hours, take a moment to do it, even for days when your regular schedule applies. A confirmed schedule is clearer for customers than a guess.
Step 3: Update Yelp, Apple Maps, and Bing
Once Google is done, copy the same dates and hours into your other listings. Each has its own spot for holiday or special hours, usually in the same area where you edit your regular hours.
Yelp. Log in to your Yelp for Business account, go to your business information, and look for the option to add special hours. Plenty of Bay Area customers check Yelp before visiting a restaurant, salon, or service business.
Apple Maps. Log in to Apple Business Connect and edit your location's hours. iPhone users who search in Apple Maps or ask Siri will see what's listed there.
Bing Places. Bing feeds results in Microsoft products, so it's worth the extra minute. Log in to Bing Places and update hours for the dates you have on your list.
Facebook and Instagram. If your Facebook Page shows hours, update them there as well, and consider a simple post or story with your holiday schedule.
Menus in these tools change from time to time. If you don't see the option, look under hours or business information.
Step 4: Match your website, booking tools, and phone message
Your listings aren't the only place people check. Before the first holiday date, make sure these all say the same thing:
Website. Add a short holiday hours notice near the top of your homepage and on your contact page. Remove it in January.
Online booking. Block off closed days in your scheduling tool so nobody books an appointment you can't keep.
Voicemail greeting. Record a quick message with your holiday schedule and when you'll be back.
Here's a simple message you can adapt for your website, a social post, or an email to your customer list:
Holiday hours: We'll be closed Thursday, November 26 for Thanksgiving and open 10 to 4 on Friday. We're closed December 24 through January 1 and back to regular hours on Saturday, January 2. Thank you for a wonderful year, and happy holidays from all of us!
Step 5: Check your work and clean up in January
After you've updated everything, spend five minutes doing what your customers do. Search your business name on Google, open Apple Maps on your phone, and look yourself up on Yelp. Pick one of the holiday dates and make sure each one shows the right hours.
Then put two reminders on your calendar:
Early December: Check again, since this is when most people are searching and when last-minute changes happen.
Early January: Remove website banners and expired posts, and confirm your regular hours are showing everywhere again.
If you find that one listing is showing different information than the others, or you can't log in to one of them at all, that's a sign your listings need a bigger cleanup, not just a holiday update. That's the kind of thing I help with in my local marketing services, where I make sure your business details match across Google, Yelp, Apple Maps, Bing, and the rest.
Where to start
If you only have twenty minutes this week, do this:
List your dates. Write down every day between now and early January when your hours are different.
Update Google Business Profile. Add special hours for each date.
Copy the same hours to Yelp and Apple Business Connect. Then do Bing and Facebook if you have time.
Add a note to your website. One line near the top of the homepage is enough.
Set a January reminder. Clean up anything holiday-specific so your regular hours are clear again.
If you'd rather hand this off, or you've realized you don't have access to some of your listings, my Google and Yelp tune-up starts at $279 one-time and is a good way to get your profiles accurate before the busy season. Ongoing monthly help starts at $695 per month if you'd like someone keeping an eye on things all year.
Happy holidays, and here's to a season with no surprised customers at a locked door. Get in touch if you'd like a hand.
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