Google Business Profile

How to set holiday hours on Google

Holiday hours are set as Special hours. Go to Edit profile, then Hours, select Edit next to Special hours, pick the holiday (Review confirms a suggested date), enter your hours or tick Closed, and Save.

6 steps

  1. Step 1: Open your Business Profile and select Edit profile, then Hours.
    1 min
  2. Step 2: In Business hours, next to Special hours, select Edit.
    1 min
  3. Step 3: Pick the holiday. For a date Google suggests, select Review. For any other date, select Add a date and enter it.
    1 min
  4. Step 4: Closed that day? Leave Closed checked. Open? Uncheck Closed and enter the hours you'll keep.
    2 min
  5. Step 5: Confirm the holiday even if you keep normal hours, so customers aren't left guessing. Then select Save.
    1 min
  6. Step 6: Repeat for each holiday date in the season, such as the day before and after, if your hours differ.
    5 min
  7. Arrived: Each holiday date shows your chosen hours or Closed on Search and Maps, and your regular hours come back automatically afterward.

Checked 13 Nov 2026 · source: support.google.com

Holidays are where wrong hours cost the most

Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, the Fourth of July: these are the days people search “is it open” right before they get in the car. If Google shows your normal hours and you’re closed, you get annoyed customers at a locked door and, sometimes, a review about it. If you’re open and Google shows nothing special, some people assume you’re closed and go elsewhere.

Google doesn’t have a separate holiday setting. Holidays go in Special hours, the same tool used for any date that breaks your normal pattern. What makes holidays different is that Google suggests dates for you.

Suggested holidays and the Review button

When you open special hours, Google may list upcoming holidays it expects to affect businesses. Selecting Review on one lets you confirm or change your hours for that date. Google’s page doesn’t explain how it chooses which holidays to suggest, so if a local holiday or a religious observance matters to your customers and isn’t listed, add it yourself with Add a date.

Google is direct about one thing: confirm official holidays even when you’re keeping regular hours. An unconfirmed holiday leaves room for doubt.

Planning the season, not just the day

Holiday weeks are rarely one clean change. A bakery might open early on the 23rd, close at 2 on the 24th, shut the 25th, and run short hours on the 26th. Each of those is its own special hours date. Add them all at once while you’re in the screen.

Two rules shape how you do it:

  • Six days is the ceiling. Special hours are for changes of up to 6 days in a row. If you’re shutting from December 24 through January 2, that’s past the limit, and Google wants the Temporarily closed status instead.
  • No set over 24 hours. A New Year’s Eve party running from 7 p.m. to 2 a.m. has to be entered as 7 p.m. to midnight on the 31st and midnight to 2 a.m. on the 1st. Google ignores your regular hours on that second date, so add back any normal hours you’ll keep on January 1.

When holiday hours don’t appear

The usual cause is that the profile isn’t set to Open with main hours. Special hours only display when regular hours are set. If you’d hidden your hours, or your business is marked temporarily closed, fix that first.

After the season, there’s nothing to undo. Your weekly schedule takes over again on its own.

If it doesn't work

  • The holiday hours don't show at all: your main hours must be set to Open with main hours. Special hours don't display otherwise.
  • You're closing for the whole holiday week or longer: special hours cover up to 6 days in a row. Use Temporarily closed for longer stretches.
  • Your New Year's Eve hours run past midnight: split them into two dates, and re-add the next day's regular hours, which Google ignores.
  • You entered the wrong date: if it's marked closed, select Delete next to the date. If open, select More, then Remove day.

Questions owners ask

Do I need to confirm a holiday if my hours are normal that day?

Google recommends it. Its special hours page says it's a good idea to confirm hours for official holidays even when they match your regular hours. That tells customers you're open as usual instead of leaving them to wonder.

How far ahead should I add holiday hours?

Google's special hours page doesn't give a recommended lead time. Since customers check hours while planning, adding them as soon as you've decided your schedule is the practical choice.

Will my normal hours come back after the holiday?

Yes. Special hours are tied to specific dates and temporarily change what customers see. Your main weekly hours stay saved underneath and apply again on the following days without any action from you.

Can I close for the full week between Christmas and New Year's?

If the closure lasts 6 days in a row or fewer, special hours work. Google points closures longer than that, or of unknown length, to the Temporarily closed status instead.

Sources

Checked 13 Nov 2026. When the platform changes its process we update this page and log it in What changed.

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Written by Ellis Marr (a pen name) · Checked 13 Nov 2026 · How we check