Let us imagine a small bike repair shop. Every year it closes from Christmas Eve until the second of January, so the owner can rest and see family. Every year he tapes a note to the door. And every year, on the 27th of December, somebody drives across town with a broken bike because Google Maps said the shop was open, and finds only the note.
That customer is angry with the shop, and sometimes writes a review about the wasted trip.
The good news is that Google gives owners a simple way to prevent this, and it takes ten minutes. The better news is that you can do it now, in October, for every date until the new year. Let us go through the tools one at a time, and then plan the calendar.
What are special hours, and when do you use them?
Special hours are hours for one specific date that replace your regular hours on that date only. Your normal week stays as it is. Google's help page explains that you use them when your hours change for a brief period, such as a holiday or a special event.
Here are Google's steps.
- Go to your Business Profile.
- Select Edit profile, then Hours.
- In the Business hours section, next to Special hours, select Edit.
- Select the date. You can review a date Google suggests, add a custom date, or edit one you set before.
- Update your hours: mark the day closed, or enter the opening and closing times.
- Select Save.
Three rules from the same help page will save you frustration.
First: "For special hours to show up on your Business Profile, set your business hours to 'Open with main hours.'" If your regular hours are empty, the special hours will not appear.
Second, special hours are for short changes, up to 6 days in a row. Google writes: "If your business is closed for 7 or more days in a row, or will be closed for an unknown period of time, you should mark your business as Temporarily closed."
Third, "A set of special hours can't exceed 24 hours." A late opening that runs past midnight needs care when you enter it.
Why should you confirm hours even when nothing changes?
This is a detail many owners miss. Google keeps a list of holidays for each country, and on those days, as Google's page about holidays says, "A warning may appear on your Business Profile that tells users your business hours might differ."
Think about what that warning does to a customer who is deciding whether to drive over. It creates doubt at the exact moment they are choosing where to go. For this reason Google advises: "It's a good idea to confirm your hours for official holidays, even if they're the same as your regular hours." In the special hours screen, Google may show suggested dates for you to review, and confirming them takes a few taps.
Google also lists "Your business hours, including special store hours" among its tips to improve local ranking. Accurate hours are part of the complete information Google asks every business to keep.
When should you mark the business temporarily closed?
Our bike shop closes for more than a week, so special hours are not enough. Google's help page on closing a business is clear: "If your business is closed for more than 7 days, closed for the off-season, or closed indefinitely, use the option 'Temporarily closed.'"
The steps are short: go to your Business Profile, select Edit profile, then Hours, select Edit next to Hours, choose Temporarily closed, and select Save. Your profile then shows "Temporarily closed" on Google Maps and Search.
There is a cost, and Google states it honestly: "For broad queries, temporarily-closed businesses can rank after open businesses." So use this option only when you are closed for a real stretch of time, and put a reminder in your calendar for the day you reopen. To reopen, you go back to Hours, choose Open with main hours, check your days and times, and save.
For a single closed day, such as Christmas Day, special hours are the correct tool, and your ranking for the rest of the week is untouched.
Why must you never use permanently closed for a holiday?
Because "permanently" means what it says. Google offers Permanently closed for a business that is closing for good. It also warns that "If you mark a business as permanently closed, your Business Profile may still appear on Search and Maps for users who search for it", which means people who look for you by name would see a closed business.
There is one more case where owners get confused: a move. If your business was marked permanently closed because it moved or changed its name, Google's reopening page says not to reopen that profile, and to add a new one instead. Reviews from the original location can be moved to the new profile through Google support. We covered the whole process of a move in moving your business to a new address without losing your Google ranking.
| Situation | What to use in Google Business Profile | |---|---| | Open with different hours on one date | Special hours for that date | | Closed for 1 to 6 days in a row | Special hours, marked closed for each date | | Closed for 7 days or more, for the season, or with no known return date | Temporarily closed | | Closing the business for good | Permanently closed | | Moved to a new address or changed name | Follow Google's steps for a move; do not reopen the old profile |
Which dates should you plan for this year?
Naturally, every business has its own calendar, but some dates affect almost everyone. For businesses in the United States, the federal holiday list published by the Office of Personnel Management shows Thanksgiving Day on Thursday 26 November 2026 and Christmas Day on Friday 25 December 2026. Christmas Eve falls on Thursday 24 December, New Year's Eve on Thursday 31 December, and New Year's Day 2027 on Friday 1 January.
Think also about the Friday after Thanksgiving and the days between Christmas and the new year, if your hours change on those days. Decide now, write every changed date on one sheet of paper, and enter them all in one sitting. Google lets you set special hours in advance, so there is no reason to wait for the week itself.
What else should you update on the same day?
Google is one place where people check your hours. Your website is another, and Apple Maps is a third for everyone with an iPhone.
On your website, update the hours on the contact page, and add a short line at the top of the homepage for the holiday period: the dates you are closed and the date you reopen. If your site shows hours in the footer, change them there too. A customer who sees one set of hours on Google and another on your site does not know which to trust.
On Apple Maps, businesses manage their listing through Apple Business. Apple's help page says you can set "Holiday open hours" or "Holiday closed hours" for specific holiday periods, and it adds: "Whenever possible, hours shown on your place card need to match the hours published on your official website." So the rule is the same everywhere. One set of hours, entered in every place on the same afternoon.
If people keep calling during your closed days, your voicemail message is the last place to update. A single sentence with the reopening date is enough.
A ten-minute plan for October
Open your Business Profile this week. Confirm the holidays Google suggests. Add special hours for each changed date until the new year. If you close for 7 days or more, write down the day to switch to Temporarily closed and the day to switch back. Then update your website and Apple Business before you close the laptop. For the other small settings that turn profile views into phone calls, read why a Google profile gets views but no calls.
Licheo does the website, search and AI work that big companies pay whole teams for, done for your small business, including keeping hours correct in every place customers look. If you want a first look at how your business appears online, the free Get Found Check reads your homepage and your domain settings and returns a grade in under 60 seconds.
Sources
- How to set special hours, Google Business Profile Help, Google, accessed 29 September 2026.
- Mark your business as closed, Google Business Profile Help, Google, accessed 29 September 2026.
- Mark your business as reopened, Google Business Profile Help, Google, accessed 29 September 2026.
- About holidays on Google, Google Business Profile Help, Google, accessed 29 September 2026.
- Tips to improve your local ranking on Google, Google Business Profile Help, Google, accessed 29 September 2026.
- Configure location attributes in Apple Business, Apple Business User Guide, Apple, accessed 29 September 2026.
- Federal Holidays, US Office of Personnel Management, accessed 29 September 2026.