Who it's for

Google Reviews for Hotels: Get, Answer and Show Them

Hoteliers: when to ask for Google reviews (checkout, next day), how to reply, where to show reviews next to your booking engine, and hotel profile setup.

By Oz IlyasFounder of Revys

Published October 19, 2026

Contents

A traveler choosing between two hotels on the same block at the same price usually decides on reviews: the rating, the count, and above all how recent they are. A hotel's Google listing is also unusual. It mixes your Google reviews, reviews from other sites, prices from online travel agencies and details Google gathers on its own. This page sorts out what you control and how to use it.

Do travelers really read reviews before booking?

Yes, and lodging is where that habit is strongest. The largest survey published with its method is from 2019.

81%

of travelers surveyed always or frequently read reviews before booking a place to stay. 52% would never book a hotel that has no reviews, and 78% focus on the most recent ones.

(Tripadvisor and Ipsos MORI, 23,292 Tripadvisor users in 12 markets including the US and UK, fieldwork May–June 2019)

The panel is made of review-site users, which skews the numbers up. Two takeaways hold for any property, though: a hotel without recent reviews looks risky, and it's the latest reviews that get read.

The effect on price has been measured too. A Cornell Center for Hospitality Research study (Chris Anderson, 2012), using Travelocity transaction data, found that a hotel that raises its review score by one point on a five-point scale (say from 3.3 to 4.3) can raise its price by 11.2% and keep the same occupancy. The data is more than a decade old: take the order of magnitude, not the decimal.

What's on a hotel's Google listing?

More than you manage. Per Google's help center, a hotel listing combines several sources:

Element	Where it comes from	What you can do
Google rating and reviews	Signed-in users on Google Maps and Search	Get reviews, reply, flag reviews that break the rules
Reviews from other sites	Licensed third-party providers, not verified by Google	Nothing on Google: they don't count toward the average rating
Topic summaries (rooms, service, location)	Provided by TrustYou	Improve the stay itself, which feeds the reviews
Prices and booking links	Google Hotel Ads and free booking links	Manage them in Google Hotel Center
Hotel class (1 to 5)	Set by Google from several sources	Contact support if it's wrong

The key point: the displayed average rating only counts Google reviews, even when reviews from other sites appear on the listing. Your 900 Booking.com reviews won't lift a Google rating based on 40 reviews.

How do you get more Google reviews as a hotel?

Ask every guest, at checkout and then in writing, with the direct link to your Google profile. Online travel agencies already send their own post-stay review requests; if you don't ask, guests review you there, not on Google.

Get the link and QR code
Get the direct link to your profile's review form in seconds with our Google review link generator, and turn it into a printable image with our Google review QR code generator.
Ask at checkout
When the guest returns the key and answers "great" to "how was your stay?". A QR code on the front desk or the printed folio makes the ask instant.
Follow up the same day or the next
A short email or text from your property management system, with the direct link. Our review request templates for SMS and email are ready to copy.
One reminder, no more
A few days later, only for guests who didn't respond. Past that, the ask becomes a nuisance.

Skip the QR code on the in-room card at check-in: the guest hasn't had the stay yet. And keep one link for everyone: Google bans asking only happy guests, as well as any incentive (upgrade, free breakfast, discount). Channel-by-channel detail: how to get more Google reviews. The legal side: fake Google reviews and the law.

How should a hotel respond to reviews?

Reply to every review with one detail from the stay, and write for the traveler who'll read your reply before booking. Hotel complaints cluster around the same topics: cleanliness, noise, the bed, breakfast, check-in, rooms that don't match the photos, price.

Positive review: thank them and mention something specific (the view, breakfast, a team member the guest named), then invite them back.
Cleanliness or noise: acknowledge it, say what you did (room inspected, soundproofing, new cleaning contractor), and don't dispute how it felt.
Booking mismatch: check before replying. If an online travel agency caused it, say so plainly without blaming the guest.
Review that matches no stay: flag it to Google and reply in one line that you can't find the booking. The process: how to remove a Google review.

Never put a room number, exact stay dates or the guest's full name in a reply: replies are public.

Ready-to-edit replies are in our hotel review response templates. For the hard ones, see how to respond to negative reviews. If you get several reviews a day, AI review replies in Revys (Pro plan) draft replies in your property's tone; they post after your approval, or automatically after a delay for positive reviews.

How do you show reviews on a hotel website?

Put them next to the decision: the homepage, each room page, and just before the button that opens your booking engine. That's where the traveler compares your site with the travel agency's page, which shows its own reviews.

The Revys Google reviews widget has five layouts (grid, list, carousel, wall, badge) in your brand colors. Revys shows Google reviews only; travel agency and Tripadvisor reviews stay on those platforms.

How you embed it decides whether Google and AI tools can read it:

with the Revys WordPress plugin or the server-side include, reviews are written into the page HTML and refreshed nightly, so search engines and AI crawlers read them;
the JavaScript snippet works on any site builder, but inside an iframe that AI tools don't read;
your booking engine is usually hosted by a vendor: the widget goes on your own pages, not inside the booking flow.

How do you optimize a hotel's Google Business Profile?

Fill in everything Google lets you edit, and know what doesn't live in the profile. A hotel listing doesn't work like a shop's: no opening hours, a hotel class you don't set, and prices that come from elsewhere.

Exact primary category: Hotel, Bed & breakfast, Inn, Motel, Hostel. An on-site restaurant or spa that's open to the public can have its own profile.
Hotel details: amenities and services (Wi-Fi, parking, pool, accessibility, pets, breakfast), checked one by one in the dedicated section.
Check-in and check-out times, in place of opening hours (which can't be edited for hotels).
Photos: exterior, each room type, breakfast area, bathroom, view. Replace them after every renovation.
A 500 to 750 character description: property type, neighborhood, what sets you apart, with no prices or promos.
Prices and booking links: use Google Hotel Center (free booking links) or your channel manager, not the profile.
Review replies: a high reply rate and fast replies show a property that pays attention.

The Revys Google profile advisor (Pro plan) accounts for this: it won't flag missing hours on a hotel listing, but it checks categories, attributes, key photos, review pace and unanswered reviews. The full guide: Google Business Profile optimization.

What Revys does for a hotel, and what it doesn't

Revys connects your Google Business Profile through the official API, shows your Google reviews on your site, gives you the review link and QR code, drafts replies in your tone (Pro, $7.90 a month for the first location) and audits your profile. The Free plan covers one location without AI.

What it doesn't do: it doesn't manage Booking.com, Expedia or Tripadvisor reviews, rates and availability, or Google Hotel Center. It doesn't send post-stay emails for you: you paste the link into your PMS. It doesn't guarantee a rating or a position in Google.

FAQ

Do Booking.com or Expedia reviews count toward my hotel's Google rating?

No. Google can show licensed reviews from other sites on a hotel's listing, but the average rating it displays is based only on reviews from Google users. To move your Google rating, you need Google reviews.

When should a hotel ask for a Google review?

At checkout, when the guest hands back the key and says the stay was great, then in writing the same day or the next, with the direct link to your profile. One reminder a few days later is enough.

Can I change my hotel's star class on Google?

Not directly. Google sets the 1 to 5 hotel class from several sources. If it's wrong or missing, you contact support. It's unrelated to your review rating.

Why can't I edit my hotel's opening hours on Google?

Google treats hotels as open 24 hours for guests, so hotel hours can't be edited. Check-in and check-out times are set in your hotel details instead.

Can I offer an upgrade or a discount for a review?

No. Google bans anything offered in exchange for a review, and the FTC's Consumer Reviews and Testimonials Rule bans incentives conditioned on a review expressing a particular sentiment. Ask every guest, with nothing attached and no filtering.

Where do the prices and booking links on my hotel listing come from?

According to Google's help center, they come from Google Hotel Ads and free booking links, managed in Google Hotel Center, not from the Business Profile itself.