Google Local Business Schema for Accommodation Providers: Which Type Should You Use?

Q: Can I add ratings from Google reviews into my website schema?

Review and rating markup should follow Google review snippet guidelines and should represent reviews visible on the page. Do not invent ratings or mark up third-party review data in a misleading way.

By Dirco Haasbroek

July 14, 2026

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Accommodation providers often ask a simple question: “Which Google local business schema should I use on my website?”

The confusing part is that there is not only one useful schema type for accommodation. A hotel, guest house, B&B, lodge, campsite, self-catering unit and vacation rental can all be “local businesses”, but the best markup depends on what the page is about and how specific the property type is.

This guide keeps it practical. It explains the main Google-relevant schema options for accommodation providers, when to use each one, and what to avoid if you do not want your structured data to become messy or misleading.

Key takeaways

Start with the most specific business type you can truthfully use. For accommodation, that usually means Hotel, BedAndBreakfast, LodgingBusiness, Campground, Motel, Resort or VacationRental, rather than plain LocalBusiness.
Google’s LocalBusiness documentation requires at least the business name and physical address for local business rich result eligibility, with recommended fields such as geo coordinates, opening hours, price range, reviews and ratings where appropriate.
VacationRental has its own Google documentation and is more specialised. Google says the instructions are intended for sites already connected with a Google Technical Account Manager and Hotel Center access, so most small properties should not treat it as a guaranteed rich-result shortcut.
Schema must match the visible page content. Do not mark up amenities, ratings, prices or reviews that visitors cannot also verify on the page.
Structured data supports SEO; it does not replace good pages, clear photos, a complete Google Business Profile, fast loading, reviews and direct booking usability.

First: schema is not the same as your Google Business Profile category

Your Google Business Profile category is managed inside Google Business Profile. Your schema markup is code on your website, usually JSON-LD, that helps search engines understand the page.

They should be consistent, but they are not the same thing. If your Google Business Profile says you are a guest house, your website should not mark the business up as a restaurant, travel agency or generic organisation just because those examples are easier to copy.

1. LocalBusiness schema: the broad parent type

LocalBusiness is the broad Schema.org type for a business with a physical location. Google’s Local Business structured data documentation says it can help Google understand business details such as address, hours, departments and reviews.

For accommodation providers, LocalBusiness is normally too broad on its own. It is better than no structured data, but it does not tell Google that the business provides lodging.

Use LocalBusiness when:

you genuinely cannot choose a more specific subtype;
you are marking up a general local branch or office page;
your accommodation website also has a separate local service business attached and the page is not specifically about the accommodation.

Important Google-supported fields

According to Google’s LocalBusiness documentation, the required properties are:

name
address

Useful recommended properties include:

geo with latitude and longitude
openingHoursSpecification
priceRange
aggregateRating and review, but only when the page legitimately contains reviews or ratings that follow Google’s review snippet rules
telephone, url and related Organisation fields where relevant

2. LodgingBusiness schema: the safer accommodation umbrella

LodgingBusiness is a Schema.org subtype of LocalBusiness. Schema.org describes it as “a lodging business, such as a motel, hotel, or inn.”

This is often the safest umbrella type for accommodation providers when the property does not fit neatly into one of the more specific types.

Use LodgingBusiness when:

the property is an inn, lodge, guest accommodation or mixed lodging business;
you are not sure whether Hotel or BedAndBreakfast would be accurate;
you want to describe lodging-specific details such as amenities without overclaiming a more specific category.

Useful lodging fields

amenityFeature for things such as free Wi-Fi, secure parking, breakfast, pool, beach access or pet-friendly options
checkinTime and checkoutTime
petsAllowed, where accurate
starRating, only if you have a real official rating
priceRange, if you can keep it realistic and current

3. Hotel schema: for hotels and hotel-like properties

Hotel is a more specific lodging type. Use it when the property is genuinely a hotel or operates in a hotel-like way: multiple rooms, staffed reception or management, daily accommodation services, and a brand or property identity that visitors would naturally call a hotel.

Use Hotel when:

the business is marketed as a hotel;
the property has multiple rooms or units under one hotel brand;
the page is the official page for that hotel, not a general blog article or directory listing.

If you are a small guest house, do not automatically use Hotel just because you want hotel-related rich results. Use the type that best matches reality. Misleading schema is not worth the risk.

4. BedAndBreakfast schema: for B&Bs and guest houses with breakfast positioning

BedAndBreakfast is useful for B&Bs and some guest houses where breakfast and hosted accommodation are part of the offer.

Use BedAndBreakfast when:

the property is clearly a B&B;
breakfast is central to the stay or included in the positioning;
the property is smaller and more hosted than a traditional hotel.

For South African guest houses, this can often be closer than Hotel, but only if the property’s actual offering matches the type.

5. VacationRental schema: useful, but more specialised than many owners realise

VacationRental is for short-term rental properties such as holiday homes, villas, apartments, cottages and self-catering units rented for limited stays.

Google has separate VacationRental structured data documentation. It says the instructions are intended for sites that have already connected with a Google Technical Account Manager and have access to Hotel Center. In other words, this is not simply a “paste this code and get a rich result tomorrow” option for every small accommodation website.

Use VacationRental when:

the listing is a single rental unit, holiday home, apartment, villa or cottage;
the page is a dedicated listing page for that unit;
you can provide accurate listing-level information such as occupancy, images, location and amenities;
you understand that Google’s vacation rental rich-result pathway may require Hotel Center-related access and integration.

Google’s VacationRental documentation lists required properties such as name, identifier, image, latitude or geo.latitude, longitude or geo.longitude, and containsPlace with occupancy details. It also says a listing must have a minimum of eight photos, including at least one bedroom, bathroom and common area image.

6. ItemList carousel schema: for accommodation directories and category pages

If your website lists multiple accommodation options — for example, “Top guest houses in Clarens” or a directory of stays — Google’s carousel beta documentation becomes relevant.

Google says the carousel beta combines ItemList with supported item types such as LocalBusiness, Hotel and VacationRental. It also notes that the experience is available in South Africa for queries related to hotels, vacation rentals and local businesses.

Use ItemList carousel markup when:

the page is a summary or category page listing at least three entities;
each item links to its own standalone detail page on the same site;
you mark up the items shown on the page in the same order;
you include required common fields such as name, image and url for each item.

This is more relevant for accommodation directories, destination guides and marketplace-style websites than for a single guest house homepage.

Which schema should different accommodation providers use?

Hotel: use Hotel as the main business type.
Guest house: use LodgingBusiness, or BedAndBreakfast if the B&B model is accurate.
B&B: use BedAndBreakfast.
Lodge: often use LodgingBusiness, unless a more specific supported type clearly fits.
Motel: use Motel.
Resort: use Resort if the property genuinely operates as a resort.
Campsite or caravan park: use Campground where appropriate.
Self-catering apartment, villa, cottage or holiday home: consider VacationRental for listing pages, but understand the Google Hotel Center context.
Accommodation directory page: use ItemList with accurate item types such as Hotel, LodgingBusiness or VacationRental.

A simple JSON-LD example for a guest house

Here is a simplified example for a guest house. Replace every placeholder with real, visible information from the page.

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "LodgingBusiness",
  "name": "Example Guest House",
  "url": "https://www.exampleguesthouse.co.za/",
  "telephone": "+27 00 000 0000",
  "address": {
    "@type": "PostalAddress",
    "streetAddress": "10 Example Street",
    "addressLocality": "Example Town",
    "addressRegion": "Western Cape",
    "postalCode": "0000",
    "addressCountry": "ZA"
  },
  "geo": {
    "@type": "GeoCoordinates",
    "latitude": -33.92487,
    "longitude": 18.42406
  },
  "priceRange": "R-RR",
  "checkinTime": "14:00",
  "checkoutTime": "10:00",
  "amenityFeature": [
    {
      "@type": "LocationFeatureSpecification",
      "name": "Free Wi-Fi",
      "value": true
    },
    {
      "@type": "LocationFeatureSpecification",
      "name": "Secure parking",
      "value": true
    }
  ]
}
</script>

Common schema mistakes accommodation websites make

Using the wrong type: marking a guest house as a hotel, or a directory listing as the official property website.
Adding reviews that are not visible on the page: review schema should reflect genuine review content shown to users and comply with Google’s review rules.
Using stale prices: if rates change often, a broad priceRange may be safer than exact prices.
Marking up every page as the business: the homepage/contact page can describe the business; blog posts should normally use article schema plus references to the organisation, not pretend each article is the local business page.
Copying restaurant examples: many LocalBusiness examples online are for restaurants. Accommodation pages need lodging-specific fields.
Expecting schema to fix weak local SEO: schema helps clarity, but it will not compensate for thin content, missing photos, poor reviews or an incomplete Google Business Profile.

How this fits into a direct booking strategy

For accommodation providers, schema is part of the trust layer. It helps Google understand who you are, where you are, what type of stay you offer and how your pages connect.

But guests still choose based on human signals: clear photos, honest descriptions, fast answers, easy booking, believable reviews and confidence that the place exists and matches what they need.

That is why the best setup is usually:

a complete Google Business Profile;
a fast, useful accommodation website;
clear room, facility and location pages;
structured data that accurately describes those pages;
a direct booking path that works well on mobile.

Practical recommendation

If you run a single accommodation property, start simple:

Mark up your homepage or contact page with the most accurate lodging business type.
Include name, address, phone, website, geo coordinates, check-in/check-out times and key amenities.
Only add ratings or reviews if they are visible on the page and compliant with Google’s rules.
Validate the JSON-LD with Google’s Rich Results Test and Schema.org’s validator.
Keep your Google Business Profile, website content and schema consistent.

If you run a directory or marketplace of accommodation providers, you need a more careful model: detail pages for every property, summary pages with ItemList, consistent identifiers, crawlable images, and data that stays in sync with the visible listings.

Sources and useful references

FAQ

Should a guest house use Hotel schema?

Only if the property is genuinely marketed and operated like a hotel. Many guest houses are better described with LodgingBusiness or BedAndBreakfast.

Does adding schema guarantee rich results in Google?

No. Structured data can make a page eligible for certain search features, but Google decides whether to show them. The page still needs to be crawlable, useful and compliant with Google’s guidelines.

Can I add ratings from Google reviews into my website schema?

Be careful. Review and rating markup should follow Google’s review snippet guidelines and should represent reviews visible on the page. Do not invent ratings or mark up third-party review data in a misleading way.

Is VacationRental schema right for self-catering accommodation?

It can be, especially for individual holiday homes, villas, apartments or cottages. But Google’s VacationRental documentation is aimed at sites with Hotel Center-related access, so small websites should not treat it as a guaranteed rich-result feature.

Where should accommodation schema go?

Usually on the page that represents the business or listing: the homepage, contact/location page, room/property detail page or listing page. Blog articles should normally use article-style schema and link back to the relevant business pages.