Profile accuracy

Setting Holiday Hours on Google Before Thanksgiving Rush Catches You Out

Use special hours for one-off dates like bank holidays, closures or events, set well ahead of time, while regular hours cover a normal week. Keep 'temporarily closed' for genuine, longer closures only, check that holiday dates apply to your region, and pair any change with a short post telling customers what's different.

By Arun Babu Veeranki · Published 29 September 2026 · Last updated 14 October 2026 · 2 min read

Short answer: use special hours for one-off dates like Thanksgiving, Independence Day or a staff training day, and keep regular hours describing your normal week. Set special hours weeks ahead so anyone checking your profile before Labor Day weekend sees the correct answer, not last year's schedule.

An out-of-date holiday hour is one of the fastest ways to lose a customer's trust: they drive over, find the door locked, and the review that follows mentions it specifically.

What's the difference between regular hours and holiday hours?

Regular hours describe your normal week. Update them only when your normal pattern actually changes.
Holiday hours (Google calls these "special hours") override your regular hours for specific dates — Thanksgiving, Memorial Day, Labor Day, Independence Day, Christmas and New Year's.
Temporarily closed is a separate status for a longer closure. Use it only when the business is genuinely closed for an extended period.

How do you set them?

Open your Business Profile and go to edit hours.
Find Special hours and add the date.
Enter the hours for that date, or mark it closed.
Save, then check the profile on your phone the way a customer would.

What's a yearly holiday calendar for US businesses?

Put these on your calendar at least four weeks ahead:

New Year's Day
Memorial Day (last Monday in May)
Independence Day (July 4)
Labor Day (first Monday in September)
Thanksgiving Day and the Friday after
Christmas Eve through New Year's period
Any local events, like a downtown festival in Austin or a marathon in Chicago, that change your hours for a day

Federal holiday dates are published on USA.gov if you need to confirm the exact date for a given year.

What's the checklist?

Special hours added for every closure in the next three months
Regular hours still accurate for a normal week
Website and phone message match what's on the profile
A post published if the change is significant to customers

Where does Local SEO AI help?

The business profile workspace keeps your hours alongside your other details, and reports & actions lists upcoming checks so holiday hours become a task on a list rather than something you have to remember. Pair the change with a short update using the post calendar. Updates to Google require the live connection, which is awaiting Google's approval; Local SEO AI is software you use to prepare and review changes. See our guide for managing multiple locations if you run branches across states, and check pricing, billed in GBP (£).

How Local SEO AI does this for you

Local SEO AI's Content tools put post ideas beside a calendar, so a reminder about changed hours can go out alongside the update itself. Post this then sends that update to Google and your Brand page together, and nothing changes on your profile without your approval, unless auto-reply or scheduled posting is switched on.

Frequently asked questions

What's the difference between special hours and regular hours?

Regular hours describe your normal week, while special hours override them for specific dates such as holidays or events.

When should I mark a business as temporarily closed instead of setting special hours?

Temporarily closed is meant for a longer closure, not a single day, so use special hours for one-off dates and temporarily closed only when you're actually shut for an extended period.

How far in advance should I set special hours?

Setting them several weeks ahead of the date helps make sure customers checking your profile see accurate information before it matters.

Do bank holiday dates apply the same way everywhere?

No. Bank and public holiday dates can vary by nation or region, so it's worth checking which dates apply to your specific location.

Sources

Google's policies and features change. Check the linked pages for the current rules.

All guides