Categories for lodging businesses: Hotels and Vacation Rentals

A hotel is a commercial establishment offering lodging and guest services provided by on-site staff. Hotel rooms are private and never shared with strangers. A hotel must provide access to a sink, toilet, and a shower or bath. Units in a hotel may have kitchens, although this is not required. Travelers must be able to book rooms for a single night.

To be called a hotel on Google, an establishment should have at least 20 rooms. If your establishment has fewer than 20 rooms, but otherwise meets the definition of a hotel, it is most likely an inn (if it has a public restaurant) or a guest house (if it does not).

Before you select the hotel category, please review all other categories to see if they’re a more precise fit for your business. Also, if your business doesn’t offer overnight lodging at all (such as a restaurant named Acme Hotel), please don't assign the hotel category and consider the restaurant category instead.

A motel is a roadside hotel designed primarily for motorists with rooms arranged in a low building and parking directly outside the room. Motels may have few or no amenities.

A resort hotel is typically spread out over more land area than a hotel, and provides more services, activities, and amenities. It is a self-contained leisure destination, where guests can find on the premises everything they might need during their vacation. A resort hotel must have on-site staff and an establishment serving food on the resort grounds.

Accommodations can take several forms, such as hotel rooms, apartments, cabins, or villas. Resorts do not necessarily allow guests to book a room for a single night.

There are two distinctive types of resort hotels:

• Recreation resorts: Offer a distinct recreation activity like golf, skiing, or water sports. These resorts occupy a land area comparable to or larger than the lodging itself and can include facilities such as a beach, hunting preserve, or theme park.
• Relaxation resorts: Consist of luxury villas or bungalows and promote relaxation and peace of mind. These villas or bungalows can be designed for more than one party, with multiple suites per villa. It may have a main building in addition to villas scattered throughout the resort.

An inn is a small hotel with fewer than 20 rooms. To be categorized as an inn, a location MUST have a food or drink service establishment on premises that is open to the public.

If your business doesn’t offer overnight lodging, please don't assign the inn category. If your establishment only serves food, consider the restaurant category instead.

An extended stay hotel or aparthotel is an entire building or complex of self-catered furnished apartments, all of which are owned and operated as a single business. Each unit has one or more bedrooms and a kitchen. Conventional hotel facilities, staff, and services are often present (but are not required), and may be limited. For example, an extended stay hotel or aparthotel might have limited front desk hours, and the daily rates may or may not include breakfast or free daily cleaning. Discounted rates for long-term stays are often offered, but the minimum length of stay may be as little as one night.

If your establishment meets the definition for both an extended stay hotel/aparthotel and a resort hotel, you should classify it as a resort hotel.

A guest house is a private house or a small commercial building that offers accommodations to travelers. The owner or staff must be present to take care of guests’ needs, but a guest house typically offers fewer amenities and services than a hotel. Rooms are usually unique, and there is often a common living room where guests can sit and socialize with others.

Guest houses must be able to host several different parties at the same time. Sometimes there is also an option to rent the entire house for events such as a family gathering or a group retreat. Establishments with fewer than 20 rooms that otherwise meet the definition of a hotel are guest houses.

Guest houses may offer meals. However, if the meal options include a home-cooked breakfast, then bed and breakfast is the more appropriate category. If your business has fewer than 20 rooms and a public restaurant, the inn category is preferred.

A bed and breakfast (B&B) is a small and independently-run lodging establishment in a private residential house. It’s similar to a guest house, but here the hosts live in the house and take care of the guests. A home-cooked breakfast is available. This breakfast must not be served in a restaurant and must be prepared for individual guests. Meals other than breakfast may sometimes also be offered on request.

A farm stay is a working agricultural business (such as a farm, ranch, or vineyard) that allows guests to take part in farming or ranching activities. The farm must currently be in use for crop production or the raising of livestock.

The presence of crops or animals nearby is not enough on its own to qualify as a farm stay. You must offer guests one or more farm-related activities such as crop production, harvesting, feeding livestock, or spending time with farm animals.

A farm stay may be listed separately on Google Maps from the farm itself. For instance, a large business which includes vineyards and wine production as well as a farm stay may have separate listings for the winery and the farm stay.

A hostel offers affordable accommodation where the traveler rents a bed (usually in a dormitory) and shares the facilities with other travelers. Membership may or may not be required. Some hostels also provide private rooms at a higher cost.

A dharamshala is a rest house for travelers who are on religious journeys. These simple shelters are typically found near pilgrimage destinations, especially in remote areas. Dharamshalas are most commonly part of the Hindu, Jain, and Tibetan Buddhist traditions.

A Japanese inn is a traditional inn where guests sleep in a Japanese-style room (with features such as tatami flooring and sliding doors) on a futon bed on the floor. It is also known as a ryokan. Typically, there are communal baths, and guests are provided with a Japanese garment called a yukata to wear.

Some establishments in Japan offer both Japanese-style and Western-style rooms. Such businesses can assign both Japanese inn and another category (such as hotel or guest house) if appropriate.

A mountain hut provides food and shelter to mountaineers, climbers, and hikers. They are typically accessible only by foot. Some mountain huts may require reservations, and may be staffed for all or part of the year.

Capsule hotels (sometimes called pod hotels) feature a large number of extremely small spaces or capsules that provide cheap, basic overnight accommodations for guests. Facilities differ, but most include a television and a wifi connection. The capsules are often stacked side-by-side, two or more units high. Luggage is stored in a locker, and bathrooms are shared.

A love hotel is a short-stay hotel for adults only, primarily for the purpose of allowing guests privacy for romantic activities. Guests are often charged hourly and a maximum length of stay of around 8 hours may be specified. Some love hotels offer extra privacy features for guests, such as a separate garage with direct access to the room.

Camping cabins are often found in a park or forest, and may feature bungalows, cabins, or mobile homes. Camping cabins usually don’t have personnel on site, other than at the front desk. They usually offer shared facilities or amenities, such as a reception area, communal kitchen, communal bathroom, swimming pools, or children’s play areas.

Camping cabins must be more than an empty structural shell. They may have plumbing or climate control, but don’t need to be on-grid. Composting toilets, propane heaters, water tanks, and wood stoves can all be features of camping cabins.

Campsites where guests stay in tents, and RV parks where guests bring their own recreational vehicles, are outdoor lodging. They don’t fall under any of the hotel or indoor lodging categories listed here.

An apartment, or flat, is a self-contained housing unit that occupies only part of a building.

A bungalow is a small house or cottage.

A small shelter or house.

A chalet is a type of building popular in Europe generally made of wood. Includes a gently sloping roof and overhanging eaves.

A cottage is a small house, typically in a rural or semi-rural location.

A country house is a large house or mansion in the countryside.

A gite is a vacation home or apartment for rent in France.

A holiday cottage is the same as a regular cottage.

A holiday village is a holiday resort where the visitors stay in villas. There is generally a central area with shops, entertainment, and other amenities.

A house is a single-unit residential building which is typically freestanding.

A houseboat is a boat that has been designed or modified to be used primarily as a home.

A log cabin is a small log house.

A studio apartment, also known as a studio flat, a self-contained apartment or efficiency apartment, is an apartment which consists of one large space. The bedroom and living space are typically combined in one area with no doors separating the two areas.

Villas are large homes, typically in the countryside, that may or may not consist of multiple buildings surrounding a common area. Functionally equivalent to a country house.