From Old to New: Rebranding Your Hotel on Google Business Profile

Rebranding your hotel is an exciting venture filled with new opportunities to refresh your image and captivate new guests. One crucial aspect of this process is managing your Google Business Profile (GBP) to ensure a smooth transition and maintain robust online visibility. Here’s your ultimate guide to navigating the rebranding process on GBP.

Discover Your Hotel’s Story

When bringing a new client into the hospitality fold, understanding the hotel’s history is key. Whether it’s the first at the location, inheriting another brand, or evolving through multiple brands, this backstory shapes your GBP strategy and sets the stage for success.

Rebrand Strategy: Inherit or Start Fresh?

Deciding whether to inherit an existing listing or start anew is one of the most significant challenges in rebranding on GBP. This choice impacts your hotel’s online presence and reputation. Let’s dive into the options:

Inheriting the Existing Listing

Pros:

Preserves Listing Value: Retain all reviews, images, posts, star ratings, and descriptions, making it quicker and easier to rank for targeted keywords.
Brand Continuity: Previous brand searches will lead users to the new listing, reducing confusion and maintaining traffic.
Immediate Map Presence: Your pin marker on Google Maps remains prominent right from the start.

Cons:

Outdated Information: User-generated content (UGC) may include outdated information, requiring significant effort to manage.
Persistent Old Branding: The old hotel name may continue to appear in suggested search results for years.

Starting Fresh with a New Listing

Pros:

Up-to-Date Information: All listing data will be accurate and specific to the new brand.

Cons:

Lost Brand Search Traffic: Searches for the old brand will not lead to the new page unless the names are similar.
Initial Data Scarcity: The new listing will have fewer details initially and will require time to enrich.
Map Marker Stability: The pin marker on Google Maps may be unstable during the first months of optimisation.

Key Considerations

Before deciding on your rebranding strategy, consider these pivotal questions:

Scale of Renovations: Are the renovations significant enough to render previous UGC irrelevant? If yes, a new page might be more beneficial.

Review Analysis: Do the accumulated reviews reflect positively on the new brand? If the ratings are low, starting fresh may be the better option. Note that Google Support will not delete all reviews, as their guidelines state to create a new page when the change of the business is significant.

Looking at the pros and cons, keeping the existing page might seem more logical and tempting, but it all depends on the specifics of each case and the client’s needs. Present your clients with both options, clarify the implications of each, and work together to achieve your goals. Each situation is unique, so choose the strategy that best aligns with your rebranding vision.

Essential Rebranding Steps Beyond GBP

Managing your GBP is just the beginning. Ensure these vital tasks are also completed:

Update Wiki Projects: Make sure Wikipedia and Wikidata entries reflect the new brand.
Revise Map Providers: Update Apple Maps, Bing Maps, and other major map providers.
Key Directories: Refresh listings on Yelp, Foursquare, Trivago, etc.
Major OTAs: Ensure TripAdvisor, Booking.com, Hotels.com, Expedia, and Agoda reflect the changes.
Social Media: Update profiles on Facebook, Instagram, X (Twitter), and YouTube.

Pro Tips for a Seamless Transition

Coordinate with the Previous Brand: Ensure previous listings are permanently closed to avoid interference.
Set a Timeline: Communicate a clear timeline for the conversion to ensure all listings are updated by the reopening.
Plan Activities: Schedule all necessary activities in advance using your project management software.
Revise Related Listings: Check for any associated listings (e.g., restaurant listings) that might still display old brand details and update them accordingly.

Conclusion

Rebranding a hotel business profile on Google requires careful planning and execution. Whether you choose to inherit the existing listing or start fresh, it’s crucial to weigh the pros and cons and set proper expectations with your clients. By following this guide and completing the necessary steps, you can ensure a successful transition and maintain your hotel’s online presence.