Between Thanksgiving and New Year, homeowners search for help at odd hours: the furnace that quits on Christmas Eve, the drain that backs up the night before guests arrive. Google shows them who is open right now. If your holiday hours are missing or wrong, you either look closed when you are working or look open when nobody answers. Both cost you calls.
In this article
The dates to set now
Google lets you set special hours for each date. Set them in early November, before the searches spike:
- Thanksgiving: Thursday, November 26, and the Friday after;
- Christmas Eve and Christmas Day: December 24 and 25;
- New Year's Eve and New Year's Day: December 31 and January 1;
- any days your office closes or runs a reduced schedule.
Google often asks you to confirm holiday hours. If you don't, it may show a warning that hours might differ, and some customers skip you.
Open, closed or on-call
Decide for each date, and be honest:
- Open: normal or reduced hours, office answering;
- On-call / emergency only: someone answers and can dispatch, at emergency rates;
- Closed: nobody answers; set an auto-reply with the next opening.
For HVAC, plumbing, electrical, garage doors and restoration, on-call days are some of the most profitable of the year. Homeowners in an emergency rarely shop on price.
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Tell customers what to expect
- publish a Google post in November with your holiday schedule and emergency number;
- add a line to your website header: "Emergency service available through the holidays";
- add the schedule to your voicemail greeting and auto-replies;
- send it to your maintenance members and recent customers by text or email.
Don't let the calls go to voicemail
The worst outcome is paying for ads and visibility while the phone rings out. Before the holidays:
- set call forwarding to the on-call technician or an answering service;
- turn on a missed-call text-back: "Sorry we missed you. Reply with your address and the problem and we'll call you right back.";
- schedule your Local Services Ads and Google Ads to match the hours someone can answer.
Price the holiday calls clearly
Holiday and after-hours rates are normal and accepted when they are clear. Say the dispatch fee on the phone before booking, put it in writing and pay the on-call crew fairly. Hidden fees on Christmas Day become one-star reviews in January.
Ask for reviews in December
Customers you helped on a holiday are often the most grateful. Ask for the review the same day, by text, with a direct link. A few "they came on Christmas Eve" reviews help your profile for the whole next year.
An example
A plumbing company in Charlotte had its Google profile showing "closed" on December 24 and 25 because the owner never set special hours, even though a technician was on call. In 2025 it set on-call hours, posted the schedule and turned on missed-call text-back. Over the holidays it booked 23 emergency calls at holiday rates, about $11,000 in revenue, and got 15 new reviews.
Common mistakes
Not setting special hours, showing open when nobody answers, running ads while the office is closed, surprising customers with holiday fees and forgetting to switch hours back after New Year.
Price every call so it pays.
We help service businesses set clear policies, book better jobs and turn more calls into profitable work.
Frequently asked questions
Should I show my business as open on Christmas if I only take emergency calls?
If someone really answers the phone and can dispatch, yes: set special hours for that day and say "emergency service only" in a post and in your auto-reply. If nobody answers, mark the day as closed. Showing open and not answering leads to bad reviews and wasted ad spend.