VacationRental schema: what Google needs for rental listings

JSON-LD example

Copy this into a <script type="application/ld+json"> tag and replace the values with your own.

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "VacationRental",
  "additionalType": "Cabin",
  "name": "Lookout Ridge Cabin",
  "identifier": "LRC-0217",
  "latitude": 35.61234,
  "longitude": -83.51876,
  "address": {
    "@type": "PostalAddress",
    "streetAddress": "412 Laurel Gap Road",
    "addressLocality": "Gatlinburg",
    "addressRegion": "TN",
    "postalCode": "37738",
    "addressCountry": "US"
  },
  "image": [
    "https://example.com/wp-content/uploads/lookout/exterior.jpg",
    "https://example.com/wp-content/uploads/lookout/living-room.jpg",
    "https://example.com/wp-content/uploads/lookout/kitchen.jpg",
    "https://example.com/wp-content/uploads/lookout/bedroom-1.jpg",
    "https://example.com/wp-content/uploads/lookout/bedroom-2.jpg",
    "https://example.com/wp-content/uploads/lookout/bathroom.jpg",
    "https://example.com/wp-content/uploads/lookout/deck.jpg",
    "https://example.com/wp-content/uploads/lookout/view.jpg"
  ],
  "checkinTime": "16:00:00-05:00",
  "checkoutTime": "10:00:00-05:00",
  "containsPlace": {
    "@type": "Accommodation",
    "additionalType": "EntirePlace",
    "numberOfBedrooms": 2,
    "numberOfBathroomsTotal": 1,
    "occupancy": {
      "@type": "QuantitativeValue",
      "value": 5
    },
    "amenityFeature": [
      {
        "@type": "LocationFeatureSpecification",
        "name": "hotTub",
        "value": true
      },
      {
        "@type": "LocationFeatureSpecification",
        "name": "wifi",
        "value": true
      },
      {
        "@type": "LocationFeatureSpecification",
        "name": "parkingType",
        "value": "Free"
      }
    ]
  },
  "aggregateRating": {
    "@type": "AggregateRating",
    "ratingValue": 4.8,
    "reviewCount": 57
  }
}

Properties

Access comes before markup

Google calls vacation rentals an early adopters program. The steps, in order:

1. Fill in Google's vacation rental interest form. That records interest; it isn't an invitation.
2. If accepted, work with a Google Technical Account Manager and set up Hotel Center.
3. Only then add the markup to listing pages and complete the integration.

If your site is one of many channels for the same property, check whether the listing already reaches Google through a platform you use. Markup on your own site doesn't replace that route, and two sources for one property can conflict.

Photos, coordinates and a stable ID

Three required properties cause most rejections:

• Images: eight is the minimum, and they must include a bedroom, a bathroom and a common area. Five exterior shots and three of the view won't do. Google also points to its Hotel Center image requirements.
• Coordinates: at least five decimal places, which is roughly one meter of precision. A value copied from a map at city zoom, like 35.6, fails.
• identifier: it must survive edits. Renaming "Lookout Cabin" to "Lookout Ridge Cabin" or adding a bedroom must not change it.

That last rule matters on multilingual WordPress sites. Translation plugins such as WPML and Polylang store each language as a separate post with its own post ID, so using the post ID as the identifier would give one cabin several IDs. Use a property code stored in a custom field, or the ID of the original-language post, on every translation.

Amenities in fixed English values

amenityFeature takes fixed names, and Google requires them in English even on a Spanish or French listing. Yes-or-no amenities use a boolean value: ac, balcony, beachAccess, crib, fireplace, hotTub, kitchen, petsAllowed, pool, selfCheckinCheckout, washerDryer, wheelchairAccessible and wifi are among the supported names.

A few amenities take a text value instead: internetType (Free, Paid or None) and parkingType (such as Free or Paid) are two of them. Put amenities on the Accommodation inside containsPlace, not on the top-level listing, so they match how Google reads the unit.

Generating listings from a booking plugin

Rental and booking plugins usually keep each property as a custom post type with fields for guests, bedrooms and amenities. Build the markup from those fields so it updates when the listing does, then add it with Hydrogen SEO's hydrogen_seo_schemas filter on is_singular() for that post type. Pull the gallery images from the plugin's field rather than the featured image, so the eight-photo minimum is met.

Keep the rating honest. aggregateRating should summarize reviews shown on your listing page. Scores imported from another booking site don't belong there; see review snippet rules.