Apple announced yesterday Apple Business Connect, a way for business owners to control their information across Apple Maps, Wallet, Siri, Messages, and more. Business Connect allows the same amount of control as Google Business but offers more integration across all Apple devices. For hotels, it will also offer the opportunity for users to make reservations directly and see special offers for the hotel, restaurant, or other aspect of the hotel.
Get Started
It is easy to get started with Apple Business Connect. Enrolment is through the link and is connected to your Apple ID. If you do not have an Apple ID, you will be able to create one. You will be able to add additional users at a later step.
After signing in, you will be asked to locate your business on Apple Maps. Maps has been populating the business information over time. For hotels, it has been pulling the information from TripAdvisor and Yelp. If your hotel is listed on either of those sites, there should not be a problem locating the hotel.
After agreeing to the terms of service, you will be asked to verify the hotel listing. The easiest way to do this is by Apple calling the hotel and providing a code over the phone. The other option is sending Apple documents which will delay the listing being verified. The verification process is important because without it, you will not be able to upload pictures or change any other information.
The Hotel Listing
The listing for the hotel is going to be fairly basic. The logo and cover image are images that can be modified. The call and website buttons will link to the information you provide (i.e. the phone number could go to a reservations desk rather than the front desk). The Book button gives you two options, TripAdvisor or Booking.com.
This is going to be one of the main differences with the Apple Business listing compared to Google Business listings. With Google, users have the option to check availability and make a reservation directly at the hotel. Maybe that will change for Apple Business in the future.
Modifying the Listing
The listing has a few areas that are able to be changed:
- cover image and logo
- basic description (only 100 characters)
- photos
- amenities
- and other basic information (hours, address, phone number, website)
The photos have to be above a certain minimum size and have a maximum size set. Businesses are only able to upload 100 photos. The full list of size restrictions is found here, Apple Business Connect photo standards.
With the photos, businesses will be able to add a short caption and alt-text for each image. Right now, there is no way to modify the order of the images, so that is something to consider when adding the photos.
Apple is verifying every photo to make sure it is up to their quality standards and does not break any of their rules (harmful language, spammy, discriminatory language, etc).
The one area I was not able to explore was Showcases. From the Apple News release:
Showcases, a new feature in the place card, helps businesses present customers with offers and incentives, like seasonal menu items, product discounts, and more. Businesses can easily update the Showcase section of their place card through Business Connect. Showcases are available to businesses in the US beginning today, and will be available to businesses globally in coming months.
Apple News Release
Overall, I think Apple Business Connect is a quality start to offering more control over the listings that were already available on Apple Maps and other products. I am looking forward to see how Showcases can be used, and what other enhancements Apple will be making with the product in the coming years.