What it is honest to expect

Nobody can guarantee you first place in Google, and the official Google and OpenAI documentation contains no promise of a recommendation from AI. What you can do is make the information about you clear, accurate and easy to reach. Below are the things that depend on you.

What the official sources say

Google states in its documentation that the generative features in search need no special markup. The basis remains ordinary SEO and helpful, unique content written for people. Google Search does not use files such as llms.txt. These rules apply to Google Search, not to other AI chats.

OpenAI describes its bots separately. OAI-SearchBot crawls websites for search in ChatGPT. If you block it, your website will not be shown in the answers of that search, though it can still appear as a navigational link. Allowed access is a prerequisite: Google says that indexing and serving are not guaranteed, and OpenAI recommends allowing the bot so that the site can appear.

Your venue's profile in Google

Google Business Profile is free to add or claim. The address must be real and accurate, and the profile is confirmed (verification) in one of the ways Google offers for your venue. Google's guidelines say to use the venue's real name, without added slogans, phone numbers or addresses in the name. According to them, hotels and motels are among the businesses that should not set opening hours in their profile, and a restaurant, café or bar inside a hotel has its own profile with a name different from the hotel's. Check Google's official guidance for which categories and details are allowed for your type of venue.

The same details everywhere

  • The name, address and phone number should be the same on your website, in your Google profile, on Facebook and on reservation platforms.
  • When you change a phone number or address, update every place as soon as possible.
  • Write the name as it appears on the sign and on the website; in your Google profile, do not repeat the same name in Cyrillic and in Latin letters, even if the sign shows it that way.

What the website itself should have

  • A clear title and a short description on every page: what the place is, where it is and what it offers.
  • A separate description for each room type, with real photos, not someone else's.
  • A “from” price, if you can give it honestly.
  • Which rooms and services you have and which you do not, written simply.
  • Contact details and a way to send an enquiry in a prominent place.
  • A fast website on a phone: open it yourself on mobile data. If you wait, your guest waits too.
  • The same accurate information on the website and in the profiles. A contradiction between them confuses both people and search engines.

Reviews

Reply to reviews calmly and to the point, both good and bad ones. Do not ask guests for personal or confidential information in your reply. Future guests can see the reply.

Do not block the bots by accident

Check your website's robots.txt file and your hosting protection (firewall). Protection at the hosting or CDN level can block crawling, so check that too. OpenAI recommends allowing OAI-SearchBot in robots.txt and allowing requests from the IP ranges OpenAI publishes (if you use a firewall, it must let them through). You can allow search and forbid training bots; the settings are independent. After a change to robots.txt, OpenAI's systems can need about 24 hours to adjust; with Google, crawling a change can take from several days to several months.

How to check for yourself

  • Search Google for the name of your venue. Do your website and profile appear, with accurate details?
  • Search for “guest house” or “hotel” plus the location. Do not expect first place; look at whether the information is accurate.
  • Open Google Search Console. It is free and shows whether Google can crawl your website, whether there are indexing problems and which queries you appear for. It also has a setting for Google's AI features (Search generative AI control): by default your site is included, and if it is switched off, Google does not show links or content from it in those features. It is not required, but it gives you a view from the inside.
  • Ask an AI chat a question about your venue and compare the answer with the truth. The answer may differ each time; this is a check, not a measurement.

What not to do

  • Do not buy “guaranteed ranking” or “guaranteed AI recommendation”.
  • Do not publish many similar pages in bulk for AI answers; Google advises avoiding this.
  • Do not rely on a special file or markup as the solution.

If you use ISKA Website

ISKA Website shows rooms with photos and, optionally, a “from” price, services, the gallery, offers and the enquiry form. It is sold by individual quote. These are accurate and clear details, but a result in Google or in AI is not promised. The Google profile is maintained separately, by you or by your helper.