Every Operator on your site has a description, and it now has three readers at once. A Visitor reads it on your Product page. Where the Operator has connected Google Business Profile in ATDW, Google shows the start of it there. And AI assistants read it when they decide what to recommend. KarryOn’s report of Tourism Australia’s new strategy put the risk bluntly: businesses with “incomplete, outdated or poorly structured digital information risk being excluded before a traveller even begins comparing products” (KarryOn, August 2026⁠ (opens in a new tab)).

ATDW’s own rules already describe a description that works for all three. This guide sets them out, shows a before-and-after, and ends with a note a regional tourism organisation can send its Operators.

What ATDW asks for

Length. ATDW’s help page sets 50 to 225 words for accommodation, attractions, hire, tours, transport and information services; 25 to 225 for events, food and drink and general services; and 50 to 350 for destination information and journeys (ATDW Support⁠ (opens in a new tab)).

The first 750 characters do most of the work. Where a profile syncs to Google Business Profile, ATDW notes that Google shows only about the first 750 characters, roughly 120 to 150 words, so the most important information belongs there, ending on a complete sentence.

Three paragraphs. ATDW recommends opening with the business name, location and what makes it different; then describing the experience and its key features; then adding local context, such as nearby attractions and distances.

Write it like an elevator pitch. Tourism Australia’s ATDW guide puts the name and the most important information in the first one or two sentences, and asks for “short and simple sentences that can be read easily both by customers and search engines” (Tourism Australia⁠ (opens in a new tab)).

What ATDW says to leave out

ATDW’s “what to avoid” page is the most useful single page an Operator can read (ATDW Support⁠ (opens in a new tab)). In short:

  • Make everything accurate and not likely to mislead, including location, features, availability, pricing, inclusions and accessibility.
  • Avoid claims that can’t be supported “with clear and reliable evidence”, including environmental and sustainability claims, quality, safety, or being the “best”.
  • Write in the third person, not “we” or “our”.
  • Leave out contact details, addresses, prices, links and opening hours. They belong in their own fields, where they can be kept current and shown properly. Tourism Australia adds that times, dates, costs, contact details and hyperlinks in a description get rejected.

Why the same rules help AI assistants

An assistant reading a Product page wants what a careful person wants: what this is, where it is, who it suits and what makes it different, in plain sentences. Two habits matter most.

Facts in sentences instead of adjectives. “A 1920s guesthouse two streets from the beach, with six rooms and a garden courtyard” gives an assistant something to repeat. “A charming and unforgettable getaway” gives it nothing, and gives the Visitor nothing either.

Structured fields for the things that change. Opening hours, accessibility, accreditations and booking links live in their own ATDW fields, so they can be updated without rewriting the description and read reliably by every site that shows the Product. ATDW added “EV Aware” and “EV Ready” accreditations this year, and is recognising verified accessibility accreditation on profiles (ATDW in 2026). A description that says “fully accessible” while the accessibility fields are empty misleads people and machines alike (Showing accessibility details on destination websites).

A before and after

This example is made up, but it is typical.

Before: “Welcome to our stunning coastal retreat! We offer the best views on the coast and an eco-friendly stay you’ll never forget. Call us on 0400 000 000 or visit our website to book. Open 7 days.”

It is in the first person, makes two claims it can’t support (“best”, “eco-friendly”), puts contact details and hours in the description, and tells a reader almost nothing.

After: “Saltbush Cottages is a group of four self-contained cottages on the headland above Bar Beach, a five-minute walk from the town centre. Each cottage sleeps up to four and has a kitchen, a deck facing the ocean and a wood heater for winter. Guests can walk the clifftop track to the lighthouse from the gate, and the weekend farmers market is two streets away. The cottages run on rooftop solar and collect rainwater, and one cottage has level entry and a step-free bathroom.”

Everything in it is specific and checkable. The sustainability point is stated as what the business does, not as a label. The accessibility point is precise. And the opening sentence would make sense on its own in a Google result or an AI answer.

A note to send your Operators

Feel free to adapt this.

Your ATDW description appears on our website and other sites that use ATDW, on Google if your profile is connected to Google Business Profile, and AI assistants read it too. Please take ten minutes to check it: write in the third person; put your name, location and what makes you different in the first two sentences; say specifically what guests get; leave out phone numbers, prices, links and opening hours (they have their own fields); and only describe environmental or accessibility features you can back up. While you are there, please check your opening hours and accessibility fields. ATDW’s guidance is at support.atdw.com.au.

On Roam

Roam syncs 40,000+ ATDW Products automatically, including descriptions, imagery, opening hours, accessibility and booking links, and the sync runs on a schedule, so when an Operator improves a description in ATDW, your site picks it up on the next sync. For why a Product on your site can still differ from its ATDW profile, see Why the Product on your site doesn’t match the Operator’s ATDW profile.