GroundZones vs Google My Maps for zoning hotels around an airport

Google My Maps is the free way to put a hotel file on a map, and for a few hundred hotels that are already zoned it works well. It is not built to do the zoning: Google advises against importing more than 2,000 rows, directions go one route per layer with at most ten layers, and hotels are not assigned to the areas you draw. GroundZones is built for that job, from the driving distance at the terminal to the zoned export.

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At a glance

GroundZonesGoogle My Maps
PriceFrom $75 a month for one airport. 30 days freeFree
Import a spreadsheetCSV or XLSXCSV, TSV, XLSX, KML, KMZ, GPX or a Google Sheet
Hotels per mapThousands, in one project2,000 per layer, 10 layers, 10,000 places in total
Geocode addresses Yes Yes
Driving distance to every hotelYes, from the airport terminalNo. Each set of directions takes its own layer
Colour hotels by zone YesYes, if the zone is already a column
Zone the hotels inside a drawn area YesShapes can be drawn, but the hotels inside are not assigned to them
Zone by distance band, ZIP list or city Yes No
Export the zoned fileCSV or XLSX, in your original columnsA layer's data as CSV, or the map as KML/KMZ
Share with colleaguesAccounts are single-userYes, with specific people

Where My Maps works

My Maps is free, familiar, and quick. It imports XLSX files and Google Sheets directly, places each row from its address, and can style places by a data column, so a file that already has a zone column shows up colour-coded by zone. You can share the map with specific people. For looking at a zoned file, or showing it to someone, it is a sensible free choice.

Where it stops for zoning

The trouble starts when the map has to produce the zones rather than display them. These limits come from Google's own My Maps help pages:

  • Size. Google's import help says "Do not import files with more than 2,000 rows," and a layer holds 2,000 places. A 3,000-hotel roster has to be split across layers, and a map tops out at 10 layers and 10,000 places.
  • Distance. My Maps can draw directions, but "each set of directions goes on its own layer," and a map has at most 10 layers. There is no way to get a driving distance for each of hundreds of hotels, which is the number distance-based zones are built on.
  • Assignment. You can draw a shape around a district, but Google's help does not describe assigning the places inside it to that shape. The zone still has to be typed into each row of the spreadsheet.
  • Round trips. The zone lives in your spreadsheet, so a decision made while looking at the map has to find its way back into the file by hand. My Maps exports a layer's data as CSV, or the whole map as KML or KMZ.

How GroundZones does it

The whole file goes into one project, however many hotels it has. Choose the airport by IATA code and the origin is placed at the terminal; every hotel gets its driving distance and time from there.

Zone rules do the first pass: distance bands from the terminal, polygons you draw, or lists of ZIP codes and cities. Hotels inside a drawn polygon take its zone. You preview the result, see where two rules overlap, then apply it. For the parts no rule describes, drag a box over the hotels and set their zone in one click.

Export returns your file in its original columns with the zone filled in, and the project stays saved with undo, redo and up to 50 restorable versions. When the next roster arrives you merge it in and zone only the new hotels.

What you give up by moving

My Maps lets you share a map with other people, while GroundZones accounts are single-user today. If all you need is to look at a small file that someone else has already zoned, My Maps is enough.

Which should you choose?

Choose GroundZones if

  • You need to work out the zones, not just look at them
  • Zones depend on driving distance from the airport
  • Your file is more than a couple of thousand hotels, or you cover several airports
  • You need the zoned file back in its original columns

Choose Google My Maps if

  • Your hotels are already zoned and you want to see them on a map for free
  • The file is well under 2,000 hotels
  • You need to share the map with other people

Frequently asked questions

How many hotels can Google My Maps import?

Google's help says not to import files with more than 2,000 rows. Each layer can hold 2,000 places, a map can have up to 10 layers, and a map is limited to 10,000 lines, shapes or places in total.

Can Google My Maps calculate the distance from an airport to each hotel?

Not in bulk. My Maps can draw directions between places, but each set of directions goes on its own layer and a map has at most 10 layers. GroundZones calculates the driving distance and time from the airport terminal to every hotel in the file.

Can I colour hotels by zone in My Maps?

Yes, if the zone is already a column in your data: My Maps can style places by a data column. It does not work out the zone for you.

Can I move a file from My Maps to GroundZones?

Yes. Start from the spreadsheet you imported into My Maps, or export the layer data as CSV, and upload it to GroundZones. The column matching you do on the first upload is remembered.

Try it on your own hotel file.

Your first 30 days are free, with no card. Upload the file you were about to open in Excel and see your first zone in a few minutes.

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Sources

Details about Google My Maps were checked against these pages on September 11, 2026. Products change. If something here is out of date, email hello@groundzones.com and we will correct it.

  1. Google My Maps Help: Import map features from a file
  2. Google My Maps Help: Draw lines and shapes (map size limits)
  3. Google My Maps Help: Layers and styling
  4. Google My Maps Help: Directions and distances
  5. Google My Maps Help: Share, export and print a map

Product names on this page are trademarks of their respective owners, used only to identify them. GroundZones is not affiliated with or endorsed by any of them.