Place Details

Select platform: Android iOS JavaScript Web Service

The Places SDK for Android provides your app with rich information about places, including the place's name and address, the geographical location specified as latitude/longitude coordinates, the type of place (such as night club, pet store, museum), and more. To access this information for a specific place, you can use the place ID, a stable identifier that uniquely identifies a place.

Place details

The Place object provides information about a specific place. You can get hold of a Place object in the following ways:

• Call PlacesClient.fetchPlace() – See the guide to getting a place by ID.
• Call PlacesClient.findCurrentPlace() – See the guide to getting the current place.
  While PlacesClient.fetchPlace() supports all place data fields, PlacesClient.findCurrentPlace() only supports a subset of place data fields. For the list of fields NOT supported by findCurrentPlace(), see Places SDK for Android fields support.

When you request a place, you must specify which place data to return. To do this, pass a list of Place.Field values specifying the data to return. This list is an important consideration because it affects the cost for each request.

Because place data results cannot be empty, only place results with data are returned (for example, if a requested place has no photos, the photos field will not be present in the result).

The following example passes a list of three Place.Field values to specify the data returned by a request:

Kotlin

// Specify the fields to return.
val placeFields = listOf(Place.Field.NAME, Place.Field.RATING, Place.Field.OPENING_HOURS)

Java

// Specify the fields to return.
final List<Place.Field> placeFields = Arrays.asList(Place.Field.NAME, Place.Field.RATING, Place.Field.OPENING_HOURS);
  

Access Place object data fields

After you obtain the Place object, use methods of the object to access the data fields specified in the request. If the field is missing from the Place object, the related method returns null. Shown below are examples of a few of the available methods. For a complete list of all methods, see the Place API reference.

• getAddress() – The place's address, in human-readable format.
• getAddressComponents() – A List of address components for this place. These components are provided for the purpose of extracting structured information about a place's address, for example finding the city in which a place is located. Do not use these components for address formatting; instead, call getAddress(), which provides a localized formatted address.
• getId() – The textual identifier for the place. Read more about place IDs in the rest of this page.
• getLatLng() – The geographical location of the place, specified as latitude and longitude coordinates.
• getName() – The place's name.

• getOpeningHours() – The OpeningHours of the place. Call OpeningHours.getWeekdayText() to return a list of strings that represent opening and closing hours for each day of the week. Call OpeningHours.getPeriods() to return a list of period objects with more detailed information that is equivalent to the data provided by getWeekdayText().

  Note: If a place is always open, the time period is represented as Sunday at midnight, and the closeEvent is null.

  The Place object also contains the getCurrentOpeningHours() method which returns a place's hours of operation over the next seven days, and getSecondaryOpeningHours() which returns a place's secondary hours of operation over the next seven days.

• isOpen() – A boolean indicating whether the place is currently open. If no time is specified, the default is now. isOpen will only be returned if both Place.Field.UTC_OFFSET and Place.Field.OPENING_HOURS are available. To ensure accurate results, request the Place.Field.BUSINESS_STATUS and Place.Field.UTC_OFFSET fields in your original place request. If not requested, it is assumed that the business is operational. See this video for how to use isOpen with Place Details.

  Note: This method is deprecated. Instead use PlacesClient.isOpen(IsOpenRequest request). For more, see Get open status.

Some simple examples:

Kotlin

val name = place.name
val address = place.address
val location = place.latLng

      

Java

final CharSequence name = place.getName();
final CharSequence address = place.getAddress();
final LatLng location = place.getLatLng();

      

Get a place by ID

A place ID is a textual identifier that uniquely identifies a place. In the Places SDK for Android, you can retrieve the ID of a place by calling Place.getId(). The Place Autocomplete service also returns a place ID for each place that matches the supplied search query and filter. You can store the place ID and use it to retrieve the Place object again later.

To get a place by ID, call PlacesClient.fetchPlace(), passing a FetchPlaceRequest.

The API returns a FetchPlaceResponse in a Task. The FetchPlaceResponse contains a Place object matching the supplied place ID.

The following code example shows calling fetchPlace() to get details for the specified place.

Kotlin

// Define a Place ID.
val placeId = "INSERT_PLACE_ID_HERE"

// Specify the fields to return.
val placeFields = listOf(Place.Field.ID, Place.Field.NAME)

// Construct a request object, passing the place ID and fields array.
val request = FetchPlaceRequest.newInstance(placeId, placeFields)

placesClient.fetchPlace(request)
    .addOnSuccessListener { response: FetchPlaceResponse ->
        val place = response.place
        Log.i(PlaceDetailsActivity.TAG, "Place found: ${place.name}")
    }.addOnFailureListener { exception: Exception ->
        if (exception is ApiException) {
            Log.e(TAG, "Place not found: ${exception.message}")
            val statusCode = exception.statusCode
            TODO("Handle error with given status code")
        }
    }

      

Java

// Define a Place ID.
final String placeId = "INSERT_PLACE_ID_HERE";

// Specify the fields to return.
final List<Place.Field> placeFields = Arrays.asList(Place.Field.ID, Place.Field.NAME);

// Construct a request object, passing the place ID and fields array.
final FetchPlaceRequest request = FetchPlaceRequest.newInstance(placeId, placeFields);

placesClient.fetchPlace(request).addOnSuccessListener((response) -> {
    Place place = response.getPlace();
    Log.i(TAG, "Place found: " + place.getName());
}).addOnFailureListener((exception) -> {
    if (exception instanceof ApiException) {
        final ApiException apiException = (ApiException) exception;
        Log.e(TAG, "Place not found: " + exception.getMessage());
        final int statusCode = apiException.getStatusCode();
        // TODO: Handle error with given status code.
    }
});

      

Note: For more information on initializing PlacesClient, see Initialize the Places API client.

You can use a CancellationToken to attempt to cancel a request to any of the request classes (for example, FetchPlaceRequest). Cancellation is done on a best-effort basis. Once a cancellation request is issued, no response will be returned. Issuing a cancellation token does NOT guarantee that a particular request will be cancelled, and you may still be charged for the request even if no response is returned.

Get open status

The PlacesClient.isOpen(IsOpenRequest request) method returns an IsOpenResponse object indicating whether the place is currently open based on the time specified in the call.

This method takes a single argument of type IsOpenRequest that contains:

• A Place object, or a string specifying a place ID.
  Note: The Place object must contain a valid place ID.
• An optional time value specifying the time in milliseconds from 1970-01-01T00:00:00Z. If no time is specified, the default is now.

This method requires that the following fields exist in the Place object:

• Place.Field.BUSINESS_STATUS
• Place.Field.CURRENT_OPENING_HOURS
• Place.Field.OPENING_HOURS
• Place.Field.UTC_OFFSET

If these fields are not provided in the Place object, or if you pass a place ID, the method uses PlacesClient.fetchPlace() to fetch them. For more information on creating the Place object with the necessary fields, see Place details.

Note: The Places Basic Data SKU is charged for calls to fetchPlace() for Place.Field.UTC_OFFSET and Place.Field.BUSINESS_STATUS. The Places Contact Data SKU is charged for calls to fetchPlace() for Place.Field.CURRENT_OPENING_HOURS and Place.Field.OPENING_HOURS.

The following example determines if a place is currently open. In this example, you only pass the place ID to isOpen():

Kotlin

val isOpenCalendar: Calendar = Calendar.getInstance()
val placeId = "ChIJD3uTd9hx5kcR1IQvGfr8dbk"

val request: IsOpenRequest = try {
    IsOpenRequest.newInstance(placeId, isOpenCalendar.timeInMillis)
} catch (e: IllegalArgumentException) {
    e.printStackTrace()
    return
}
val isOpenTask: Task<IsOpenResponse> = placesClient.isOpen(request)
isOpenTask.addOnSuccessListener { response ->
    val isOpen = response.isOpen
}
// ...

      

Java

@NonNull
Calendar isOpenCalendar = Calendar.getInstance();
String placeId = "ChIJD3uTd9hx5kcR1IQvGfr8dbk";
IsOpenRequest isOpenRequest;

try {
    isOpenRequest = IsOpenRequest.newInstance(placeId, isOpenCalendar.getTimeInMillis());
} catch (IllegalArgumentException e) {
    e.printStackTrace();
    return;
}

Task<IsOpenResponse> placeTask = placesClient.isOpen(isOpenRequest);

placeTask.addOnSuccessListener(
        (response) ->
                isOpen = response.isOpen());
// ...

      

The next example shows calling isOpen() where you pass a Place object. The Place object must contain a valid place ID:

Kotlin

val isOpenCalendar: Calendar = Calendar.getInstance()
var place: Place
val placeId = "ChIJD3uTd9hx5kcR1IQvGfr8dbk"
// Specify the required fields for an isOpen request.
val placeFields: List<Place.Field> = listOf(
    Place.Field.BUSINESS_STATUS,
    Place.Field.CURRENT_OPENING_HOURS,
    Place.Field.ID,
    Place.Field.OPENING_HOURS,
    Place.Field.UTC_OFFSET
)

val placeRequest: FetchPlaceRequest =
    FetchPlaceRequest.newInstance(placeId, placeFields)
val placeTask: Task<FetchPlaceResponse> = placesClient.fetchPlace(placeRequest)
placeTask.addOnSuccessListener { placeResponse ->
    place = placeResponse.place

    val isOpenRequest: IsOpenRequest = try {
        IsOpenRequest.newInstance(place, isOpenCalendar.timeInMillis)
    } catch (e: IllegalArgumentException) {
        e.printStackTrace()
        return@addOnSuccessListener
    }
    val isOpenTask: Task<IsOpenResponse> = placesClient.isOpen(isOpenRequest)
    isOpenTask.addOnSuccessListener { isOpenResponse ->
        val isOpen = isOpenResponse.isOpen
    }
    // ...
}
// ...

      

Java

@NonNull
Calendar isOpenCalendar = Calendar.getInstance();
String placeId = "ChIJD3uTd9hx5kcR1IQvGfr8dbk";
// Specify the required fields for an isOpen request.
List<Place.Field> placeFields = new ArrayList<>(Arrays.asList(
        Place.Field.BUSINESS_STATUS,
        Place.Field.CURRENT_OPENING_HOURS,
        Place.Field.ID,
        Place.Field.OPENING_HOURS,
        Place.Field.UTC_OFFSET
));

FetchPlaceRequest request = FetchPlaceRequest.newInstance(placeId, placeFields);
Task<FetchPlaceResponse> placeTask = placesClient.fetchPlace(request);

placeTask.addOnSuccessListener(
        (placeResponse) -> {
            Place place = placeResponse.getPlace();
            IsOpenRequest isOpenRequest;

            try {
                isOpenRequest = IsOpenRequest.newInstance(place, isOpenCalendar.getTimeInMillis());
            } catch (IllegalArgumentException e) {
                e.printStackTrace();
                return;
            }
            Task<IsOpenResponse> isOpenTask = placesClient.isOpen(isOpenRequest);

            isOpenTask.addOnSuccessListener(
                    (isOpenResponse) -> isOpen = isOpenResponse.isOpen());
            // ...
        });
// ...

      

Display attributions in your app

When your app displays place information, including place reviews, the app must also display any attributions. For more information, see attributions.

More about place IDs

The place ID used in the Places SDK for Android is the same identifier as used in the Places API. Each place ID can refer to only one place, but a single place can have more than one place ID. There are other circumstances which may cause a place to get a new place ID. For example, this may happen if a business moves to a new location.

When you request a place by specifying a place ID, you can be confident that you will always receive the same place in the response (if the place still exists). Note, however, that the response may contain a place ID that is different from the one in your request.

For more information, see the place ID overview.