diff --git a/libraries/google_compute_region.rb b/libraries/google_compute_region.rb
index b6ae25b25..c2f17f226 100644
--- a/libraries/google_compute_region.rb
+++ b/libraries/google_compute_region.rb
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ def initialize(opts = {})
     # helper for returning a list of zone short names rather than fully qualified URLs e.g.
     #   https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/spaterson-project/zones/asia-east1-a
     def zone_names
-      return false if !defined?(@region.zones)
+      return [] if @region.zones.nil?
       @region.zones.map { |zone| zone.split('/').last }
     end