The best games where you run a hotel

Important takeaways

• Hotel management games offer different gaming options beyond just hotels, such as gas stations and ski resorts.

• From casual to immersive, hotel sim games like Hotel Empire Tycoon cater to different player preferences.

• Unique hotel swimming games like Bear and Breakfast and Neko Atsume provide fun and relaxing experiences for players.

Manager, tycoon and transport simulator games have touched almost every topic you can think of. When you're pressure washing for fun, we know that designers can do anything with video games. So when it comes to managing a hotel, there are many options.

Many hotel management games morph into other genres, where you can manage resorts that have golf courses or skiing. There is a lot of time that can be spent in these games if you need to check people into rooms for fun.

Updated on October 24, 2024 by Jon Eakin: Hotels have long been a favorite setting for the management sim genre, and that popularity shows no signs of abating. To help celebrate that fact, we've given this list the full room service treatment. New games, as well as new features, await you after you complete your check-in process to read this sentence.

12

Motel Manager Simulator

Three in one

Motel Manager Simulator is a more modern take on the concept, which is shown through both gameplay and design. You have to renovate and run a motel, which really only means hotel unless you're snobbish.

Where Motel Manager Simulator takes things a step further is that you also renovate a shop and gas station, giving you extra sim play for the money with plenty of tricks to uncover.

11

Hotel Empire Tycoon

Build your empire

While Hotel Empire Tycoon is one of those casual mobile games, it will scratch the surface of being in charge of a hotel. Idle games usually mean you don't have to sit in front of the screen all the time, and that can be ideal when it comes to a topic like running a hotel.

All solid aspects of management are here, from renting rooms and keeping guests happy, to hiring employees. Each hotel can be customized as you evolve. You have to pay to remove the intrusive ads, but it's a relaxed, enjoyable waste of time nonetheless.

10

Björn And Breakfast

Yes, that's what Björn says

Bear and Breakfast is an adorable game perfect for all nature lovers! It's a management game that tasks you, a bear, with running a B&B in the middle of your local forest.

There are tons of customization options as you gather resources and build items to suit your hotel lifestyle. But there's also action in this game, it's not just about making tons of money! As you venture further and further out, you will begin to realize that something mysterious is afoot.

9

Hotel Magnate

Casual but convincing

Hotel Magnate from Arcade Oven lets you build a hotel from scratch and then run it. It is a popular game due to the management being relaxed and pleasant, combined with a good selection of items that you can plug into your hotel.

While this may appeal more to mobile gamers, Hotel Magnate lets you design in detail, from room to room. You can also work on high-level aspects of running a hotel, such as marketing and staff management. The art style lends itself nicely to the relaxed nature as well.

8

Golf Resort Tycoon

No rough here

Golf Resort Tycoon and its sequel GRT 2 were published in the early 2000s. The general consensus is that if you like golf and management games, these will be your cup of tea. You will build your own golf resort, which includes hotels to ensure your guests keep spending money.

Like all Tycoon games, your goal is to keep everyone happy – with the added bonus of designing a golf course. In the second game, you can even play your designed course as a golfer, which is a nice touch. If you're a golfer and a player who loves their management sims, this title will seem like heaven.

7

Hilton Garden Inn: Ultimate Team Play

More simulator than game

Hilton Garden Inn: Ultimate Team Play was used in the hospitality industry as a training tool. Virtual Heroes developed the title for the PlayStation Portable, and you will assume the role of a worker at a Hilton Garden Inn hotel. You have to perform tasks such as cleaning rooms, managing the reception and managing the on-site restaurant.

The game had a branching dialogue tree for interacting with the guests, where your choices moved your score up and down. Unlike the other hotel games on this list, this one was actually designed for the hotel staff.

6

Hotel Giant 2

Bigger And Better

Building on its predecessor, Hotel Giant 2 fills in 1,400 items, furniture and decor to enhance your business. Along with creating your own hotel, you can choose from 26 ready-made hotels in cities from around the world to run.

The 3D graphics were good for a management sim like this at the time. The game depth includes so many customization options that you can really drill down to the small details, such as what's on the menu at your hotel restaurant.

5

Neko Atsume

Casual Cat Purrfection

Neko Atsume is a free phone game for cat lovers. For that reason, it is very relaxed. You actually run a small cat hotel, where you choose toys, beds and food that visiting cats will enjoy!

This is a perfect game for players who don't have a lot of time on their hands. There's only so much you can do in the game before you just have to let time pass. When you check back in after an hour or two, you'll find that there's a new furry friend on your lawn.

4

The Sims 2 DS

A change of pace

The Sims 2 DS breaks away from conventional Sims games by letting you manage a hotel instead of playing out real life. As the manager of the Strangetown Hotel, you manage relationships with Sims, build hotel rooms, and improve the hotel's bottom line.

Griptonite Games did a good job of deviating from the main series' gameplay loop, making this a game that stands on its own two feet. This fact meant that it was popular with Nintendo DS players who took the plunge with it.

3

Ski Resort Tycoon

Tranquil landscape

Another tycoon game, Ski Resort Tycoon lets you run a mountain resort and all that entails. From lodging, dining and entertainment to staff and more, this game lets you run the resort from top to bottom.

One feature of this game is the 3D mode that people can use to see their resort from ground level. To add to the fun, there's a gas-eating Yeti to challenge your leadership skills. Lost, this is another sprite base management game that can really drain any free time you had.

2

Soda Dungeon

Double Bubble Trouble

Taverns are really just hotels, they're just in a fantasy setting (or from a really, really long time ago). With that in mind, we present to you: Soda Dungeon! You manage a tavern outside the type of dungeon that adventurers always seem to be diving into to find buried treasure or to test their steel.

The game loop is about managing your pub and the food you serve there. The better you host adventurers before they enter the dungeon, the longer they will stay inside. The time they survive translates into a treasure for you, so you want them to be as prepared as possible.

If you want, you can take breaks from the tavern-management part of the game by controlling the adventurers during battle in the dungeon, but you can also let them auto-complete it and just reap the rewards.

If you find yourself enjoying Soda Dungeon, there's even a sequel to check out.

1

Holiday Island

A hotel hit

A beloved title from the mid-90s, Holiday Island draws inspiration from Sim City. Instead of a city, however, you will build up a tourist destination by building hotels and other attractions. There's a lot to do in this fun management sim.

Designed by the German company Sunflower during the height of the Sim era, it's surprising that this wasn't actually a Maxis game. The funniest part is that Sunflower has added a feature to Holiday Island where you can hire a hitman to hunt down other rival resort companies.