Manager, tycoon, and simulator games have touched upon nearly any topic you can imagine. When you're pressure washing for fun, we know designers can do anything with video games. So, when it comes to managing a hotel, there are plenty of options.
Many hotel management games bleed into other genres, where you can manage resorts that feature 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 August 9, 2023, by Gabrielle Huston: Management simulation games can become beloved really easily; there are so many things to keep track of and fiddle with that, once you're invested, your head is stuck in the game. It's not like there's ever really a lull in gameplay when you might as well put the controller down. For that reason, hotels have been a great choice for management sims over the years! Depending on the type, there are lots of different things you can fiddle with. We've updated this list with a few extra choices we think you'll enjoy.
11 Hotel Empire Tycoon
While Hotel Empire Tycoon is one of those idle mobile games, it's going to scratch that itch of being in charge of a hotel. Idle games typically mean you don't have to sit in front of your screen all the time, and that might be ideal when it comes to a topic like running hotels.
All the solid aspects of management are here, from renting rooms and keeping guests happy, to hiring employees. Each hotel is customizable as you progress. You'll have to pay to remove the encroaching ads, but it's a casual, enjoyable time waster all the same.
10 Bear and Breakfast
Bear and Breakfast is an adorable game perfectly suited for any nature lover! 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 collect resources and build items to suit your hotel lifestyle. However, there's also a plot to this game, it's not just about making tons of money! As you venture further and further out, you'll begin to realize that something mysterious is afoot.
9 Hotel Magnate
Hotel Magnate from Arcade Oven lets you build a hotel from the ground up, and then run it. It's a popular game due to the casual nature of the management being enjoyable, combined with a good selection of items you can plug into your hotel.
While this might appeal more to mobile gamers, Hotel Magnate does let you design in detail, from room to room. You can also work on high-level aspects of running a hotel, such as marketing and employee management. The art style lends nicely to the casual nature as well.
8 Golf Resort Tycoon
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, then these will be your cup of tea. You'll construct your own golf resort, which includes hotels to ensure your guests keep spending money.
Like any Tycoon game, keeping everybody satisfied is your goal — with the addition that you can design 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 gamer who loves their management sims, this title is going to seem like heaven.
7 Hilton Garden Inn: Ultimate Team Play
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'll assume the role of a worker at a Hilton Garden Inn hotel. You'll have to complete tasks such as cleaning rooms, running the reception desk, and managing the on-site restaurant.
The game had a branching dialogue tree for interaction with guests, with your choices moving your score up and down. Unlike the other hotel games on this list, this one was actually designed for hotel staff.
6 Hotel Giant 2
Hotel Giant 2 builds on its predecessor, cramming in 1,400 objects, items of furniture, and decor to enhance your place of business. Along with creating your own hotel, you can choose from 26 pre-made hotels in cities from across the world to run.
The 3D graphics were good for a management sim like this at the time. The depth of play includes so many customization options that you can really drill down to the small details, such as what is on the menu of your hotel restaurant.
5 Neko Atsume
Neko Atsume is an idle phone game for cat lovers. For that reason, it's very laid back. You're effectively running a little cat hotel, where you select the toys, beds, and food that visiting cats will enjoy!
This is an ideal game for players who don't have a ton of time on their hands. There's only so much you can do in-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
The Sims 2 DS breaks away from conventional Sims games in that is has you manage a hotel instead of playing out real life. As the manager of the Strangetown Hotel, players manage relationships with Sims, build hotel rooms, and improve the hotel's score.
Griptonite Games did a good job deviating from the main series' gameplay loop, making this a game that stands on its own two feet. This fact meant it was well-liked among Nintendo DS players who took the plunge with it.
3 Ski Resort Tycoon
Another tycoon game, Ski Resort Tycoon has you running a mountain resort and all that entails. From lodging, dining, and entertainment to staff and more, this game has you running the resort from the top down.
One feature of this game is the 3D mode that people can use to view their resort from ground level. To add to the fun, a guest-eating Yeti exists to challenge your management skills. Lost to time, this is another sprite-base management game that can really drain whatever free time you had.
2 Soda Dungeon
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 kind of dungeon that adventurers always seem to be diving into for buried treasure or to test their steel.
The gameplay loop involves managing your tavern and the food you serve there. The better that you host adventurers before they enter the dungeon, the longer they'll last inside. The length of time they survive translates into 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 combat in the dungeon, but you can also let them auto-complete it and just reap the rewards. And, if you find you enjoy Soda Dungeon, there's even a sequel to try out!
1 Holiday Island
A beloved title from the mid-90s, Holiday Island takes inspiration from Sim City. Instead of a city, though, you'll build up a tourism destination by constructing hotels and other attractions. There is plenty to do in this enjoyable management sim.
Designed by German company Sunflower during the peak of the Sim era, it's surprising this wasn't actually a Maxis game. The funniest thing is that Sunflower added a feature to Holiday Island where you can hire a hitman to go after other rival resort businesses.