I tried running a hotel in The Sims 4: Adventure Awaits. Here’s how it went
A major focus of The Sims 4’s DLC over the past couple of years has been on empowering Simmers to create new, multipurpose lots. It all started with For Rent’s somewhat less than successful Residential Rentals. When you look beyond the fairly major issues of save file corruptions and mould problems, there’s a lot to love there.
From there, we got the chance to play with Businesses & Hobbies’ (far more successful) Small Business Lots, where we could fine-tune all sorts of niche details. Want to run a cat cafe-come-pottery-barn? You might get hair stuck in your vase, but you can certainly do that.
Now, we’re seeing something similar play out in Adventure Awaits, with the all-new custom venues. These custom venues give you a solid foundation for whatever experimentation your heart desires – including hotels. Or at least, Bed & Breakfasts.
Much like a lot of the community, I’ve wanted hotels to be added to The Sims 4 for years. So, I was always going to try and put the Getaways function to the test to try my hand at running (and patronising) a hotel in the virtual world. Without veering into Habbo Hotel territory, that is.
I tried it out so you don’t have to. Here’s how it went.
Can you run a hotel?
Technically, yes, you can run a hotel in The Sims 4: Adventure Awaits. If you’re savvy with the Getaway system, you can absolutely get a group of Sims together to stay in a building that you’re maintaining.
All you need to do is set up a few roles, plan a Getaway, and be ready to do some cooking and cleaning around the property. It’s all pretty straightforward if you don’t think about it too hard.
But is it enjoyable or functional?
Not really.
For starters, you won’t make any money from running a hotel. Worse than that – you’ll actually be paying for the privilege of doing the turndown service. In fact, you’ll be paying just as much as your guests are for staying at your hotel.
So, if you wanted to try and run a hotel, you’ll have to monetise it through other means like running regular bake sales to make extra cash from your guests.
Some other problems I ran into included issues with Sim autonomy and the room or bed claiming system. Using a Getaway activity schedule, you should technically be able to get Sims to work autonomously and to influence your guests’ free will.
However – as usual – tasks are cancelled regularly. In my experience, this meant that guests would just stand totally still in the kitchen while I desperately tried to make dinner happen.
When it comes to bedrooms on a Getaway, you can technically claim a room by clicking on a door and interacting with it from any playable Sim. But of course, you can’t control your guests directly like that. Not just because it would be rude, but because it’s literally impossible.
So, guest Sims will regularly pile into twin rooms with strangers to claim random beds. You can tweak this yourself by assigning beds to the correct Sims, however this doesn’t fix the biggest problem: Sims wandering into other Sims’ bedrooms to turn on their complimentary TV.
You don’t want Kyle Kylesson walking into the honeymoon suite to use your bathroom out of nowhere. Trust me.
Can you stay in a hotel as a guest?
In true The Sims 4 fashion, the answer is: yes, in a manner speaking.
It doesn’t work well, but for the first time in The Sims 4, you can actually rent a room on a sort of vacation while staying in a property with other Sims. It certainly makes for a more communal trip than using regular Rentals does.
And it’s much, much more enjoyable than trying to run the hotel yourself.
Does it work well?
I’m going to be honest with you: absolutely not. But, it does just about work – at least it does, up to a point. While I wouldn’t recommend trying to run a hotel with the system, I would say to try out visiting one yourself and see how you find it.
Plus, some of the problems that came up while trying to stay in my makeshift hotel were actually entertaining. At least, they are if you enjoy chaos in The Sims 4 – which I absolutely do.
The main flaws I found had similar roots to the problems I found while running a hotel. Completing Getaway activities ranged from overzealous to non-functional. For instance, my hotel host would endlessly grill mushroom steaks outside at every mealtime.
Admittedly, this doesn’t sound too bad – until you realise they were neglecting a perfectly good kitchen, refusing to cook any other dishes, and wouldn’t complete any of their other assigned activities.
Meanwhile, much like when I experimented with running a hotel, other guests mostly ignored their assigned activities to watch their favourite show: kitchen wall.
I spotted a lot of erratic behaviour throughout my stay, as well. For example, the manager designed to strip down to her underwear and sit on a guest’s bed to, again, stare at a wall.
Maybe customer service was just too much for her.
Despite its flaws, running a custom venue as a hotel is still pretty fun. It’s also the closest thing we’ve had to hotels so far. It’ll probably take some fine-tuning, as well – both on our behalf (to find the sweet spot for activities and roles) and on The Sims Team’s behalf (via bug patches).
Hotels in The Sims 4, explained
So long as you’re not too scared by the idea of 1,400 mushroom steaks or semi-naked staff, then you might want some guidance on how to run or visit a hotel with Adventure Awaits. With that in mind, I’ve pulled together some guidance on how o make the most of your trip.
How to set up a hotel
The first step is probably what you’d expect. You’re going to need to build a custom venue or grab a pre-built property that you think would make a good hotel. The Revive and Thrive lot in Camp Gibbi Gibbi is a solid choice, plus the Gallery is full of mock-hotels built by talented Simmers.
Alternatively, if you’re unbothered by the thought of gentrifying Willow Creek, you could convert a pre-built lot. Vacation in the Goth Manor, anyone?
Then, to make it work properly, you’re going to need to change your lot type and customise its activities. You’ve got three real options here. Either you can adopt the B&B preset, adapt it, or build a totally new schedule.
How to turn your lot into a custom venue
When you’re in Build/Buy Mode, you can head to the top-right of the screen to change around some of the settings for your lot.
Select the drop-down menu under Lot Type, and scroll until you find the Custom Venues option. Once you’ve done that, you’ll be able to customise your property exactly how you want to.
Turning a custom venue into a hotel
I’d suggest you take one of two paths here. You should either select the B&B preset, or build a schedule from scratch.
I tried adapting the B&B preset at first, and found the process to be arduous and glitchy. The timing schedule bugged out very, very easily for me, making it super challenging. I almost accidentally made my Sims start playing table football at 2 AM thanks to this.
I mean, it’s not a big deal or anything – when in Tartosa, do as the Tartosians do, even if it’s bar games in the small hours. But I’d hate to be a guest in the room above that.
Back when the devs were previewing the pack pre-release on YouTube, they mentioned that it was best to try and make the most out of Adventure Awaits’ new features by trying out the default settings they put in place first. So, if I were you, I’d choose the B&B setting to at least get a taste of hotel life before diving in with your own schedule.
Suggested roles and Getaway activities for running your own hotel
If you don’t want to use the B&B preset, you’re going to have to worry about setting up roles and planning some Getaway activities.
For my playthrough, I used the following roles:
- Manager
- Staff
- Guests
I then assigned each of these roles different activities at different points in the schedule. For example, during dinner, I would get the manager to cook and serve dinner, while the staff would clean and serve drinks.
After I got my roles in order, I spent a long time painstakingly setting up a schedule of activities (and necessities) for different times of the day. Each time slot has to be at least three hours long, so keep that in mind.
And, make sure you’ve got enough opportunities for everyone to take care of their motives during that time. The last thing you want is guests passing out in the pool. The Free Time activity is an asset here.
Depending on which time of day it was, here are a few things I had each role set away to do:
| Role | Activity |
| Manager | Be Friendly, Cook, Mix Bar Drinks, Fix Items, Sleep |
| Staff | Serve Food, Clean, Be Friendly, Tend Bar, Sleep |
| Guests | Be Friendly, Mingle, Enjoy the Outdoors, Eat, Sleep, Drink Bar Drinks, Play Table Games |
Tips for running a hotel in The Sims 4
Okay, we’ve covered the basics. Now let’s take a look at how to give your hotel the best possible chance of thriving.
There are a few things I learnt during my brief stint as a hotel manager. Here’s a quick rundown of exactly what they are.
Keep an eye on staff skills
Unless you love the idea of serving up burnt mac and cheese, or feel like making a massive indoor bonfire a feature of your hotel, please try and make sure your staff can actually cook.
Or mix a safe drink, or repair objects without electrocuting themselves. Or do anything half-decently, really.
You can set standards for exactly who your staff should be while customising roles in the Getaway menu. Head on in there and make sure you set your manager and/or staff to have a minimum skill level in any relevant areas.
Don’t ignore the dress codes function
Dress codes? At a hotel? Unless it’s really fancy, that feels like absolute overkill. Right?
Well, maybe in the real world. But in The Sims 4, it seems that if you don’t set a dress code, your Sims will go absolutely wild and start wandering the halls in whatever they see fit.
Although this may seem entertaining, after a couple of days, I was absolutely sick to the eyes of seeing Sims wandering around in their skivvies all day after a quick dip in the pool. Please, Geoffrey – put it away…
So, maybe consider setting a simple dress code by either requesting your Sims wear their Everyday outfit, or an outfit based on a particular style.
Make sure your hotel has everything it needs
Keep in mind that a Getaway venue is basically your Sim’s home away from home during their trip. As a result, you’re going to need to have enough items to account for all their needs and to keep them entertained.
At the bare minimum, you’ll need a few places to sleep, a communal kitchen (or mini fridges in bedrooms), at least a communal bathroom if not en-suites, and something to do for entertainment. Even if it’s just a bookshelf or radio in the lobby.
You should also make sure there are more bedrooms than you think you need, including at least one space just for staff to sleep in. Unless sharing a bunk with the porter sounds like your idea of a nice, relaxing trip.
Relatedly, make sure you have as many individual beds as you do attendees. Yes, beds, with doubles counting as one. Just trust me on this one.
The Sleep activity is the one thing your hotel must have
To follow on from counting beds, all Sims who come to your hotel – staff and guests alike – must have an allocated time for counting sheep. If they don’t, your hotel is going to look a little less like a hotel, and a little more like a 24 hour rec centre or club.
