Hi guys,

My friend and I just came up with a fun challenge and decided to share it.
The Hotel Challenge is a fun attempt to run a business venture on Sims 3.

General Info:

-This challenge can be played in any world just make sure you have a 60x60 lot available or smaller depending on the size of your hotel (The hotel can be as big or as small as you like just make sure it has enough room to accommodate all guests and hotel facilities!)


-You need to create 8 sims, 1 of which will be the owner
*If you use mods such as ones which allow more than 1 sim per household and would want more of a challenge then by all means make as many "guests" as you want *

-I would would not recommend the "short" lifespan option for this challenge


Rules:
No cheats allowed! (technically) :twisted: but here are the exceptions: When you are first building the hotel you can use the motherlode cheat for money so that you can make sure the hotel has all the necessary amenities. Afterwards you can use the set family funds cheat to set the household funds to 1000 simileons (yes, only 1000 to start with, all will be explained)
You may no longer use cheats after this initial set up.

New exception: If you kick out a guest or one passes away, you may now use the "add to active family" cheat to add new guests (created by you)
More info available under the section: Edit # 3

Now back to rules:


-You have to create all 8 sims in CAS because it is important that you pick their individual traits and their age. They can all be a mixture of adults, young adults or elders.


I recommend that the owner be a young adult or adult so he/she can keep up with his/her many duties!

The traits that the owner MUST have are:
Brave
Neat
Handy
Friendly
Natural Cook

The 7 guests MUST all have the slob trait, this is important because you as the hotel owner/manager will be in charge of cleaning up after them, cleaning their hotel rooms and bathrooms, fixing appliances, amongst other tasks. However the rest of their traits are up to you so have fun and create a unique mix of guests, here's a few examples:

Guest 1 and 2 (adults):
They are a Couple (you can only have 1 couple by the way,they can share a room with a double bed instead of a single bed)
Traits:
SLOBS
Friendly
Hopeless Romantics
Both Love the Outdoors,etc

Guest 3(young adult):

SLOB
Party Animal
Rebel (if you have generations)
Inappropriate
Great sense of humor

Guest 4 (elder):

SLOB
Grumpy
Loner
Hates the Outdoors
Technophobe

Guest 5 (young adult):

SLOB
Hopeless Romantic
Great Kisser
Flirty
Vegetarian

Guest 6 (young adult)

SLOB
Evil
Insane
Mooch
Mean spirited



Guest 7 (young adult)

SLOB
Snob
Star Quality (if you have late night)
Unflirty
Light sleeper



:!: New addition to rules:
Following a user's suggestion, we have decided that you may if you wish only have 6 guests instead of 7 and the "couple" in your hotel may have and raise a child or ONE of the hotel guests can be a teen with a part-time job (especially if you have Generations, they can sneak into other guest's bathrooms and set pranks etc )
Note: If the couple in the game have a child it will be their duty, not yours, to take care of the child. However when everyone goes to work and you are stuck with the baby/toddler then you will also have to play the role of babysitter alongside your other duties! The majority of your time MUST be spent as the hotel owner since you are in charge of running the hotel so keep that in mind if you choose to add a child.



HOTEL BUILDING:

You can either build the hotel yourself or download one, it doesn't matter either way. But if you download one you will have to make several tweaks.

Here is an example of a hotel than can be downloaded:

http://www.simstr.com/gifts/index.php/topic,2177.0.html

Direct download link:
http://www.4shared.com/file/133704926/3a1af2fa/Diversity_Deluxe_Resort_by_Coolestpcdfan.html

^Remember to switch the lot type to "residential"


If you are building the hotel make sure you have the following:

8 rooms

1 of the rooms should be close to the concierge area (front entrance) and will be the owners room

The other 7 rooms MUST all have ensuite bathrooms.
So for example the room can look like this:
1 single bed (or a double bed if its a couple) 1 dresser, 1 mirror, deco as necessary,then the room must have its own bathroom with a shower/bath tub, a toilet and a sink

*If you decide to include a child in your game then the couple's room can have a crib for their child

NOTE: If you have ambitions then also add laundry hampers to their rooms and bathrooms because you will have to do their laundry as well

Other facilities you MUST have at the hotel for your guests:

-A small or large gym
-A large outdoor pool (you can also place hot tubs outside)
-A dining area (tables and chairs only, NO KITCHEN FACILITIES- will explain further) *Also add a high-chair to the dining area if your couple have a toddler
-Small cafe for drinks only: (place a small bar and stools/ also a few tables and a counter with a coffee maker on it)
-Entertainment room: Video games, Large TV screens and comfy sofas, easels, fooseball table, if you have late night: darts, etc
and any other games/entertainment you can think of based on the expansion packs you have
-Small Library room: Bookcases, computers



IMPORTANT INFO:

The most important rooms are as follows and must be created as separate rooms

Hotel Kitchen:

Have Several counters, you will need a lot of space!
have atleast 1 or 2 stoves, dishwashers, trash compactors, sinks,
fridges

Make sure you buy the cooking level 1 skillbook and the level 1 handiness skill book using your initial hotel building/decorating money (remember you may use motherlode for the initial set up but you must use the family fund cheat to reset your funds to 1000 after) but if you want more of a challenge then let the hotel owner start off with a low level of cooking and handiness.

When you build the hotel kitchen, make sure it only has 1 door.
Then and this is VERY important:

Make sure you click on the door and select the lock option: lock for everybody but myself. This is extremeley important so that no one but you the hotel owner can access the kitchen

You will be in charge of cooking their meals so make sure they don't starve to death! Wake up early and cook 2 group servings of breakfast, then later, 2 group servings of lunch, 2 group servings of dinner at night, and deserts as well if you want.

After cooking, your sim will place the food on the kitchen counter, simply place the serving in their inventory and direct them to the dining area, then drag and place the meals from their inventory onto the dining table and click "call household to meal"

You will also have to clear their plates from the dining area and wash them in the kitchen.

Another room that only you the owner can access is the laundry room if you have the Ambitions expansion pack:

Place atleast 2 or 3 washers and 2 or 3 dryers in there then again, select the door and click: lock for everybody but myself

Each morning, while you are cleaning the hotel, you will also have to collect their laundry from the hampers and take it to the laundry room.

The reason the owner must have the neat trait is because it will make it more convenient for them to clean the entire hotel in one go. If you just click the floor you will get the option to "clean house"

More duties

So each morning, after cooking your hotel guests breakfast, enter their rooms and make their beds, clean their toilets and showers, mop up any puddles and collect their laundry. Also repair any broken items in the hotel (if you are repairing an electronic item and still have a low handiness skill, call a repairman to avoid being electrocuted to death!)


When you first start off, assign each guest to a room. As you know, when you make a sim sleep in a bed for the first time, that will turn into "their" bed and they will sleep in that same bed from then on.
Hopefully they will also tend to use the bathrooms in their rooms but if not, that's not much of a problem.

You must also make sure each guest starts a job because this is how they will be paying for their stay at your hotel. What they make each day at work (except on weekends) will be added to the household funds which you will then use to pay the hotel rent each week when the bill gets delivered and also what you will use to renovate the hotel as necessary and for buying groceries etc.

So make sure all 7 guests go on the computer or grab a newspaper to get a job, preferably a job as opposed to a profession, because if they have a profession such as firefighter for example you'll be too busy handling that guest's fire emergencies at work instead of tending to the hotel.

You may create and bring in more guests to the hotel to replace them if one of them dies accidentally by starving to death for example or an elder ages up. (They shouldn't starve to death if you make sure you cook the meals on time! )

EDIT: MAIDS :!:

Yes, at some point you as the hotel owner will accumulate enough money from your guest's paychecks that you will have the means to hire a reoccurring maid.
However, the owner MUST still start off with 1000 simileons and must do all the cleaning by themselves for the first few weeks while waiting for the guests to accumulate enough money to cover the cost of paying the hotel bills AND the cost of hiring a daily reoccuring maid.
It would be best to wait until the guests have climbed higher in their careers and are making significant amounts of money, this way you will be able to hire a daily maid, pay the hotel bill AND still have money leftover to replace broken items and to renovate your hotel as neccessary.

Things to keep in mind:

:!: The maid won't have access to the laundry room, they may clean the bathroom and make the bed and mop etc but you will still have to be in charge of laundry (can't make things TOO easy for you )

:!: The hotel bill will be quite expensive due to the size of the lot, the plumbing and electricity used, so make sure you save money initially by doing the cleaning yourself as opposed to hiring a maid right away.

:!: Just because maids are allowed doesn't mean you HAVE to have one. It all depends on how challenging you want the game to be. Remember that you cannot hire a maid right away!

:!: Remember that you STILL have to cook breakfast, lunch and dinner, you STILL have to fix and replace broken items and you STILL have to do laundry, not to mention do the dishes at night when the maid is not there!
The maid will just give you a welcome break from cleaning bathrooms during the day (however if a toilet, sink or shower gets filthy at night and affects the mood of your guests then you should clean it) Or you can be a lazy owner and wait for the maid to get there the next day. A good hotel owner wouldn't do that though

:!: The maid won't have access to the kitchen, so you will have to clean the kitchen yourself




:!: EDIT #2- The Occult, Vampires, Ghosts, etc



Following a user's question, yes Vampires are allowed as well and even ghosts if you want. Remember, it's YOUR hotel so you choose the theme. Just make sure that the kitchen and laundry room are locked to everyone but the owner and that you have all the necessary facilities listed (dining area, gym, pool etc)

Also remember that vampires will initially be more expensive to feed as you will have to grow or buy A LOT of plasma fruit to keep in the fridge and drag onto the table at meal times or drag directly into the vampires inventory.

Again, keep the focus on the owner, the vampire will find a means to befriend and drink from others around town, your job is to provide plasma fruit for it at the hotel.

If you yourself as the owner wish to play as a vampire remember that it is inappropriate to drink from your guests! :twisted:
Unless you are romantically involved with one of them, in which case an exception can be made.

:!: EDIT # 3- Replacing Guests


Yes you may kick out guests but remember that any new guests you bring in to replace them will have to start off at the very bottom of their career and won't contribute much to the funds initially. This is because any extra guests you wish to bring in must be created from scratch (remembering to add the Slob trait) and placed in the bin until you need a replacement guest.
Then make sure you have a very small residential plot available in your world (not a house, just a blank plot)

Steps to take when you need a replacement guest:
Go to your sim bin under edit town and click and place the replacement guest in the small plot of land available in your world. Then have the owner visit the plot of land and add the guest or guests using the "add to active household" cheat. This way they will simply join your household without the extra funds.


That's it! If you need more clarification please let me know, I hope you enjoy this challenge and have fun!




Tips:
Cook many meals at the same time if possible and keep them in the fridge (make sure to buy an expensive fridge at the beginning so the food doesn't spoil as fast)
That way you won't always have to cook from scratch at meal times, you can simply click and drag from the fridge to your inventory and serve at the dining area.

As your cooking skills grow, you'll soon be able to cook fancier meals than just mac and cheese for your guests And on weekends why not hold a BBQ by the pool for your guests?


Some more lots that can be transformed into hotels (special thanks to fleshjenn):

http://www.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=2252404#

http://www.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=1460

others:

http://www.akisima.de/wbb2/filebase.php?fileid=6711&lim=0



Additional info based on the FAQ:

-You should mainly focus on the owner and his/her hotel duties but (if you want) you can also temporarily focus on the guests, improving their skills, etc but always remember that the owner should be your main focus to avoid starving guests etc
If you just focus on the owner and his/her duties, the guests should be fine and will take care of their own other needs such as personal hygiene.

-Yes, the owner can become romantically involved with a guest or townie but try and keep it as private as possible :-)