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Hotel Architect gets major update, free weekend, and a 50% discount

News
ByFabio Updated onJanuary 29, 2026 4:26 pm
The official artwork for Hotel Architect.

It’s a huge month for Pathos Interactive’s management sim Hotel Architect.

The Hotel Tycoon-inspired game, which released last year for Steam on PC, is getting a major free update today. Titled the Management Update, the update aims at changing the way you hire, train, and manage staff, as well as “deepening” the game’s simulation focus.

For example, the update revamps the current attribute system, splitting staff traits into Personalities and Skills, where Personalities cannot be changed but Skills can be levelled up. A new Staff Training system has also been added, allowing you to level up an employee’s multiple skills up to five per character.

On top of that, there’s now a staff aging mechanic, represented as days until retirement. When a staff member gets close to retirement, they’ll develop wrinkles, their hair will turn gray, and they’ll begin to walk slower and use a walking stick.

If you want to play around with a staff’s age, you can use the new age manipulator machine, accessed via the game’s upgrade tree, to age or de-age staff (But this comes at the expense of other staff members).

A screenshot of Hotel Architect showing off some of the new items from the free Lunar New Year pack.
You can also enjoy a free New Lunar Pack.

The staff salary system has also been revamped, where staff salary will now no longer auto-increase when levelling up. Instead, their expectations will rise with their XP level and skills are added at an extra cost, with salaries adjustable individually.

The update also made some changes to the TV item, as guests can now actively watch it and turn the television on and off, while you can switch between several different channels.

A free new Lunar New Year Pack has also been made available, featuring over ten new items, two outfits, two windows, one door, and three wallpapers.

Finally, the update introduces several other improvements, including changed character reactions and a mood system, and the ability to view recent thought and comment bubbles. It also adds seven new Steam achievements as well as several bug fixes.

The new Management Update is the latest to be released for Hotel Architect, with previous updates adding more maps, features, system improvements, and additional decorative items.

The game is expected to launch into 1.0 and out of Early Access in Spring this year, with another update that will add a new location, an improved upgrade system, couples check-in, group bookings management, and quality of life improvements.

Steam free weekend and 50% discount

To celebrate the launch of the Management Update, publisher Wired Productions and developer Pathos Interactive are running a free weekend starting today, up to February 2nd, allowing you to play Hotel Architect at no cost.

Any progress made during this free weekend will carry over into the game if purchased.

And to help you make that purchase, Hotel Architect will be 50% off on Steam from later today to February 12th.

Are you going to try Hotel Architect during its free weekend?

Fabio

A gamer since the late 90s whose first game was Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue. Loves cozy games, Soulslikes, cats, and LEGO, as well as lasagne.

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