How to unlock the Animal Crossing hotel and earn tickets

The Animal Crossing New Horizons hotel is now open for business on the pier to the south-east of your island. Yes, the same pier you can also take Kapp'n's boat tours from. But, the resort needs your help. In order to get guests to visit, the rooms are in dire need of decorating and once you've decorated said rooms, you'll earn hotel tickets which can be spent on exclusive items and furniture. Here's everything you need to know about unlocking the Animal Crossing New Horizons resort hotel, earning tickets and, most importantly, spending them.

How to unlock the Animal Crossing New Horizons hotel

To unlock the Animal Crossing New Horizons hotel, your island must have a 3-star rating and Kapp'n must also be on your island - if you've got 3-stars but no Kapp'n, you probably need to donate more to your museum! And it should go without saying but make sure you know how to update Animal Crossing as the hotel is specifically part of the free Animal Crossing New Horizons 3.0 update.

If you meet those requirements, you'll be informed of the hotel's opening the next time Isabelle does her morning announcements. For us at GamesRadar+, it opened automatically, so hopefully it will for you, too.

After it's opened, you can visit Resident Services and Tom Nook will suggest a celebration for opening the hotel, though this isn't necessary to get to work decorating the rooms inside.

How to decorate Animal Crossing New Horizons hotel rooms

Once the hotel is open, you'll be able to visit it on the pier where you'll be introduced to Kapp'n and his wife, Leilani. But, while the hotel is open, guests can't actually stay there yet because the rooms haven't been decorated – and this is a job for you.

Each day, you'll be tasked with decorating two rooms. The first room, Leilani will tell you should be seaside-themed. For this, she'll give you an inventory of recommended items to decorate it with and using these will impress her. You can also use items you already have.

Similar to the Happy Home Paradise DLC, you'll need to harness your inner interior designer to make rooms that Leilani is proud to offer to guests. Head into decorating mode by pressing down on the D-Pad, and press right to open up your items. If you've bought the DLC, you'll also have access to extra design features that others won't have. Although without it, your rooms will still pass Leilani's vibe check as long as you use her recommended items.

When you're all done, you need to take a photo using the Camera app on your NookPhone. Grab a snap and head to Leilani waiting at the door. She'll pass judgment and, hopefully, open up your room to guests. After the first room though, it seems you don't have to take any more photos to get your room approved.

After room one, Leilani lets you choose between two theme options. Room 2 is Japanese or Modern, Room 3 is Simple or Ranch, Room 4 is Kiddie or Dreamy, Room 5 is Skyscraper or Diner, and Room 6 is Lodge or Japanese-Retro. At time of writing, we've only been able to decorate six rooms, but it seems like you get two rooms to decorate each day.

Also after decorating your first room, you'll be able to use the two mannequins in the lobby to create custom outfits. Hotel guests can then borrow the outfits and wear them around your island. You might want to use the Animal Crossing New Horizons megaphone to call our to any visitors too.

How to earn Animal Crossing New Horizons hotel tickets

Every time you decorate a room, you'll earn 200 hotel tickets and can move onto decorating more rooms. There are only two rooms to decorate each day meaning you can earn 400 hotel tickets daily.

But, if you're keen to earn more, you can also craft DIY items for the box on the pier. Each day, you can visit the box and find out what items are needed in exchange for tickets. For example, when I checked the box, handing in two traditional straw coats, two wooden-block beds, two pots, and two wooden buckets would provide a total of 220 hotel tickets. And, as you fulfil requests, a new request will take its place. The full list resets every Monday.

How to spend Animal Crossing: New Horizons hotel tickets

After all your hard work, you probably want to know how to spend these Animal Crossing: New Horizons hotel tickets – and it seems like the only place to spend them is at Gram's Souvenir Shop.

Kapp'n's Grams has her very own little stall based within the lobby of the resort hotel. Here, she sells souvenir and branded items from the hotel like a snow globe and towel rack, or design items you've used in rooms from mug shelves to a kiddie house.

While she's got a catalog full of items you can purchase from, each day she'll also have a couple of pieces on display that can be bought for a discounted price to the catalog.

As you decorate more rooms, she'll explain that the more guests that stay at the hotel, the more items she'll be able to sell in her catalog and from what I've noticed these new items correlate with the design of room you pick. So, it's worth coming back and designing more and more. Consider it your new daily task.

The 3.0 update also included new Animal Crossing New Horizons Zelda items and the Animal Crossing New Horizons Resetti Reset Service.

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