Even the biggest hotel chains have to start somewhere. In Hotel Empire Tycoon, you take over as manager of The Codinental. Your brief? Transform its basic two-room set-up into a luxury establishment that’ll have guests queuing around the block.

It’s not as simple as throwing a limitless pile of cash at renovations. Guided by Jean Pierre – a top consultant who only offers his services to “highly qualified people” – you reinvest profits to help your hotel grow. That can mean anything from adding and improving rooms, to refurbishing the restaurant and building parking spaces.

As if you weren’t keeping enough plates spinning, you also have to make sure the generators are producing enough power to keep your expanding establishment ticking over.

When trade is slow in the early days, it’s tempting to spend, spend, spend. But that bells-and-whistles social media campaign doesn’t seem such a good idea when you can’t accommodate all the guests who turn up at reception. And if you can’t pay the bills, staff will vote with their feet and walk out. Not even the Very Important Patrons who frequently wander into the foyer can cover all the holes in your finances.

Find the right balance, however, and your small lodgings will quickly grow into a bustling hotel with state-of-the-art décor. Then you’ll want to think about moving onto your next link in your chain – in Hotel Empire Tycoon, The Codinental is far from the last resort.