Grand Austria Hotel
65 questions players ask about Grand Austria Hotel. Pick one for the answer. See also the full rulebook.
Updated 2026-11-02.
Setup
Turn Structure and Additional Actions
- Can I use additional actions (move a guest to a room, feed guests, use a Staff card) before taking a guest at the start of my turn?
- Must I take a guest before choosing my die, and is taking a guest mandatory?
- Can I take an additional action in the middle of a die action, such as using money gained mid-action to pay for another room?
- Can I move more than one finished guest into rooms in the same turn?
- How does paying 1 krone to add a die to an action work?
- How often can I pay 1 krone to move dishes and drinks from my Kitchen onto guests?
- Can dishes and drinks I receive go straight onto guests instead of into my Kitchen?
- Is there a limit to the dishes and drinks I can keep in my Kitchen?
Guests and Rewards
- When do I get a guest's victory points and reward: when the order is complete or when the guest moves into a room?
- Do I have to take a guest's reward, or can I take only part of it?
- What happens to a completed guest if I have no free room for them, and can I discard a guest?
- Which rooms can each guest colour use, and are there green rooms?
- My Café is full. Can I still take a new guest?
- If I take no guest on my turn, does the guest row slide and refill?
- What happens when the guest deck runs out?
- If a guest's reward lets me take a free guest, can the new guest sit at the table the departing guest just left?
- What exactly does guest E. Gizia (card 97) give me, and can I pass instead?
- Which rooms can the Sculptor's free room preparation be used on?
Dice Actions and Passing
- How does the 6 action work, and can I use it on an action space with no dice?
- Do Staff cards keyed to a die number (Bootblack, Checker, Laundress and so on) trigger when I use a 6 die as that action?
- How many dishes and drinks do the 1 and 2 actions give, and can I take cake without strudel?
- Can I take a die but not carry out its action, or use only part of its strength?
- If I pass on my first turn of a round, can I still take my second action later?
- When players pass, who removes a die and rerolls, and how many dice are removed?
Rooms and Occupancy Bonus
- What counts as adjacent when I prepare a new room, and do walls or floors matter?
- When do the VP printed on the top-right rooms score, and are they lost if the room is removed?
- How does the Occupancy Bonus work, and what does each colour give?
- Can a group's Occupancy Bonus be scored again if I lose and refill its rooms?
- When a guest completes a room group, do I take the guest reward or the Occupancy Bonus first?
Politics Cards
Emperor Scoring and Tiles
- In what order does Emperor Scoring happen, and what if I go past space 13?
- Can I serve food from an Emperor bonus to guests, and move a completed guest to a room, during Emperor Scoring?
- In what order do players resolve Emperor tile rewards and penalties?
- When an Emperor penalty shows two options, can I choose, and what if I can't pay either?
- Does the Emperor penalty that removes two rooms take occupied or unoccupied rooms, and what if I have none?
- The Emperor bonus that lets me play a Staff card from my hand for free after round 7: which cards are worth playing?
- The Emperor bonus that prepares a room and turns it occupied: must the room be new and adjacent?
Staff Cards
- How does the 5 action work, and can I play more than one Staff card with it?
- When do one-time, permanent and once-per-round Staff cards act, and can I use one the turn I play it?
- Can Staff Manager's extra Staff card be played before I finish the 3 action, for example Florist first?
- Do Butler, Chauffeur and Florist make rooms free outside the prepare-room action?
- Does the Checker's 2-krone discount apply per die showing 5 or once?
- How much does the Operator score at the end of the game?
- What can the Secretary copy?
- Does the Male Floor Housekeeper only work for red guests?
- Does the Assistant Manager score 2 or 4 VP per Staff card?
- Does the Custodian pay 1 krone for every room turned occupied, or only when a guest moves in?
Final Scoring and Editions
Grand Austria Hotel: Let's Waltz!Expansion
- Can I gain a Celebrity or use a Celebrity ability on E. Gizia's extra action?
- How long does a Celebrity last, and does it apply at Emperor or ballroom scoring?
- Can I send a dancer or guest to a ballroom during Emperor Scoring?
- If I already meet a bell card's requirement when I play it, do I get the benefit?
- What does Sigmund Freud let me ignore?
- Which solo deck do I use with the expansion modules?
- Am I stuck if only coloured dice remain and I have no money?