How to Do the Hotel Lobby Trend

If you only want the quickest route, open the Hotel Lobby AI page: the generator there is already set up for this booth. The rest of this guide explains what the trend is, what to prepare and how to avoid the common mistakes.

What the trend is

In June 2022, A COLORS SHOW published a performance by Quavo and Takeoff, recording together as Unc & Phew. The set is simple: a flat orange background, one microphone hanging from the ceiling between them, and the two of them trading lines of "Hotel Lobby" side by side. The video has passed 100 million views on YouTube.

Four years later, in mid-September 2026, people started making AI versions of that booth with other pairs in it. One of the early edits that spread widely, posted on TikTok on September 16, 2026, used two characters from the TV series Suits. Versions with friends, couples, pets and TV characters followed on TikTok, Instagram and X. On September 23, 2026, Quavo reposted the original performance. Takeoff died in November 2022, and many fans see the trend as a tribute to the two of them performing together.

The trend goes by several names: Hotel Lobby AI, Migos AI (Quavo and Takeoff were members of Migos), the Quavo and Takeoff AI trend, or the orange booth trend. They all mean the same format.

Two ways to make it

There are two kinds of tool, and they give you different files.

• Swap tools and editing templates take the original clip and put your faces into it. You keep the exact footage and the original song. Our guide to the Hotel Lobby CapCut template covers this route.
• Generators make a new video from your photos: a new booth, two new performers who look like you, and their own verse and beat. Rapsona works this way. Nothing from the original video or recording is in the file.

If you want to see how the main tools differ on price, input and music, read Hotel Lobby AI apps compared.

What you need

For Rapsona's version you need two photos, one person in each:

• Two separate photos, one person in each. Clear, front-facing, even light. Both people must be adults who agreed to appear.
• The photos don't need to match. One can be a selfie from last week and the other a photo from a trip; the booth is generated around both.
• JPG, PNG or WebP, up to 10 MB each.

Not sure a photo will work? Check your photo first with the free photo checker.

Step by step

1. Choose your two photos. Pick the clearest, most front-facing photo of each person. Crop out other people if there are any in the background.
2. Open the generator. On the Hotel Lobby AI page the duo booth is already selected. Add the first photo to the left slot and the second to the right slot; the person on the left raps first.
3. Say what the rap is about (optional). Type one line with first names and one detail, such as "Sam and Jo, best friends since third grade". The verse is written around it, and the exact words change each time. Leave it empty to use the standard verse.
4. Confirm and pay. Tick the box that confirms both people are adults who agreed to appear. One video costs $5.99, or you can use a credit from a pack.
5. Wait, or leave. Generation usually takes 5–25 minutes. You can close the page; the video waits in your Account. If it fails or is blocked by the safety check, the credit comes back automatically.
6. Watch it with sound. Check both faces, the mouths and the words before you share it.
7. Download. You get a 12-second vertical MP4, 720 × 1280, with no watermark.

Ideas that get shared

• Best friends. Two people who would never actually rap together, trading lines about an inside joke.
• Couples. An anniversary post: type how long you've been together and one thing only the two of you would get.
• Siblings. The older one leads, the younger one answers.
• Coworkers. Celebrate a launch or a farewell; keep it friendly and get both people's agreement.
• Birthdays. Put the birthday person in the booth with you and say so in the topic line.
• Pets. A dog or cat can take the mic too: the pet rap video template uses the same orange booth with one pet photo.

Posting it

• Label it as AI-generated. Say so in the caption, and turn on the app's AI-generated label if it has one.
• Ask first. Both people in the video should know about it and agree before it goes up.
• Vertical is right. The video is already 9:16, the shape TikTok, Reels and Shorts expect, so there is nothing to crop.
• Sound. The video has its own original verse and beat. If you want to post under the trend's official sound instead, add it from the app's sound library when you post.

Common problems

• One photo with both of you in it. It won't work. The duo booth needs two separate photos, one person in each.
• Sunglasses, masks or heavy filters. The face is the reference, so cover as little of it as possible.
• A celebrity's photo. Photos of public figures, including the artists behind the trend, are refused, as are photos of anyone under 18.
• Expecting the original song. A generated video has its own music. If you need the original recording, use a swap tool or template instead.

Ready? The Hotel Lobby AI page has the generator at the top.