The short answer
The fastest way to do the Hotel Lobby trend is with an AI photo-to-video maker: upload one photo of you and one of a friend, and in about 2-3 minutes you get both of your real faces rapping in the orange booth, lip-synced to a song. The CapCut template route is free but only pastes a face onto the original clip, and filming it yourself needs an orange backdrop, two mics and rehearsal.
With the AI route there is no app to install and no editing to do. You pay per video with credits, and a render that fails is not charged.
What the Hotel Lobby trend actually is
The trend recreates Quavo and Takeoff's "Hotel Lobby" performance on A COLORS SHOW (2022), where the two rappers - performing as Unc and Phew - trade verses at a single shared microphone in an orange booth. The AI version of the trend swaps in new faces: two people, one shared mic, the orange wall behind them.
Because Quavo and Takeoff were two of the three Migos, the same trend is often called "Migos AI", "Hotel Lobby AI" or "AI rap duo". It is one trend with several names.
Three ways to do the Hotel Lobby trend
1. An AI video generator (both faces, a new performance). You upload one photo of each person and the AI renders a brand-new video of the two of you rapping together on the orange Hotel Lobby stage, lip-synced to a track. This is what Rap Duo AI does - the video is generated from your pictures, so your faces stay consistent. It works with anyone, because nothing is pasted over existing footage.
2. A CapCut template (face swap on the original clip). Templates take the original performance and swap a face onto it, keeping the original song. They are free, but you are limited to what the template supports, templates come and go, and the result is a face pasted onto someone else's body rather than a performance of your own.
3. Filming it yourself. Two people, an orange backdrop, two mics and a lot of rehearsal. The most authentic version, and the hardest one to pull off.
How to do the Hotel Lobby trend with AI, step by step
- Pick your duo. You and a friend, you and your partner, two friends who live in different cities - the photos do not need to be taken together.
- Take one clear photo of each person. Front-facing, well lit, no sunglasses or masks. An ordinary selfie works best.
- Open the Hotel Lobby AI video maker on your phone or computer and add the two photos.
- Keep the orange Hotel Lobby stage (it is selected by default), or pick another one.
- Optional: tell it what to rap about. "Sam's 30th birthday", "best friends since kindergarten", an inside joke. Leave it blank and you get a generic duo track instead.
- Choose your sound. Use the Hotel Lobby track, upload your own track, or let the AI write and perform fresh bars from your topic.
- Tap "Make our rap video" and wait about 2-3 minutes. You get a vertical 9:16 clip sized for TikTok, Reels and Shorts.
Which photos work best
- One clear, front-facing photo per person, with the face well lit and not covered by sunglasses or heavy filters.
- Similar lighting and framing for both photos, so the two of you look like you are in the same room.
- JPG, PNG or WEBP, up to 20 MB per image.
Already have a single picture of the two of you together? Switch the portrait mode to "One picture of the pair" and add just that one - the person on the left takes the lead and the person on the right backs them up, or you can let both rap.
Hotel Lobby trend variations
- One photo of both of you. Use the shared-shot mode instead of two separate portraits.
- With your dog or cat. The same orange-stage rap works with two pets, or a pet and a person.
- Newer trends, made the same way. If your feed has already moved on, the Raindance, Gas Station and Zombie AI trends are all built from photos in the same studio, alongside 28 other one-picture effects that turn a single image into a 5-second clip.
How to do the Hotel Lobby trend for free
- CapCut: search the template library for "Hotel Lobby". Free, with the limits described above.
- Rap Duo AI: full videos use credits, because rendering AI video costs real money. A 12-second video costs between 5 and 93 credits depending on the model and resolution, and a standard 12-second song is 10 credits. Credit packs start at $6.99 for 10 credits (about one song), $29 for 50 credits (about 5 songs) and $99 for 350 credits (about 35 songs). Subscriptions start at $29.90/month for 100 credits and go down to about $1.00 per song on the largest yearly plan.
Be careful with sites that promise "unlimited free" Hotel Lobby videos: rendering AI video costs real money, so free usually means a watermark, a queue, or your photos used for something else. Read what happens to your photos before you upload them.
Tips for a better Hotel Lobby video
- Match the lighting in both photos so the two of you look like you are standing at the same mic.
- Give it a topic. A birthday, an anniversary or a running joke makes the lyrics personal, and personal videos get shared.
- Post it vertically, as is. The video is already 9:16. On TikTok, tag it #hotellobby or #hotellobbytrend so people searching the trend find it.
- Check the credit price before you generate. Every model, resolution and length option shows its cost, so you know what you are spending.
Original song or the original track?
Viral Hotel Lobby clips usually play the original song. An AI generator like Rap Duo AI writes and performs an original rap instead, so the mouths match the words and there is no copyrighted recording in the file. You can also upload your own track (2-15 seconds, MP3 or WAV) if you own the rights to it.
If you would rather post with the original "Hotel Lobby" sound, you can pick it from TikTok's sound library when you post - but the lip-sync will not match the new audio.
Do it respectfully
Takeoff passed away in November 2022, a few months after the COLORS performance, and some fans have mixed feelings about seeing the performance turned into an AI gag. Put yourselves in the video rather than impersonating the original artists, only use photos of people who agreed to be in it, and do not use photos of celebrities or public figures.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a live Hotel Lobby filter?
No. There is no live filter - what people call the "Hotel Lobby AI filter" is AI video generated from photos.
Is it a face swap?
No. A face swap pastes one face onto an existing clip. Here a new video is built from your photos, with both people moving and rapping.
How long does the video take to make?
Usually about 2-3 minutes. You can close the page and collect the finished video in your works.
How long can the video be?
You choose the length: 5, 8, 10, 12 or 15 seconds, and Seedance 2.5 also supports 20 and 30 seconds. Shapes include 9:16, 16:9, 1:1, 3:4, 4:3 and 21:9 where the model supports it.
Which resolution can I get?
480p, 720p or 1080p depending on the model. Wan 3.0 and Seedance 2.0 / 2.5 support 1080p; the Mini and Fast models top out at 720p.
Can I use my own song or my own dance moves?
Yes. Upload a track (MP3 or WAV, 2-15 seconds) or a moves clip (MP4 or MOV, 2-15 seconds) and the duo performs to it. You must own the rights to any audio you upload.
What happens if the video fails?
Credits for failed generations are refunded automatically. A failed render is never charged.
Who should do the trend?
Anyone. Best friends, couples, grandparents, cats and chihuahuas, two teammates for a small-business promo, or a surprise clip for the group chat all work.
Ready to make yours?
Two photos in, a video out, ready in about three minutes. Open the Hotel Lobby AI studio or the full Rap Duo studio, and see the pricing before you start.