A nice prototype of the hotel project could be as simple as making a webpage. It would simulate some of the visual things we'd do, just to uncover visual problems.

I could see a single chair in a room. A user could click on it and it would be replaced by a slightly more tattered chair. The last image would be a broken, collapsed chair.

We could do the same sort of thing with a click and drag, to simulate finger drag.

Some things we might want to look into are animated aspects of this... it would be quite satisfying to have something explode...

visual references for the trash hotel idea

Here are some visual references for hotel rooms.
Ideas:
split a cushion feathers go up in the air.
Tea set goes flying. Mugs of tea can break midair for extra points.
The bath taps can spray water.
The room above needs a tv set we can throw through the window.
Your Manager should be asleep on the couch. Evertime he wakes up and mumbles something, you can't trash anything for 10 seconds.
Lights can go out.
you have to answer the door. Sometimes its roomservice, sometimes its the manager.