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Beyond Resumes: Marriott Using Gamification to Recruit Top Talent in Hospitality
Introduction
Marriott International, Inc., the world's largest hotel company, launched a social game on Facebook called ‘My Marriott Hotel' on June 6, 2011, to recruit the best candidates in hospitality. Developed in association with Evviva , a consulting firm for developing corporate games, the concept of the game was similar to the Farmville game. ‘My Marriott Hotel' players could create their own restaurant, where they would buy equipment and ingredients on a budget, hire and train employees, and serve guests (Refer to Exhibit I for images from the game). They earned points for happy customers and lost points for poor service. The game was posted on Marriott's jobs and careers Facebook page. |
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Marriott aimed to attract people who were interested in service/hospitality jobs. 'My Marriott Hotel' allowed players to run their own hotel virtually, hiring and firing employees, delivering food, and cleaning rooms. The happier the guests, the higher the points received, which meant that if the food was cooked better and eaten by customers, more points could be scored. The players could then click on "Do it for real" to be directed to the career page of Marriott. Marriott also experimented with gamification with a game called "Xplor" where the customers virtually visited five gateway cities and were given rewards for winning the game. Marriott was the first in the hospitality industry to utilize the increasing popularity of social media gaming to help generate an interest in hospitality careers. It had also developed different apps for customers which catered to their different needs. For instance, the 'Red Coat Direct' app streamlined the onsite requests of guests, ‘Work space on demand' offered a space for meeting, and 'The Perfect Travel Companion' helped guests access the mobile check-in feature by downloading the free Marriott mobile app from the Apple iTunes Store or Google Play....
