Marriott Facebook Game Aims to Attract Potential Employees

With as many as 50,000 jobs to fill worldwide by the end of the year, Marriott International, Inc. is tapping into the popularity of social media gaming to help generate interest in hospitality careers. At My Marriott Hotel on Facebook, gamers will first manage a “virtual” hotel restaurant kitchen before moving on to other areas of hotel operations. The game will be available in English, Spanish, French, Arabic and Mandarin.

 

My Marriott Hotel is similar in concept to the highly popular Farmville and Cityville games, which have grown to a combined 135 million monthly active users. Gamers can create their own restaurant, where they’ll buy equipment and ingredients on a budget, hire and train employees, and serve guests. They’ll earn points for happy customers and lose points for poor service. Ultimately, they’ll be rewarded when their operation turns a profit.

 

“As Marriott expands in growth markets outside the U.S., and as we seek to attract more Millennials – those between the ages 18 and 27 – to our workforce, we must find new ways to interest them in hospitality careers,” says David Rodriguez, executive vice president of global human resources, Marriott International. “This game allows us to showcase the world of opportunities and the growth potential attainable in hospitality careers, especially in cultures where the service industry might be less established or prestigious.”

 

Launched just a month ago, Marriott’s Jobs & Careers page on Facebook already has more than 12,000 active users and more than 270,000 page views. So far, most active users are from the United States, Egypt and India.