OM in the News: Marriott’s Simulation Game Lets Students Run the Hotel

Marriott International has just rolled out a new hotel-themed online game this week, which it hopes will attract students to positions in the hotel industry. The Wall Street Journal (June 6, 2011) describes “My Marriott Hotel”  as a realistic game that puts the player in charge of running the hotel kitchen (the company will roll out games depicting other aspects of the hotel business next year). The social media game, debuted on Facebook, puts the player in charge of buying ingredients, after being given an array of options in quality and price. The player also hires staff (based on experience and salary), and buys kitchen equipment. The players have to direct tickets to cooks and inspect orders before sending them to the customer.

Unlike  commercial simulations, like “Farmville” (by Zynga), Marriott is using computer gaming as a recruiting tool– to help fill  50,000 hotel positions this year. “Our game is so appealing”, says a Marriott exec. “Not only am I having fun but I am actually getting an understanding what it takes to run a kitchen”.

The model follows the  wildly popular “America’s Army”, introduced a decade ago by the US military. This effective recruiting tool cost little and led to a whole genre of industry simulation  games generally played on a mobile device. Siemens AG just bought “Plantville”, which simulates  being a manager for a bottling facility, a vitamin factory, or a plant that builds trains. Similarly, PlayFirst owns “Hotel Dash”, which simulates luggage delivery, room service orders, and hotel renovations. Marriott claims its game “will be more realistic”. But a Wharton prof says creating an effective game to help recruit “so far remains elusive”. It has to be both fun and realistic.

Discussion questions:

1. How can these games be effective OM learning tools?

2. Why did Marriott decide to provide this simulation at no charge?