Marriott using Facebook games feature to recruit staff

For a lot of bosses, finding out that potential employees spend their time playing games on Facebook is a reason not to hire them. But Marriott International is banking on it.

In June, the hotel chain, which has hotels on every continent except Antarctica, launched My Marriott Hotel, a Facebook game in which players run their own hotel kitchens. While managing their virtual hotels, players have the option to click a link which takes them to the real Marriott careers website.

“It was our absolute intention to make it as true to life as possible while also being fun and engaging,” Susan Strayer, senior director of human resources for Marriott, says about the game.

In the coming months, Marriott plans to expand the game to include other areas of the hotel, and Strayer says the chain is looking at similar tools to communicate with its current employees.

Across borders