May the force be with you: Star Wars and the gamified hotel journey

ABSTRACT

Although gamification has gained traction in the tourism literature, its application in the hospitality field of work has received little attention. This commentary presents a new avenue in the hospitality sector to embrace gamification through the gamified journey. We demonstrate how the concept works in the Star Wars hotel by illuminating how hospitality services could imbue gamification elements in every part of the service encounter to create the WOW effect. In essence, the Star Wars accommodation renders a unique service potential that could bring new fantasy experiences to every part of the guest dwelling, as it turns an ordinary accommodation into a game showroom where guests could indulge in a fantasy-like setting. Although the gamified hotel model casts new revelations on the accommodation business, it also suffers a series of fatal issues that lead to service failures as well as customer complaints and even avoidance. This research note takes a leap forward to present a research agenda on gamification in tourism/hospitality service, while showcasing opportunities and challenges that lie ahead.

KEYWORDS:

• Gamification
• hotel
• customer journey
• Star Wars
• touchpoint

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Source from: https://nimg.ws.126.net/?url = http%3A%2F%2Fdingyue.ws.126.net%2F2022%2F0329%2F0bfeb467j00r9hgka0038d200my00dtg00my00dt.jpg&thumbnail = 660×2147483647&quality = 80&type = jpg.

2 Source from: https://nimg.ws.126.net/?url = http%3A%2F%2Fdingyue.ws.126.net%2F2022%2F0329%2Fdcffc4c3j00r9hgkc0034d200n200e1g00n200e1.jpg&thumbnail = 660×2147483647&quality = 80&type = jpg.

3 Source from: https://nimg.ws.126.net/?url = http%3A%2F%2Fdingyue.ws.126.net%2F2022%2F0329%2Ff8f9f797j00r9hgkm002dd200n100e6g00n100e6.jpg&thumbnail = 660×2147483647&quality = 80&type = jpg.

4 Source from: https://www.insiderfamilies.com/wp-content/webp-express/webp-images/uploads/2019/10/droid-depot-galaxys-edge-conveyor-belt-1-750×350.jpg.webp.

5 Source from: https://ziggyknowsdisney.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/star-wars-galactic-starcruiser-197.jpg.webp.

6 Source from: https://magicguides.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/wdw-starcruiser-itinerary-smugglers-run-789×533-min.webp.

7 Source from: https://allears.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/st_dhs_ge_falcon_cockpit.jpg.

8 Source from: https://lumiere-a.akamaihd.net/v1/images/5e21dcdbccf5060001cbdcb4-image_3e70f311.jpeg?region = 0,0,1536,864.

9 Source from: https://nimg.ws.126.net/?url = http%3A%2F%2Fdingyue.ws.126.net%2F2022%2F0329%2Fdca4b65fj00r9hgke002wd200n100e4g00n100e4.jpg&thumbnail = 660×2147483647&quality = 80&type = jpg.

10 Source from: https://nimg.ws.126.net/?url = http%3A%2F%2Fdingyue.ws.126.net%2F2022%2F0329%2F728d1e73j00r9hgkp004cd200n200edg00n200ed.jpg&thumbnail = 660×2147483647&quality = 80&type = jpg.

11 Source from: https://thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net/us/originals/2022/02/20220221_Star-Wars-Starcruiser_WSmith-59.jpg?width = 2048.

12 Source from: https://ziggyknowsdisney.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/star-wars-galactic-starcruiser-rooms-16.jpg.webp.

Additional information

Funding

The present research was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [72074230].