Innovative mobile technology in hotels and the use of gamification

Innovations are often introduced to inspire people’s motivation and help them develop beneficial behaviour, both individually and collectively, and gamification is currently considered to be one of the most promising in that respect. Whilst technology adoption studies have explored users’ attitudes towards various technologies, scarce knowledge exists on users’ behavioural intention to try new mobile gamified applications, particularly in the context of the hospitality industry. This paper examines users’ motives for using a mobile hotel gamified application, by conducting two qualitative studies using gamers and hotel visitors as target groups. Findings reveal ten important key user motivations that fuel both utilitarian and hedonic behaviours. Conclusion highlights that these motivations are critical to consider for the effectiveness of gamification in bridging the gap and fulfilling its dual role of being both a game and a marketing/customer service tool at the same time.