How 50 Rotana Hotels turned 5,000 employees into one competing family
A hotel vs hotel step challenge that sparked a competitive spirit the team had never seen before.
The Challenge
With 50 hotels and 5,000 employees spread across the region, Rotana faced a familiar challenge for large hospitality groups: how do you create a sense of unity when your teams are physically separated, working across different properties, shifts, and departments? Previous attempts to bring the workforce together had lacked the simplicity and inclusivity to truly land at scale.
5,000 employees distributed across 50 separate hotel properties
Difficulty fostering cross-property connection and team spirit
Previous engagement initiatives lacked the reach to unite everyone
Needed an inclusive format that worked for all roles and shift patterns
The Solution
STEPPI introduced a hotel vs hotel step challenge — a format that turned Rotana's distributed footprint into its greatest competitive asset. Each property competed on a live leaderboard, transforming everyday steps into collective pride. Weekly raffle draws rewarded employees who hit their step target, while weekly newsletters kept all 5,000 employees connected and motivated throughout.
The Results
We'd never seen anything like the competitive spirit STEPPI created. Hotel teams were rallying their colleagues, sharing the leaderboard, cheering each other on. It brought people together in a way we hadn't managed before.
How the programme unfolded
Features that made it work
Impact
The hotel vs hotel format tapped into something Rotana hadn't been able to unlock before — a genuine sense of collective pride at the property level. Teams that had never engaged with wellness initiatives were suddenly checking the leaderboard, encouraging colleagues, and celebrating raffle winners together.
The weekly cadence of prize draws and newsletters created a rhythm that kept employees connected throughout the challenge, not just at the point of launch. For Rotana's leadership team, the result was clear: a workforce of 5,000 people across 50 separate properties had finally found a shared experience — and a new benchmark for what employee engagement could look like. CTA
Ready to unite your workforce through healthy competition?
Book a demo and see how STEPPI can bring thousands of employees together — one step at a time.