Marriott International’s hotel loyalty program Marriott Bonvoy has partnered with three digital artists, TXREK, JVY, and Erick Nicolay, to launch a non-fungible token (NFT) collection. The content was based on its recent “Power of Travel” marketing campaign. Through this project, Marriott became one of the first hospitality brands to participate the metaverse.
Last Saturday, the NFTs were unveiled at the modern and contemporary art fair in Miami Beach, Art Basel. The Artist collaborative FaZe Forever, which accounts for the three digital artists that partnered with Marriott, exhibited the digital assets at the fair in partnership with crypto payment platform MoonPay. Three Art Basel attendees won the NFTs alongside 200,000 Bonvoy points.
Besides Marriott’s NFTs, at the event, digital artist Kenny Schachter partnered with Galerie Nagel Draxler to display a 14-foot-high digital booth with content from three other crypto artists. In addition, blockchain platform Tezos, a new sponsor of the fair, was displaying NFTs just outside the main venue, SuperRare auctioned augmented reality works, and Beeple participated in a talk, “15 Minutes of Forever? Art in the Age of the NFT”.
In 2000, Marriott’s Brand Value report noted that guest preferences of Marriott brands over competitors were higher for Business Travelers and Travel Managers. Many of its brands, such as the Ritz Carlton, Sheraton and W, are synonymous with business. Through its efforts to participate in the Metaverse, Marriott wants to expand its audience to younger and wealthier travelers.
“We are excited to bring our extraordinary portfolio of hotel brands and endless experiences into this growing platform,” said Brian Povinelli, SVP, Brand, Loyalty, and Portfolio Marketing, Marriott International. “We continuously seek opportunities to defy what is conventional and, with our entry in the digital goods space, we are further igniting the transformative power of travel in the virtual world, while supporting this growing community of incredibly talented artists.”
Meanwhile, other brands to launch NFTs recently include McDonald’s, Dolce & Gabbana, PepsiCo, and Givenchy.
