Marriott Bonvoy, Marriott International’s travel program, has teamed up with three digital artists—TXREK, JVY and Erick Nicolay—to create three Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs). Marriott Bonvoy, one of the first hospitality brands to create its own NFTs, unveiled the digital art, inspired by its recent global “Power of Travel” campaign, at Art Basel Miami Beach 2021.
“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.”
NFTs are one-of-a-kind digital collectibles that can be traded on the blockchain, often referred to as the “key” to the metaverse. The metaverse is a hypothesized iteration of the internet, supporting 3D virtual environments through conventional personal computing, according to the company. Each of the NFTs created for Marriott Bonvoy are an interpretation of travel from the artists’ own unique experiences, illustrating how travel has an unmistakable impact on the human spirit.
MΞMORIED, created by Tarek Mustapha, a.k.a. TXREK (Tarek Em), uncovers the magic envisioned from new experiences. Each destination provides its own adventure, with each experience logged into a memory that adds to the previous one as if they are connected. The digital art incorporates Marriott Bonvoy’s path connector as a pathway to the magical journeys ahead and the peace of mind in staying at any of the approximately 7,900 properties within the travel program’s portfolio.
The Emotional Journey, designed by Jared “Jay” Richardson (JVY), was inspired by the ability of environmental travel to evoke different emotions, whether seeking inspiration escaping reality, or fulfilling one’s curiosity to explore. The digital art travels between three environments, each expressing a different point of time—from the forest where one can feel lost and the utopia where everything is perfect to the futurism which conveys a postmodern reality.
THE EXPERIENTIAL IN BETWEEN, developed by Erick Nicolay, explores the duality between the curated elegance of indoor travel experiences and the scenic exploration of outdoor traveling experiences, with Marriott Bonvoy as the final destination. The digital art merges his appreciation for interior design and love for external nature only made possible through 3D surrealistic depictions.
The Marriott Bonvoy NFTs can be found on OpenSea at opensea.io/collection/marriott-bonvoy-nft-collection.