Entertainment

Gen-Z vs. Marriott Bonvoy

Anna Kaiser and Kinley Bokermann| November 3, 2022

Jane Stewart, TikTok correspondant for Marriott Bonvoy, now travels the world making TikTok videos.

Vancouver. Berlin. Ibiza. And that’s just so far. A 37 day trip with eight different destinations across Europe, Africa and Asia. This is the life of Jane Stewart who travels the world. And yes, she gets paid to do so.

Her story began within the halls of KHS and being a member of TKC on the social media staff. With her newfound passion for video within social media, as a senior Stewart was encouraged to create her own position as a communications video editor where she was able to pursue projects to help her explore her future. Stewart said her fondest memories were creating informative videos for TKC to grab students’ attention and bring awareness to various topics, such as mental health.

“My favorite part [of high school] was being a part of [TKC],” Stewart said. “It allowed me to open up and explore all my passions no matter which route they took me down. That was my proudest moment of high school, being a part of something and just playing a role in such a good cause.”

Stewart attended University of Missouri as a student in the journalism school, majoring in digital storytelling with an emphasis on production. Unsure of what she was going to do after graduation, Stewart said she knew one thing.

“My bottom line when I graduated college was that, one way or another, I wanted to travel,” Stewart said. “This is the least tied down I will ever be in my life, and I just want to get out there. I wanted to see the world.”

And when Stewart found out about the 30 Stays 300 Days contest, a TikTok contest for unique perspectives on travel for a job with Marriott Bonvoy, she immediately started working on her script. She recalled many of the other TikToks were about the contestants themselves rather than Marriott, so Stewart created a unique submission targeted toward what she could do for the company.

“I never dreamed of it going anywhere, but I said I’ll try,” Stewart said. “I looked at it more as a business proposal.”

While Stewart was studying abroad, and after three months of consideration, she received a package to her home address from Marriott and was asked to record a video of her opening the package. On Facetime with family and friends, Stewart found out she was one of three people to win the contest and earned the job title of TikTok correspondent out of thousands of submissions.

Since then, Stewart has traveled around the world creating video content for Mariott Bonvoy. Stewart said her job comes with lots of responsibility. However, she said doing business while traveling internationally and learning to deal with different people in different situations has been huge for her maturity.

“It’s been a huge learning curve for me,” Stewart said. “Besides traveling and learning, it’s the differences that are teaching me so much from being in completely opposite cultures of myself.”

Stewart said the most special part has been seeing people’s reactions to why she is there and what she is doing and reaching out to strangers who are interested in the same topic as herself. Above all else, she is grateful for the many experiences her job has made possible.

“I just feel lucky to be a part of this,” Stewart said. “I’ve loved meeting new people and having them become part of a video and learning their story. Getting the chance to travel is such an honor and blessing. I am forever grateful for this opportunity. The way this has all turned out and all the places I have been has gone beyond my wildest dreams.”