With a novel strategy to raise awareness among employees and managers, the Philadelphia Gay Tourism Caucus seeks that hotels in the United States offer better care to gay couples and thus avoid embarrassing incidents at check-in.
Explaining why choosing a room with a double bed instead of two singles is, among others, one of the most common situations that gay travelers often have to experience when checking in at hotels.
Thinking about how to handle those uncomfortable eventualities and develop more gay-friendly hotel models, the Philadelphia Gay Tourism Caucus (a private, non-profit organization founded in 2002 to promote the city as a gay-friendly destination). ), developed in the United States the first educational program in order to increase tourism for such couples in that country.
The awareness program launched at the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown in front of 45 entrepreneurs, was designed for hotels or similar businesses and describes cases that gay travelers live constantly." It's an issue that comes just in time due to the rise of gay marriages and high hate crimes. We look forward to motivating business and training its people," said Debra K. Blair, a professor at Temple's School of Tourism and Hospitality.
For their part, Sofitel and Park Hyatt were committed to training their guests. "Of the 35 downtown convention hotels, 13 called themselves gay-friendly," said Jeff Guaracino, vice president of communications for the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation and co-founder of the Caucus.
Likewise , the general manager of the Dowtown Marriott, Bill Walsh, said that if all employees are more receptive to gay travelers, that hotel complex will achieve a competitive advantage over all those in the city.
Greater profitability
Unlike heterosexual couples, gay women choose the best hotels for their stay, invest more money in shops, eat in fine restaurants, have greater participation in night and cultural activities; this was demonstrated by a 2006 study by the Travel Industry of America (TIA).
"With more travelers and hotel employees out of the closet, it's easier to reach potential customers. The hotel industry is trying to understand who its customers are. Gay groups are saying they don't want to be treated differently, but they expect a specific welcome, they want to be recognized for who they are," said Bob Witeck, executive of Washington's Witeck-Combs Communications and author of Business Inside Out.
Finally, maintaining the loyalty of your customers or simply losing them is one of the most frequently debated in the hospitality industry, which is why thinking about gay couples and offering better services for them can make a difference when it comes to attracting new and more customers.
