At the start of the year, we offered our predictions for gay and lesbian communications developments during 2007. One of mine was a greater interest on the part of travel companies in the gay and lesbian market. That one seems to be on the mark: I’ve blogged about Southwest Airlines’ entry earlier this year into our market in a big (and seemingly good) way and Eddy, Steve and Jon have recently blogged about Air New Zealand’s not-so-subtle attempt to woo gay and lesbian travelers.
With the market continuing to expand, it seems like a good time to talk about it in more detail. Here are three trends I’ve been talking about in recent speeches and presentations that I believe are worth watching:
Growing number of destinations, airlines, hotels and car rental firms marketing specifically to LGBT people
The travel and tourism industry is leading the way in its engagement and involvement with the gay and lesbian community. While not everyone gets it right (Hello Air New Zealand!), there are many excellent examples of how to reach out to our community in a positive, effective way. Here are a few:
Destinations: Canada, Britain and Switzerland are all conducting advertising and marketing to reach our community and it is generally gay-positive, appropriate, and often even memorable. I’ve enjoyed visiting all three of these countries in the past (my partner Mark took the photo to the left on a trip to Vancouver and Whistler last year), but knowing that they are actively engaged in gay-friendly activities makes me even more interested for future trips. [Note: There are many more countries, regions and cities conducting solid outreach programs to our community and the list is growing all the time. Click on the Travel and Tourism category link on the right to see previous posts on other leaders.]
Airlines: American and now Southwest are the domestic leaders with Air Canada and Swiss among the leaders internationally. This is the most interesting category to me because I think it’s the one area where much more could be done: every airline should be going out of their way to gain the powerful, loyal gay and lesbian traveler who is much more likely to keep flying even when the economy sours and other travelers cut back. We’re a prime audience for airlines, but many of them have not figured out just how to reach us consistently and effectively.
Hotels: Kimpton is a champion at gay and lesbian community outreach, building a loyalty program, engaging in community sponsorships and ensuring that they are everywhere potential gay and lesbian travelers might be. W Hotels (part of Starwood) and Hyatt are also increasingly engaged with advertising and marketing to our community that involves more than just basic attempts to drum up business via advertising (more on W later).
Rental Car Agencies: The current leader here is Avis. They were one of the first into the market and they have continued to dominate with advertising, discounts and partnerships with gay and lesbian organizations all focused on our community. My partner and I have actually rented from Avis before just because of their gay-friendly programs.
Broader recognition that we go everywhere and are therefore part of the general (not just specialized) marketing mix
I’ve been impressed by W Hotels’ efforts to reach gay and lesbian travelers with their integrated marketing communications programs: the boutique hotel chain (part of the Starwood family of companies) incorporates gay and lesbian programs into their marketing mix. I’ve seen Pride specials and other gay and lesbian-focused activities promoted along side other programs aimed at non-gay audiences. The winning idea for me is that we’re part of the mix along with everyone else: the company seems to have learned that gays and lesbians don’t need to be segregated into a separate category because non-gay travelers (at least those who stay at W hotels) won’t be offended by efforts to reach out to us as well.
Growing focus on marketing destination/high-end spa travel to our community
As a fan of the “spa experience,” I’ve often wondered why there has not been more of a consistent national effort to market spa brands to our community. This month’s edition of Passport magazine features spas on the cover and the accompanying article outlines the growing interest of branded and individual spas in reaching out to our community. I’ve noticed that industry leaders such as Canyon Ranch have begun advertising in publications like Passport, and I expect to start seeing additional activity from the industry beyond this initial advertising interest.
There’s a lot going on in the travel and tourism marketplace and these are just a few examples of current activity. What else are you seeing? If you’re a travel professional, a frequent traveler or are just interested in the marketplace, please let us know your thoughts.
P.S. I’ll be speaking at the Gay & Lesbian Market Symposium in New York City tomorrow. If you will be there as well, please stop by and say hello!
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