TOURISM AND THE LGBT COMMUNITY PART ONE: DIVERSITY • San Francisco-based, LGBT Owned/Operated company founded in 1992
• Serves tourism and hospitality industry clients throughout the USA, Canada, Europe, Australia and Japan
• 20+ years of consumer research, strategic consul ng, marke ng planning, communica ons, and training services
• Dedicated research panel of 70,000+ LGBT consumers
• Online surveys, focus groups, online focus groups, telephone surveys, intercepts and other methodologies
Research, development, communica ons and marke ng strategies. Proudly serving industry leaders since 1992
Some of CMI’s LGBT Tourism Research, Educa on & Marke ng Clients Research, development, communica ons and marke ng strategies. Proudly serving industry leaders since 1992
Some of CMI’s Non-Tourism Research, Educa on & Marke ng Clients
First, a Quick Orienta on to the LGBT Community
© 2014 Community Marketing Inc. LGBT is an Umbrella Term for Many Communi es Lesbian Gay Men Transgender Bisexual
But just because a person is “in the LGBT community” does not mean that their other diversity points are equally--if not more--important.
Gender Age Ethnicity Geographic etc.
Why would we expect a 65 year old lesbian couple from Sedona, AZ to travel in the same way as a single 22 year old gay man from Manha an? Some points for the travel industry to consider…
✓ LGBT make up about 5% of the adult popula on.
✓ Des na ons and hotels are serving LGBT guests, regardless if they have an LGBT outreach campaign, or not. That makes LGBT diversity training important for everyone.
✓ Surveys show LGBT travel pa erns index at about 1.5 mes the average American.
✓ Tradi onally, LGBTs have been considered a DINK or “Dual Income, No Kids” community. But that is changing fast, especially among lesbian and bisexual women. Some points for the travel industry to consider…
✓ LGBTs have been figh ng for equality for decades. Recent victories such as Marriage Equality have been major steps. However there are s ll issues with employment and housing discrimina on in some states.
✓ Transgender community members face significant discrimina on.
✓ In some countries, LGBTs face imprisonment and even death.
✓ And finally, LGBTs have historically received higher rates of physical and verbal violence and harassment. Safety is a very important issue for the LGBT community, especially when traveling, and even here in California
10 POINTS TO CONSIDER WHEN SERVING LGBT GUESTS
© 2014 Community Marketing Inc. 1
✓ If you can apply this basic concept in your mind and in your work prac ces, you will be fine.
✓ If you can’t treat every guest--and your colleagues--with dignity and respect, tourism might not be the best job choice for you. 2
✓ We all have personal biases and prejudices. That is understandable and something we should all work on over me. ✓ A training like this can not resolve our own personal biases, and it is not intended to. ✓ But it should be stated: As a worker for this company, as part of this communi es tourism community, you can not allow your own personal biases to get in the way of the requirement to treat every guest and your colleagues with dignity and respect. ✓ And this is especially important for management, as bias can lead to legal concerns.
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✓ When it comes to travel, the LGBT community is looking for the same things as everyone else: Relaxa on, romance, adventure, fun, learning and new experiences.
✓ But like all groups of people, there are some special considera ons which we will discuss in this training.
✓ But first, lets focus on what is the same among all travelers. CMI’s 9th Annual LGBT Community Survey:
If you had to describe yourself or your personality in three words, which words would you use?
Friendly Loyal Outgoing Honest Caring Fun Funny Smart Intelligent Loving
Please tell us the three words that best describe the quali es of your partner or spouse. Loving Kind Loyal Caring Smart Honest Funny Suppor ve Intelligent
Fabulous is Not Really an LGBT Iden ty
CMI’s 9th Annual LGBT Community Survey:
When you think of your “travel personality,” which three words most describe your travel mo va ons and priori es?
Relax 23%
Fun 18%
Culture 14%
Comfort 9%
History 7%
Food 7%
Explore 6%
New 6%
Curious 5%
Warm 5%
Note: Word concepts were combined in reporting. For example words like food, Base: All LGBT USA n=3,503 foodie and cuisine were combined and reported as food. 4
OK:
Not OK:
Cau on: The following terms and images are often used in corporate marketing to describe or refer to the community. Please rate how you feel about each, when you see them used by corporations. My opinion of the use of the term in corporate advertising is...
% Positive Among Lesbians Among Gay Men LGBT 80% 74% LGBT-friendly 79% 69% Lesbian & Gay 70% 63% Gay & Lesbian 70% 72% Rainbow (the image / graphic) 68% 57% LGBTQ 67% 53% Gay-friendly 66% 66% Everyone-welcoming 51% 50% GLBT 49% 54% Gay-welcoming 44% 46% Pink triangle (the image / graphic) 42% 32% "Rainbow" (the word) 40% 29% Queer 33% 22% LGBTQQIA 30% 19% Same Gender Loving 27% 22% LGBT, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender OK: partner, husband /wife, marriage equality
sexual orienta on, gender iden ty sexual preference, alterna ve lifestyle, Not OK: your friend, those people, that market,
transgendered, homosexual, “gay marriage” Cau on: queer, lifestyle, GLBT
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✓ Reserva ons / front desk is the place to make a good first impression. ✓ You cannot make assump ons about your guests. The two men in front of you may be gay-partners, straight coworkers, brothers, or two gay friends not looking to share a bed. How can you know? ✓ Develop reserva ons systems that allows bed type request, double confirm and/or ask if unknown. ✓ If a telephone reserva on, treat the request neutrally, “what type of bed(s), how many people?” The gender of the guests is not relevant. ✓ Treat everyone the same. Without a tude, assump on or influence. ✓ Tone is everything. Your front desk staff should feel absolutely comfortable booking same-sex couples without making changes in tone or expressing awkward body language. ✓ This may be obvious: Almost all LGBTs have experienced the “oh, you’re gay” expression at some point in their life. 6
✓ LGBT-friendly tourism means LGBT-knowledgeable. ✓ Staff should be able to an cipate follow up ques ons from LGBT guests, such as loca on of gay bars, cafes and other local venues. ✓ If applicable, know areas to avoid for safety concerns. ✓ Have local LGBT resources available such as LGBT newspapers, gay business chamber directories and informa on about LGBT fes vals and events. ✓ Of course, some resorts and rural hotels have li le or no LGBT infrastructure in their communi es. That is OK. Just be honest and knowledgeable. Perhaps there is an LGBT-owned café, art gallery, or chef in the area. Ask LGBT locals for referrals. 7
✓ Being LGBT-friendly means all departments and all staff are involved, not just sales and marke ng. ✓ Special a en on to communica ons such as le ers and ameni es (e.g. avoid assump ons like “Mr. and Mrs.”). ✓ Opposite-sex couple language vs. gender neutral language on sales and marke ng materials and everyday staff/guest communica ons. ✓ Handling complaints from “other” guests when same-sex couples show basic affec on, such as holding hands in the lobby or giving a kiss to a partner. Use policy based response, like “The hotel does not have a policy against two people showing basic affec on.”
“I cried when I went to fill out the form. We were about to drop thousands of dollars at this hotel and the form said, "Bride" and "Groom.” The sales staff was trying to explain that it didn't matter and he'd cross it off. It does matter.” 8
✓ LGBTs can be “invisible,” and we hear slurs and jokes all the me. ✓ Staff or guests some mes make LGBT slurs or jokes (hos le or not) in front of a guest. Culturally, we live in a me where racial jokes are not acceptable, but gay jokes or transgender jokes o en are. ✓ This may be true among the LGBT community itself, too. ✓ LGBTs are sensi ve to non-verbal communica on, such as awkward looks, chuckles and pauses in speech by hotel staff. ✓ Gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender jokes are inappropriate in the work se ng. How would your company respond to an employee making a racially-charged comment? The same employee discipline should be expected for inappropriate all LGBT jokes or slurs. ✓ Same policies must be applied when addressing guest behavior. 9
✓ Transgender refers to a broad range of people who experience and/or express their gender differently than what most people expect. Transgender is an umbrella term that includes people who are gender non-conforming. ✓ Transgender people experience a high level of discrimina on. ✓ Verbal and physical violence is o en experienced by transgender individuals. ✓ Travel may not feel “safe,” especially among transgender individuals. ✓ Policies: Sexual orienta on and gender iden ty are two separate considera ons, and both should be in your non-discrimina on policy. ✓ Public restrooms are a par cularly risky place. Consider offering a gender-neutral op on. 10
✓ Training like this is not meant to be scary or s filing. ✓ The LGBT community appreciates people who are genuine and fun. ✓ Just always remember that if you are trea ng all your guests with dignity and respect, you are most likely mee ng the diversity needs of all of your guests Learn more… www.CommunityMarke ngInc.com
David Paisley Community Marke ng & Insights 584 Castro St. #834 San Francisco, CA 94114 Tel +1 415/437-3800 • Fax +1 415/552-5104 david@CommunityMarke ngInc.com
Community Marke ng, Inc. is an NGLCC Cer fied LGBT Owned Business Enterprise.