Marketing to gay community can pay dividends to hotels

National Report--Marketing to the gay and lesbian community is a priority for many hoteliers. Not only are some lodging companies pushing to demonstrate their commitment to diversity, but they also realize that positioning their brands within the gay and lesbian market can lead to big business.

Gay and lesbian travelers, for example, represented 10 percent of U.S. travelers last year and spent upwards of $54 million on travel, according to San Francisco-based Kimpton Hotels. This demographic also represents about 16 million people in the United States with $485 billion in buying power, the company said.

About 700,000 gay tourists visited Fort Lauderdale, Fla., last year, spending $700 million, said Richard Gray, proprietor of the all-gay resort The Royal Palms in Fort Lauderdale and president of the marketing organization The World's Foremost Gay & Lesbian Hotels.

Additional research gathered by Kimpton indicates that gay Americans tend to travel more than other consumers because of generally higher discretionary income and more flexible schedules--often the result of not having children.

"For us, [marketing to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender travelers] goes beyond making sense from a cultural standpoint. It makes sense from a business standpoint as well," said Niki Leondakis, Kimpton c.o.o.

Gray, also the gay liaison to the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau, agreed that it makes sense for hoteliers to market to this lucrative demographic group. The Greater Fort Lauderdale CVB, for example, promotes the sunny resort area as one of the nation's top gay destinations. It offers links to gay businesses on its Web site and advertises in major gay publications, such as Planet Out, Gray said.

Early adopters

For Kimpton--which culled through its research that gay and lesbian travelers tend to be early adopters of new trends--marketing to the gay community seems to be a natural fit. Trendy and stylish Kimpton hotels are concentrated in major urban centers with large gay populations, like San Francisco and Chicago. This makes the hotels a likely choice for gay travelers, who often are considered trendsetters in urban locations, Leondakis said.

Kimpton began specifically targeting ads to the GLBT community last July in gay publications like Out Traveler and Out & About. Last fall, the company began running a new ad called "Business FUNction" in gay publications. The message features an affluent, professional-looking African-American man--speaking even more to the company's strong stance on promoting diversity--and a Chihuahua, Leondakis said.

The light-hearted ad shows that pet-friendly Kimpton is all about fun and style. The ad also offers a GLBT loyalty promotion and directs readers to the newly launched GLBT section of the Kimpton Web site. The ad ran last year, she said.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide's W brand also has been actively targeting the GLBT market with ads in gay publications including Out and the Advocate.

In what perhaps marks the industry's first brandwide advertising campaign specifically targeting GLBT consumers, Wyndham International began flexing its marketing muscle last year when it rolled out a major ad program positioning the chain as welcoming to gay travelers, said Dean Altvater, Wyndham's director of national sales and strategic partnerships, GLBT.

Altvater, also director of national sales for Wyndham's New York sales office, assumed his new role last year and is responsible for developing and maintaining joint sponsorships, business opportunities, and alliances with GLBT organizations, community groups and individual travelers.

Wyndham, which had been advertising specific hotels in gay publications for the last few years, decided it was the right time to emerge as a leader in the hospitality industry for its GLBT outreach and inclusion efforts, Andrew Jordan, chief marketing officer and executive v.p. of sales & marketing, said in a news release.

Wyndham also is seeking business from gay groups and organizations. For example, Out and Equal, a nonprofit national organization that champions safe and equitable workplaces for GLBT employees, held its 2004 summit in September for 750 human resources professionals and GLBT employees at the Wyndham Buttes Resort in Tempe, Ariz.

Targeting the gay community also includes offering packages and promotions to attract GLBT travelers. All 20 W hotels, for example, offer the Pride 365 package, which offers free items for booking a room. The year-round promotion changes quarterly.

During the Pride 365 package that ran through mid-December, W partnered with the bedding company Dirty Linens to give away a free set of pillowcases to those booking the package. In addition, gay travelers received a "Will & Grace" CD, two free cocktails, and could take advantage of a 2 p.m. check-out.

Wyndham Casa Marina Resort and Wyndham Reach Resort, both in Key West, Fla., also offered a special Pride Package for gay couples. The package ran through Dec. 23 and offered a 50-percent discount off regular rack rates, daily breakfast for two, and a welcome toast of champagne and strawberries upon arrival. Travelers who booked the package automatically were eligible to win a seven-night trip for two, including roundtrip airfare, to Fantasy Fest, which draws thousands of visitors to Key West every October.

Wyndham International and Kimpton Hotels have targeted gay and lesbian travelers by placing ads in publications that cater to gays. Kimpton also offers a gay and lesbian section on its Web site.

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