In recent months, one of the tourist niches that has been increasing the most is that of the LGBT community, and that is, as the World Tourism Organization states, in its recently presented report, an average growth rate of 10.3% , an annual expenditure of 165,000 million dollars and a volume of travelers that represents 10% of world tourism, this is a very encouraging figure.
That is why, as always, Chekin, attending to current trends in the hospitality sector, brings you the best advice, tips and recommendations so that you can make your tourist accommodation an extremely attractive place for any type of tourist.
First of all we must understand and start from the premise that we are all equal and deserve the same treatment by right, we must not make a distinction between one person or another because of their race, color or sexual orientation, at this point it would be something in addition to retrograde, illegal. However, we still have a long way to go in this regard, but the good news is that we are progressing positively and not negatively.
Thus today, within the LGBT Community there is a classification (we could say) to identify the accommodations that guarantee a free, safe and non-discriminatory stay for those who belong to the community. They are called “Gay Friendly”. On the other hand, there is also an aspect of LGBT tourism that goes beyond guaranteeing normality to its participants, offering the possibility of traveling in an openly gay environment, together with other people in the community and immersing themselves in LGBT culture.
Now if, going into the matter, the main premise that we must know is how do I attract clients from this community, what should I do?
1.- Give visibility to your accommodation in specific places: Currently there are endless web portals where you can advertise your property, depending on the type of guest you want to attract to your home or hotel. One of the oldest for the community is Purple Roofs, dating back to 1999, but in recent years websites like Misterb & b or Pink Vacation Rentals have become industry leaders in their own right.
2.- Conditioning your accommodation: It is not that it is different, but that you could perform certain actions that may be more attractive to community members, perhaps using the rainbow flag to identify your accommodation could be very helpful to identify yourself as an LGBT accommodation, other actions could be a discreet mention in the description of your ad or a photo of a homosexual couple enjoying your accommodation.
3.- Identify yourself as a Gay Friendly accommodation: There should be no doubt, for those who see you, therefore, a recommendation is that you make it very clear in your ads and website that all travelers will receive a warm welcome to your accommodation, regardless of your sexual orientation.
4.- Do not exceed the limits: We all like to be treated in a special way, but not excessively. It is important that your accommodation is clearly a place where you can rest, you will not be discriminated against for any condition, but being treated in a different way could become uncomfortable. One mistake many hosts make is constantly referencing the topic, which is not right, and can make you look very bad.
5.-Offer unique experiences. Like any other accommodation, don’t be shy about offering the best that your holiday accommodation has to offer. Always stay abreast of trends and offer your guests a better stay.
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