Pride Month, which falls in June every year, serves as a time to honor past LGBTQ+ movements, celebrate the community and continue to strive for further inclusivity.
In this month's episode of the Next Gen in Lodging podcast, host Chris Henry was joined by two guests outside of the hotel industry to discuss Pride Month and traveling as members of the LGBTQ+ community.
(Editor's note: This article was updated on Nov. 21 to remove the podcast episode at the request of Next Gen in Lodging.)
Santino Pietrosanti, brand director of Jaguar U.K., said when he travels with his husband, they seek out cities that are reverent to the LGBTQ+ community to ensure they're comfortable in the environment and culture.
Bigger cities in Europe such as Barcelona and Paris are great destinations for the community, and it's more uncommon to find a place that they don't feel accepted, Pietrosanti said. There are, however, some regions that aren't as progressive.
While big corporations such as hotel brands will champion LGBTQ+ causes and put millions of dollars toward it, actually following through on those standards from market to market is a different story, Pietrosanti said.
"In my previous jobs working with different corporations, they often find that whilst they might have a corporate policy that applies at a global level for their brand and what they approach and how they do it, translating that into various markets can often be extremely difficult," Pietrosanti said. "There's this unsaid understanding that the market will modify to fit the cultural norms, and they just leave it at that. It's a bit of a shame."
In order for brands to show they're supportive of LGBTQ+ travelers, they should demonstrate how their properties are a safe and inclusive space through branding, Pride activities or through association, he said. One example is having front-desk employees who can give recommendations on the best LGBTQ+ bars or restaurants in the area.
Chase Finn, director of video at wellness and lifestyle brand company Goop, said there's been a concerted effort in the wellness space around curating certain events at properties to boost future demand. This could in turn extend to the LGBTQ+ community.
"I feel like these bigger brands are leaning into special, curated subgroups that they can sort of put together these programs that are attracted to different demographics or types of people to get them into their property," he said.
For more from Henry, Pietrosanti and Finn, listen to the full podcast at the link above.
The Next Gen in Lodging Podcast is also available to download on Apple or Spotify, where you can also subscribe to future podcast content.
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