Mr. Guaracino

Diversity Issues

The Role of Gay Sports In Filling Hotel Rooms

By Jeff Guaracino, Vice President, Communications, Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corp

GLBT athletes travel for regional, national, continental and international sports competitions and the gay sporting competitions generate millions of dollars for local economies. Gay sports remains an emerging growth market as evidenced by the increasing number of sporting competitions and the steady growth in attendance at those events by athletes and spectators alike.

Gay sporting competitions include badminton, basketball, beach volleyball, bowling, cycling, cross-country, dance sport, darts, diving, dragon boat regatta, figure skating, flag football, gold, handball, ice hockey, karate, marathon, marital arts, physique, pool billiards, power lifting, racquetball, road races, roller racing, rowing, rugby, sailing, soccer, football, softball, squash, swimming, synchronized swimming, table tennis, tennis, track and field, triathlon, volleyball, water polo and wrestling.

There are regional gay sporting competitions that are held annually; multi-country competitions in Europe and North America held semi-annually; and two world-wide sporting competitions, modeled after the Olympics, held every four years with participants from more than 100 countries called the Gay Games and the World Outgames.

The first question I always have heard is why do gay people need their own sporting competition? In Mark Twesbury's 2006 book called "Inside Out" he tells you that the world of sport is a world of uber masculinity. Professional sport does not nurture gay athletes. Gay sporting competitions are a way to compete in a safe, open in an atmosphere free of discrimination or fear. The key difference between the straight sporting events and gay sports is that being gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered comes with political, social and religious consequences at home and in the world of sports. Gay athletes many not 'out' at home, at work, in sport or to their families. How many 'out' gay professional or amateur gay athletes can you name? Gay sports present athletes the opportunity to express themselves openly, to experience the camaraderie of GLBT people from around the world and earn validation through striving for a personal best in an inclusive environment.

There is lots of business out there that can fill hotel rooms. Consider the Gay and Lesbian Tennis Alliance, an international organization, comprised of 40 gay and lesbian tennis clubs with 5,500 players. The alliance manages and sanctions the gay tennis circuit with 39 annual GLTA-sanctioned tournaments in the U.S, Canada and Europe.

The International Gay Rugby Association and Board (IGRAB) has U.S. teams in San Francisco, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Phoenix, Portland, San Diego and European teams in Denmark, Sweden, France, London and Whales. The IGRAB hosts an international rugby competition, the Bingham Cup, named in honor of Mark Kendall Bingham, a victim of September 11th. The first Bingham Cup was held in 2002 in San Francisco. That year, eight teams traveled to California to compete over two days. In 2004, the Bingham Cup was held in London but now with twenty teams from four countries. New York City hosted the 2006 Bingham Cup. (26)

The International Gay Rodeo Association (IGRA) is an organization comprised of numerous regional Gay Rodeo Associations from across the United States and Canada. IGRA-sanctioned rodeos are hosted by local associations each year and culminate in an IGRA Finals Rodeo where the top 20 contestants in each event compete for the title of IGRA International Champion. The 30th Anniversary of the IGRA Finals Rodeo was held in Reno, Navada.

On Memorial Day Weekend in a city like Philadelphia (which is just about 60 miles from the Atlantic Ocean) hotels find that occupancy is pretty low. It is hard to compete with a beach destination on a long holiday weekend. With one exception, The Sheraton Center City was nearly sold out. How could it be that one hotel was nearly sold out while others are nearly empty? It is not a meeting or a convention. It is the power of gay sports to drive business to urban centers, especially during holiday weekends.

In this case, the City of Brotherly Love Softball League was hosting its annual Memorial Day competition that drew 250 people from nine U.S. cities to compete. The competitors stayed three nights. The City of Brotherly Love Softball League is a member of the North American Gay Amateur Athletic Alliance (NAGAAA). This year, NAGAAA will host its 2007 World Series October 1-7 in Phoenix, Arizona, which will bring over 4,000 players, fans and volunteers from the U.S. and Canada.

In Philadelphia, the local sports organizers have created a gay sports tourism committee that is part of the larger Philadelphia Gay Tourism Caucus organization. The Philadelphia Gay Tourism Caucus is a non-profit organization created to connect the hospitality industry with Philadelphia's gay tourism industry---|event producers, sports organizations, community groups and others. The Sports Committee of the Philadelphia Gay Tourism Caucus has a mission to bring more gay sporting competitions to Philadelphia to fill hotel rooms and to promote the City as a gay-friendly destination.

Sounds great right? There remains a challenge for hoteliers to tap into this lucrative gay sports market segment. Gay sporting competitions are often times organized by local volunteers. Just as the hospitality industry is struggling to connect with these groups, these organizers are unfamiliar, in large part, with the resources that are available to them by hotel sales teams or the local tourism promotion agency, such as a convention and visitors bureau.

Here are a few tips that you might try to book hotel rooms in your city:

• First step is to identify what gay sporting competitions your local sporting venues can host and who is organizing them. Pick up a copy of the local gay publication. Usually, you will find a listing of gay sports organizations.
• Get online. The web is filled with information on gay sporting events and often times, you will find a person to contact about organizing an event.
• Next, engage your local gay sporting organizations to make connections with organizers of sports competition. Remember, they are usually volunteers so there may be a learning curve for what you can offer them, for example a room block, a discounted room rate or even a percentage back for every hotel room booked.
• The best form of advertising is to make a commitment to sponsor your local gay sporting teams and then, the competitive events in your key feeder markets. For more information on the world of gay sports, visit www.Outsports.com

Jeff Guaracino is VP of communications for the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC). He manages national and regional communications, the visiting journalist program, content development and corporate communications. Jeff specializes in communications programs to African-American, Hispanic, Canadian and gay and lesbian travelers. The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) makes Philadelphia and The Countryside® a premier destination through marketing and image building. Mr. Guaracino can be contacted at 215-599-2290 or jeff@gptmc.com Extended Bio...

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