Mr. Schuurman

Diversity Issues

Gay Marketing: Creating New Product for the Gay and Lesbian Travel Market

By Darrell Schuurman, Co-Founder, Canadian Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce

By now, since reading my last article, you've already started to take the first step in the product development phase: providing diversity training to your staff. With this training, you have the basics you need to offer the gay and lesbian traveller an experience where they can feel comfortable and the service they receive meets their expectations. But how do you build on that? How do you enhance that to really make your property appeal to, and capture, the market?

Product development and packaging is where you get to be creative and have fun (well it is for me, anyway). Through the development of new products that are created specifically for the gay and lesbian market, you can provide them with the tailored experience that they are looking for. You might be thinking to yourself that you don't have any "gay" product to work with; that you have nothing that would be appealing for a gay and lesbian package. Where do you look?

The first place is to look internally at what you currently offer and leverage your existing infrastructure. A great example of this is the Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas. By incorporating their spa, cuisine and theatre products into their gay and lesbian packages, and aggressively promoting these in their advertisements, they are able to successfully sell an attractive product while maintaining control over all components.

Wedding packages are another great example, and not to mention extremely timely right now for this market. Weddings are big business for hotels, and, for most properties, the infrastructure is already there to expand this to the gay and lesbian market. Several hotels, such as Kimpton Hotels, have realized this and offer tailored wedding and newlywed packages specifically for their gay and lesbian guests. Keep in mind, though, that just because you provide 'straight' wedding services doesn't mean that you can just start offering same-sex wedding services. You'll need to do your research and make sure the expectations are fully met.

Meetings and conferences are another opportunity for hotels to utilize their existing infrastructure to reach this market. There are numerous gay and lesbian related conferences that happen every year across North America, and these organizations are always looking for venues that are actively targeting the gay and lesbian market. Tailor your proposals specifically for the gay and lesbian market by showcasing your affiliations with the local gay community, other gay businesses that you work with, and product that would be of interest to the market.

The second place to look is outside your property. There are huge opportunities to partner with various local events and attractions to create packages that are appealing to the market. Not only does this allow you to align with other businesses that might have greater exposure within the market, but also allows you to co-op ads, allowing your marketing budget to go further.

Events are something that every hotel targeting the gay and lesbian travel market can leverage to their advantage by creating a special package around the event. If there's a gay rodeo taking place in your area, develop a package that includes tickets to the bull riding competition or passes to the gay country bar or a Madonna cowboy hat. If it's Pride season, develop a pride package. W Hotels developed a great example of this type of package. In 2004, they launched a national campaign that encouraged the gay and lesbian market to "Celebrate Pride" with them; included in some of the various Pride packages were DVDs of gay and lesbian shows or movies, complimentary drinks, late checkout, and CDs of various gay and lesbian artists. The result was a package that was tailored around an event and caught the attention of the gay and lesbian traveller. This of course doesn't have to be limited to gay and lesbian events; mainstream events (such as film festivals, cultural events, and so on) still attract a large number of gay visitors. By offering a package that incorporates this event but is specific to them will definitely help you stand out amongst your competitors.

For those times where there are no events to create packages around, you can still work with your local tourism partners (the ones that are also targeting the gay and lesbian market) to create interesting and intriguing packages specific for your gay or lesbian guests. Partner with a museum, art gallery, or theatre to put together a package that has appeal to your target market. Vintage Inns in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, is a prime example, where they partnered with the internationally recognized Shaw Festival to create exclusive packages targeting the high-end gay traveller wanting theatre, spa and five star accommodations.

So as I finish flipping through my current issue of Gay Calgary Magazine, I come to a full page inside back cover ad promoting the movie Brokeback Mountain. By now, I think most people have heard about this gay cowboy love movie that was filmed just outside of Calgary (but set in Wyoming). But where are the ads by the local hotels promoting a package that will allow the traveller to live that same cowboy experience. After all, from an article I read earlier in the day, the film is generating hundreds of calls to the Wyoming Business Council from people now interested in visiting the state, so I'm sure Calgary has generated just as many inquiries. Maybe I need to pick up one of the local Wyoming gay magazines to see these travel packages. After all, I can guarantee you there'll be at least one travel-related ad in there. I just hope they're a bit faster than Calgary hotels in leveraging this movie to their benefit.

Darrell Schuurman is co-founder of the Canadian Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, and is Director of the tourism program. He is responsible for improving opportunities for gay and gay-friendly tourism-based businesses through research, market development, and promotion of Canada as a gay travel destination. Darrell has worked in the accommodation, transportation, tourism, and travel sectors of the industry. He now works with Canada's national passenger railway, VIA Rail, as Manager of Market Development. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce concentrating in Tourism from the University of Calgary. Mr. Schuurman can be contacted at 416-761-5151 or darrell@cglcc.ca Extended Bio...

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