Books without worries – safety and hospitality for the LGBTQ+ community | News
When Karl Krause books a hotel with his husband Dan Colijn, it raises many questions. How are the couple received? Will they get strange looks? Will they get the double bed they want? Together the founders of the award-winning travel blog Couple of Men travel the world. The uncertainty of whether they are truly welcome in their hotel always travels with them, said Karl Krause, speaking during the panel discussion entitled “Travel Proud – Making Travel Truly Inclusive” in the LGBTQ+ pavilion at ITB Berlin.
The travel bloggers are not alone in this regard. Stephanie Frank of Booking.com presented a study showing that 52 percent of Gen Z describe themselves as “something other than straight.” 80 percent of people in the LGBTQ+ community worry about their safety when booking a trip, and one in three fear judgmental responses from hotel staff. For this reason, Booking.com offers free training to promote tolerance. More than 125,000 Travel Proud accommodations can now be found on the website.
A label for guidance
Since 1983, the IGLTA Network has been raising travel industry awareness of the needs of community travelers. Division Manager Clark Massad sees the current situation as particularly precarious for transgender people, who are increasingly experiencing problems with gender input in their travel documents at the border. IGLTA offers a range of support services, such as a language guide, training and help with putting together marketing materials. According to Massad, hotels should already use different personal pronouns on their booking forms. An IGLTA label provides guidance on which hotels are open to community travelers. This type of certification is also well received by other travelers who value tolerance.
Gloria Milani, Senior Director, TMCs & Consortia at Accor, believes that offering training to raise awareness among staff also pays off economically. Many Accor hotels are already Travel Proud certified. They benefit from an image of open-mindedness and satisfied, returning guests.
