Barriers And Opportunities

In newly released research, Booking.com reports that close to half (44%) of Canadian LGBTQ+ travellers have experienced some form of discrimination when travelling.

Conducted with 3,052 LGBTQ+ travellers across three continents, the study shines a light on attitudes, concerns and travel preferences, as well as past stay experiences, current realities and hopes for a more inclusive travel future.

According to the research, 68% say they have to consider their safety and well-being as a Canadian LGBTQ+ traveller when picking a destination and 60% believe that travelling as part of the LGBTQ+ community means that some destinations are off limits.

These extra considerations for LGBTQ+ people extend across the entire planning and travel journey for more than half of those surveyed:

• 55% of Canadian respondents believe being LGBTQ+ impacts the decisions they make when planning a trip, with 49% saying that it has affected their destination bucket list.
• Over half (55%) report that being LGTBQ+ impacts who they choose to travel with.
• 56% indicate that travelling as an LGTBQ+ person impacts how they behave with their significant other when travelling together.
• 48% believe being LGTBQ+ impacts how they present themselves during their trip (e.g. clothing, makeup choices, etc).

While these insights expose the concerns that weigh on many LGBTQ+ travellers’ minds, often before they’ve even booked a single aspect of their trip or arrived at their destination, there are also more promising signs and green shoots of progress in the industry.

Booking.com’s research found that 91% of Canadian LGTBQ+ travellers surveyed believe that the majority of the travel experiences they’ve had so far have been welcoming.

Despite the barriers and challenges that remain, this underscores an underlying optimism amongst LGBTQ+ travellers and a growing opportunity for the travel industry to do even better to create more welcoming experiences for everyone.

Central to their wider travel experience, according to the research, LGBTQ+ travellers report having had a mix of welcoming and awkward encounters when it comes to the accommodation experience during their trips.

In fact, 43% have had less-than-welcoming or uncomfortable experiences at a property where they were staying, including:

• One in five (20%) have had staff assume they would need separate rooms or beds when checking in as a couple.
• 22% have felt the need to change their behavior – and 15% to change their appearance – to avoid judgement or awkward interactions with accommodation staff or owners.
• 21% have experienced staff or accommodation owners at check-in incorrectly assuming their relationship to their travel companion/companions.
• 14% have experienced unwelcoming or uncomfortable experiences while dining at hotel or accommodation restaurants.
• 18% have felt uncomfortable to ask for LGTBQ+ friendly local tips or recommendations
• Accommodation staff or owners have mistaken or incorrectly assumed pronouns or gender for 13% of travellers in correspondence ahead of arrival and for 10% of those when arriving at the desk.
• Interactions with other guests account for the most often reported source of less-than-welcoming or uncomfortable experiences, reported by nearly a quarter of those surveyed (21%).

Despite these negative experiences, it’s heartening to see that over half of LGTBQ+ travellers have felt welcomed most of the time (60%) during their stays, with those surveyed highlighting that interactions with staff throughout their stay (59%) and the check-in experience (45%) are the most important factors in creating a comfortable, welcoming stay.

Other positive accommodation experiences revealed by the research include:

• One in three (37%) have experienced a great first impression on arrival such as welcome drinks and/or friendly staff.
• Nearly a third (31%) have had friendly and informative correspondence with the property ahead of arrival/check-in.
• 29% have received guidance/information to the local area during their stay, with 25% being offered this at check-in.
• 21% have been offered LGBTQ+ specific advice or guidance on the area during their stay, with almost one in five (18%) receiving this at the time of check-in.

Booking.com notes that despite some positive signals, its research with LGBTQ+ travellers reveals that a substantial portion of the global population doesn’t feel like they can show up as themselves when they travel.

And Booking.com makes it clear that it believes this presents the industry with a real opportunity to make the travel experience easier, more inclusive and more welcoming for LGBTQ+ travellers – and ultimately for everyone.

Proud Hospitality  

To that end, Booking.com is announcing its Proud Hospitality training program for its accommodation partners. The core of the Travel Proud initiative and the first step for an accommodation provider to become a Proud Certified property on the Booking.com platform is a 75-minute online Proud Hospitality training session that the company has developed in partnership with HospitableMe.

Focusing on the unique challenges and barriers that the LGBTQ+ community faces when travelling, the goal of the training is to help hospitality professionals see things from a potentially different perspective and provide some practical skills and techniques that they can immediately put into practice.

After completing the online course and making a commitment to deliver a more inclusive experience, Proud Certified partners will receive a Travel Proud badge on their property page to show potential guests that they can rely on a welcoming experience.

Cities with multiple Proud Certified properties will also be showcased on a designated Travel Proud page, where travellers can learn more about the initiative, as well as find and book properties that are Proud Certified.

Arjan Dijk, CMO and Senior Vice President at Booking.com, said that: “Everything we do at Booking.com is about enabling smoother and more enjoyable travel experiences for everyone — no matter where they come from, who they love or how they identify.”

Dijk continued: “As a gay traveller myself, I share some of these same concerns, but also equal amounts of optimism for a better future. One in five LGBTQ+ travellers say they are hopeful about being able to travel without restrictions or limitations in the next five years. We firmly believe we can get there together and that everyone should be able to experience the world as themselves, always.”

The training is available free of charge to Booking.com property partners and includes access to additional resources, such as a Travel Proud Customer Toolkit, which Proud Certified properties are encouraged to make available to all guest-facing staff, so that they can confidently answer questions and support LGBTQ+ travellers more fully.

The program is now available in English and rolling out to partners in the United States, Canada, the UK, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Australia and New Zealand, with new territories and languages being added over the course of 2021 and into 2022.

Go to https://www.booking.com/proud.html or visit http://hospitable.me/ for more.