InnFocus Summer 2021

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Courtesy of The Cove Lakeside Resort We’ve been here before, after 9/11, after SARS, after the 2008 financial crash. Each time a crisis devastates the travel industry, one specific sector of the market has led the recovery, and studies suggest the same people will be the first to hit the road this time, too. We’re talking, of course, about the wellheeled, well-travelled LGBT+ community. But is your property really ready to welcome them? “We all like to think we are inclusive, and we all have the best intentions, but are we actually delivering that? There’s always opportunity to improve and make sure front-line staff are up to speed,” says Darrell Schuurman, CEO of Canada’s LGBT+ Chamber of Commerce (CGLCC), a national not-for-profit organization that seeks to create a more inclusive economy. “How do we actually make them feel welcome?” As Gordon Sombrowski, executive director of Park Place Lodge in Fernie, points out: “LBGT travellers are really quick to recognize 6 <strong>InnFocus</strong> when they are not welcome. It’s not just being tolerated, but being celebrated.” Bigger Spenders, More Frequent Travellers After a long, brutal pandemic year, the hotel industry can finally see a glimmer of hope on the horizon, though it will likely be a The LGBT+ market generally has a higher disposable income. while before international travellers return en masse. Meanwhile, a survey conducted by the CGLCC last year showed that some 90% of LGTB+ people were keen to explore Canadian destinations. “They are anxious to travel again and they have the ability to travel again,” Schuurman says. “When you start to look at discretionary income, this is a market that spends on travel. This market can help with that recovery that everyone is looking for.” Studies have shown that the LGBT+ market generally has a higher disposable income, is nearly four times more likely to travel for vacations than other demographics and will, on average, spend seven times as much money on a trip. Pre-COVID, they spent more than US $218 billion a year globally on travel, US $7.1 billion of that in Canada, according to the consulting group Out Now. And the benefits go beyond the purely financial. “We benefit because we have a higher occupancy and we have a more diverse clientele. The more inclusive our community becomes, the more tolerant we become,” says Natasha Richardson, general manager of Brentwood Bay Resort on Vancouver Island. She adds: “What’s the purpose of hotels? I think it’s important to support inclusion and diversity and break down those barriers.”
Diversity vs. Inclusion Businesses can embrace diversity all they like, but that doesn’t mean they’re actually being inclusive. As Bobby Bissessar, director of sales and marketing at The Cove Lakeside Resort in West Kelowna, says, “We can put pictures on the website showcasing diversity, but if guests come in and it’s unfriendly . . . that’s where inclusion comes in. Inclusion means those behaviours that make people feel heard.” Schuurman’s research has found that the number one factor that LGBT+ travellers look for is a sense of safety—not just physical safety, but a sense of being welcomed and accepted for who they are. This should be easy. After all, he notes, “The hospitality industry is one where that is the goal of what they do.” Yet, awkward situations still arise. “Pronouns are a big thing. The risk of mis-gendering people is a big consideration,” Schuurman explains. “That makes a big impact on the experience right away.” The solution starts with the kind of training the CGLCC offers (see sidebar). That means not just learning to use the right pronouns and treating LGBT+ people with the same courtesy as other guests, but knowing how to step in if there is a problem, for instance, if another guest complains about a gay couple kissing by the pool. “They want to feel that they are completely the same, and completely protected,” says Richardson, who has trained her staff to deal with just these sort of issues. It helps that the resort is adult-oriented and has a diverse staff. “We don’t deliberately seek out that diversity, we just naturally attract it. Our guests feel included when they come here because we allow our staff to represent themselves how they like.” Above all, that inclusivity has to be authentic. As Sombrowski says. “If you don’t have that authenticity, it’s not something you can fake.” Beyond Four Walls Of course, the hotel is only part of the travel experience. “It’s a conversation that really needs to happen at the local and regional level,” Schuurman says. “We know that guests don’t just stay in the four walls of the property. So it’s important to have the conversations in the community.” That’s especially true as LGBT+ travellers venture outside large urban centres to small communities and remote wilderness resorts. “There has been a growing interest among LGBT+ travellers to go to places that are not necessarily the kinds of places people expect them to go,” Sombrowski says and echoes what Schuurman has reported: “They are looking for places that reflect who they are. People who are LGBT+ have always looked for places where they feel safe. Safety is the number one criterion.” Fernie, for instance, has long welcomed LGBT+ mountain bikers and skiers from Calgary. “I think there has been an evolution generally in society. But I think Fernie is a bit on the leading edge of that curve,” says Sombrowski noting the creation of Pride Fernie has been a big part of that evolution. “It’s been not just accepted, but celebrated in the community.” Pride has also been a huge factor in Kelowna, whose strategic tourism plan emphasizes the LGBT+ market. “Pride is already the biggest tourism draw for the city,” says Bissessar, who is also the festival’s communications director. In fact, the city just won the bid to host the 2022 conference for Fierté Canada Pride, the national association of Pride organizations. But being welcoming goes beyond one festival. It’s a year-round effort that speaks to the authentic hospitality that hoteliers naturally want to offer their guests, no matter who those guests are. “We want everything to be approachable and we don’t want anyone to worry about offending anybody,” Richardson explains. “It’s not just about the LGBT+ community. It’s just that kind of culture we want to support.” Or as Bissessar says, simply, “It’s not them and us. It’s us.” Courtesy of Brentwood Bay Resort Create a Welcoming Space Canada’s LGBT+ Chamber of Commerce offers workshops and other tools for people in the tourism industry. Among them is a certification program that includes an online course that addresses language, the creation of safe spaces, and other issues. “It’s certainly really valuable for operators in the hospitality sector,” says CEO Darrell Schuurman. “There’s a lot of really good information.” For info, visit cglcc.ca. <strong>InnFocus</strong> 7
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