My first awkward kiss occurred at 13, halfway through ninth grade — me and Eddie, alone in my best friend’s bedroom. Aside from the fact that I was kissing a boy I liked and he was kissing me back it was not spectacular, not in the way kisses can drop the floor from your stomach like that fearsome, fabulous first dip on a rollercoaster, but it was my first. And in that there is inherent sweetness.
As our romance bloomed, we grew more comfortable with PDA. We’d walk holding hands, share pecks between classes and more lingering (and steadily improving) episodes at day’s end. We did it all in plain view of our classmates, our teachers, the guy at the pizza place — and didn’t think much about any of it.
This is the first in a two-part series about an emerging travel trend: American hospitality companies very publicly courting the gay community and a flurry of glamorous, purpose-built “gay” properties. Even famous hotel chains are upping their ad dollars in gay publications. So, why the trip down Cherry Lane, circa 1983? Because on a quest to discover what makes a resort gay, I found the concept isn’t as much about what we see — fabulous décor or $17 lychee martinis or Shirtless Show-Tune Karaoke Night — as it is about the stuff us breeders take for granted.
Like being able to just be yourself.
For an out-and-proud radio personality, Anthony, 46, and one-third of the BlogTalkRadio trio ”Two Fags & A Hag,” admits that historically he’s been something of a homebody. “The gay travel thing is very new to me.” A recent trip to Hawaii was his first with a deliberate LGBT slant. “The retreat itself was not exclusively gay, but the program I participated in was for gay men.”
Anthony went alone, so being around people with whom he’d feel free to be open was important. “Vacation is about being able to relax, not something that’s easily achieved when you’re anxious. As much as things have progressed in general, there’s still the very real possibility of finding yourself among travelers who at best are uncomfortable around gay people, and at worst, hostile toward them. I prefer to hedge my bets and knowingly go where I won’t be the only one of my kind… I like knowing that there’s some ‘family’ to turn to, especially when I’m far from home.”
As our romance bloomed, we grew more comfortable with PDA. We’d walk holding hands, share pecks between classes and more lingering (and steadily improving) episodes at day’s end. We did it all in plain view of our classmates, our teachers, the guy at the pizza place — and didn’t think much about any of it.
This is the first in a two-part series about an emerging travel trend: American hospitality companies very publicly courting the gay community and a flurry of glamorous, purpose-built “gay” properties. Even famous hotel chains are upping their ad dollars in gay publications. So, why the trip down Cherry Lane, circa 1983? Because on a quest to discover what makes a resort gay, I found the concept isn’t as much about what we see — fabulous décor or $17 lychee martinis or Shirtless Show-Tune Karaoke Night — as it is about the stuff us breeders take for granted.
Like being able to just be yourself.
For an out-and-proud radio personality, Anthony, 46, and one-third of the BlogTalkRadio trio ”Two Fags & A Hag,” admits that historically he’s been something of a homebody. “The gay travel thing is very new to me.” A recent trip to Hawaii was his first with a deliberate LGBT slant. “The retreat itself was not exclusively gay, but the program I participated in was for gay men.”
Anthony went alone, so being around people with whom he’d feel free to be open was important. “Vacation is about being able to relax, not something that’s easily achieved when you’re anxious. As much as things have progressed in general, there’s still the very real possibility of finding yourself among travelers who at best are uncomfortable around gay people, and at worst, hostile toward them. I prefer to hedge my bets and knowingly go where I won’t be the only one of my kind… I like knowing that there’s some ‘family’ to turn to, especially when I’m far from home.”
It Makes The World Go 'Round
Before we get mired in the touchy-feely, however, let’s get pragmatic: No entity, neither chic boutique hotelier nor vast hospitality empire, is building a fancy hotel with high-end vodka for a bunch of broke-ass bitches.
“Every study I’ve seen shows that LGBT people travel more often and spend more money when they travel,” says freelance travel writer Mark Chesnut, who serves as a Contributing Editor at Passport, the nation’s largest gay travel magazine. “Businesses both large and small are catching on … They realize that targeting a well-traveled niche makes sense.”
Chesnut adds that while economics are certainly at play, reasoning behind recent trends is multifold: “Shifts in society’s attitudes,” he says, “and the increasing acceptance of gay people in the mainstream have [also] been deciding factors in the recent growth in the segment.”
Lords South Beach
Hotelier Brian Gorman summarizes: “Gays are like blondes — ‘they just have more fun!’ — and, they’re willing to pay for it.”
As founder of the new Lords South Beach, he would know. Lords’ Miami venture is the maiden property in what’s being billed as “America’s first gay hotel chain.” With hopes for expansion to cities including New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and San Francisco, Gorman envisions his brand’s rainbow arcing from coast to coast.
Says Gorman, “Lords is “a celebration of the gay community that embraces everyone.” Its main goal: “To promote fun and community.” In that spirit, Lords runs programming that fosters connections between travelers. “Sunday night, all our guests get complimentary drinks during cocktail hour and we have a weekly pool party that brings out locals, as well as hotel guests,” says Gorman, stressing the importance of that local angle.
Lords is smack in the middle of a multitude of homocentric attractions and venues, including the city’s premier nude beach and several popular nightspots. Though the property boasts kitschy, playful design (“that’s a little tongue-in-cheek, just like our guests!”) and even its own app — Out and About; something of an insider’s guide to Miami — Gorman notes the most important element is “giving people an environment where they feel comfortable just being themselves.”
“Every study I’ve seen shows that LGBT people travel more often and spend more money when they travel,” says freelance travel writer Mark Chesnut, who serves as a Contributing Editor at Passport, the nation’s largest gay travel magazine. “Businesses both large and small are catching on … They realize that targeting a well-traveled niche makes sense.”
Chesnut adds that while economics are certainly at play, reasoning behind recent trends is multifold: “Shifts in society’s attitudes,” he says, “and the increasing acceptance of gay people in the mainstream have [also] been deciding factors in the recent growth in the segment.”
Lords South Beach
Hotelier Brian Gorman summarizes: “Gays are like blondes — ‘they just have more fun!’ — and, they’re willing to pay for it.”
As founder of the new Lords South Beach, he would know. Lords’ Miami venture is the maiden property in what’s being billed as “America’s first gay hotel chain.” With hopes for expansion to cities including New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and San Francisco, Gorman envisions his brand’s rainbow arcing from coast to coast.
Says Gorman, “Lords is “a celebration of the gay community that embraces everyone.” Its main goal: “To promote fun and community.” In that spirit, Lords runs programming that fosters connections between travelers. “Sunday night, all our guests get complimentary drinks during cocktail hour and we have a weekly pool party that brings out locals, as well as hotel guests,” says Gorman, stressing the importance of that local angle.
Lords is smack in the middle of a multitude of homocentric attractions and venues, including the city’s premier nude beach and several popular nightspots. Though the property boasts kitschy, playful design (“that’s a little tongue-in-cheek, just like our guests!”) and even its own app — Out and About; something of an insider’s guide to Miami — Gorman notes the most important element is “giving people an environment where they feel comfortable just being themselves.”
Birds of a Feather
The gay community is largely comprised of thoughtful, well-informed consumers. Their spending patterns can be motivated, in part, by things like charity and workplace sensitivity; companies that pay attention are often rewarded. Kimpton Hotels, for example, was the first hotel group to score 100 percent on the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index (they’re oft-touted as the gay-friendliest chain around). Gorman recognized this from the get-go, building a charitable component into the Lords concept. “Ten percent of proceeds from certain rooms go to support local and national LGBT organizations.”
Courtesy of Adonis Tulum Riviera Maya Gay Resort & Spa
Rick, 38, says he and husband Cleve, 52 — the pair married in British Columbia in 2006 — travel and spend with community in mind. He likens the sentiment to cheering for your country at the Olympics. “I’m of Portuguese descent and if I see a Portuguese establishment, I’ll eat or shop there. Gay people like to support other gay people — hence, ‘gay pride!’”
Matt, a 39-year-old attorney, says he’d only book an all-gay resort for a leisure trip. “But on business, I’d still probably stay at a gay-friendly hotel if all other employer-imposed requirements were met.” Why? “I want my money going to companies who support my community, I want to be appreciated, not viewed as an anomaly, and gay-friendly resorts are more likely to have information on local places of interest.”
Courtesy of Adonis Tulum Riviera Maya Gay Resort & Spa
Rick, 38, says he and husband Cleve, 52 — the pair married in British Columbia in 2006 — travel and spend with community in mind. He likens the sentiment to cheering for your country at the Olympics. “I’m of Portuguese descent and if I see a Portuguese establishment, I’ll eat or shop there. Gay people like to support other gay people — hence, ‘gay pride!’”
Matt, a 39-year-old attorney, says he’d only book an all-gay resort for a leisure trip. “But on business, I’d still probably stay at a gay-friendly hotel if all other employer-imposed requirements were met.” Why? “I want my money going to companies who support my community, I want to be appreciated, not viewed as an anomaly, and gay-friendly resorts are more likely to have information on local places of interest.”
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