Gay and Lesbian Travel Is This Market Right for You? Presentation - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Gay and Lesbian Travel

Is This Market Right for You?

Presentation by: Ed Salvato Gay tourism marketing consultant

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• Consultant
• Independent gay tourism
• Global gay travel expert
• Presented in US, Canada, Brazil,

Argentina, Belgium

• Board member IGLTA
• Editor in chief
• ManABoutWorld, the first gay travel

magazine for iPad only

• #1 in iTunes App Store for “gay travel”
• Radio
• Sirius/XM & Proud FM Toronto
• Author
• Gay and Lesbian Tourism: The Essential

Guide for Marketing Vol 2. (International)

—

Business potential —

An aha! Moment

—

A note about bus travel

—

Demographics

—

What is gay friendly?

—

LGBT outreach pays

—

Power of the invitation

—

Business threats and opportunities

—

Plan of action

—

There’s gold in them thar groups

—

Success in this market: Philadelphia

—

LGBT market trends and insights

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LGBT GROUP, CONVENTION BUSINESS CAN BE INCREDIBLY LUCRATIVE Las Vegas: King (queen) of LGBT group travel

Mya Reyes Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority IGLTA Board member

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In 2010 Number of room nights LGBT meetings: 83,000 Non-gaming revenue: $25M (yes M) In 2011 Vegas is consistent and innovative

• OutServe non-gaming rev

$200K In 2012 January:

• Sin City Shootout’s 5th annual tournament:

3,000 players

• Non-gaming revenue expected:

$2.7M Memorial Day:

• NAGVA (volleyball); number of players:

1,200

• Non-gaming revenues expected:

$1M

• Square feet of meeting space:

350K NAGAAA (softball) cup event

• Number of players:

300

• Non-gaming revenues expected:

$270K

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In 2010 Ft. Lauderdale hosted the IGLTA convention Number of attendees at peak: 500 Net economic impact*: $1.5M *(According to the DMAI)

IGLTA: International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association (IGLTA.org)

• Consists of gay, lesbian and straight travel professionals and marketers

from around the globe.

• This is a highly desirable group to stay at your destination since they are

influencers in the LGBT travel space.

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MAJOR ASSOCIATION EVENTS & SPORTS ASSOCIATIONS: NLGJA, OUT&EQUAL, HRC, GLAAD, NGLCC SPORTS: 2003 NAGAA softball world series 3-4K room nights 2013 NAGAA softball world series Soccer championships Ball-room dancing Line dancing dancing Swimming Mid-winter bowling championships Bid on Gay Games but came in second place. KEY TO SUCCESS: Grass-roots support Team DC

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IGLTA Convention (2010) Number of attendees: 600 Rooms occupied at peak: 350 Direct spending*: $670K *(According to Laurie Armstrong Visit SF) NLGJA Convention (2010) Number of attendees: 600 Rooms occupied at peak: 113 Direct spending: $200K

NLGJA: National Lesbian & Gay Journalist Association (NLGJA.org)

Could work with groups on pre-, post-fams.

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Regarding gay travelers and bus travel:

In 2005 Gay and Lesbian Tourism: The Essential Guide for Marketing declared: “Gays don’t do busses.”

• And that is still largely true.
• Though it is changing.
• This segment is missing out on a very satisfying type of travel

that is surprisingly suitable to their travel styles.

• The industry is losing out on getting a chunk of this lucrative

segment.

• Will address this more in marketing section later.

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• It’s obviously lucrative.
• But it’s not as easy as just wanting this segment.
• It’s a unique market in many ways that can hide in

plain sight.

• There are many characteristics and nuances to

learn.

• The next section of this presentation provides a few

facts and figures about the LGBT market.

• These are often used by leisure segment marketers

but the group consists of individual travelers so these are very important to learn.

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— Build shoulder seasons — Attract new customers — Help marketers stay competitive — Increase repeat visitation — Improve a marketer’s image — Steal travelers! — A key to getting more straight tourists — Spend more/do more

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— 6.5% of U.S. adult population self identifies as gay,

lesbian or bisexual

— 15 M adults total: 8 M gay men and 6 M gay women — 99.3% of U.S. counties include same-sex couples living

there.

— Lots of good demographic info available. Example:

Demo Gay men Gay women Median HH income $83,000 $80,000 Singles $62,000 $52,000 Couples together $130,000 $96,000 %HH > $100,000 35%

Income Key segment demo: by and large gay men (and to a certain extent gay women) comprise the most valuable of segments: Dual-income, no-kid couples

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— $70.3 B

—

This is the amount estimated to be spent annually by gays and lesbians on domestic travel

— $6,300 total ($1,250 per trip)

—

This is the amount the average respondent spent on travel in the last year

— $800 vs. $540

—

This is the amount gay men spent on their last solo leisure trip compared to heterosexuals

— 200% to 800% more

—

Amount spent on alcohol on gay cruises compared to straight cruises.

OVERALL MARKET SIZE LGBT buying power expected to reach $845 B in 2011. Ker-ching!

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— 71% vs. 25% — Percentage of gay U.S. respondents holding valid

passports compared to all U.S. respondents.

— 47% — Percentage of gay respondents who used passport in

past year.

— 85% vs. 64% — Percentage of gay U.S. respondents who take annual

vacations compared to all U.S. respondents.

Gay Travel Facts

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Gay Travel Facts

During the previous year… Demo Description 5 Median number of overnight trips by gay travelers 23% Took more than 5 trips 67% Rented a car at least once 25% Consulted a retail travel agent 84% Took at least one trip by air

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— “Find less expensive activities” — 51% gay vs 61% heterosexuals agree — “Find less expensive meal options” — 42% gay vs 60% heterosexuals — “Stay with friends or family instead” — 26% gay vs 39% heterosexuals — “Take a‘staycation’ instead of vacation” — 18% gays will stay home vs 32% of heterosexuals

Travel Behavior in Recession

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1.

New York 32%

2.

San Francisco 27%

3.

Las Vegas 26%

4.

Chicago 25%

5.

LA/WeHo 24%

6.

DC 23%

7.

• Ft. Lauderdale

17%

8.

San Diego 15%

9.

Orlando 14%

• 10. Seattle

14%

• 11. Boston

13%

USA

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• 1. Las Vegas

11%

• 2. Philadelphia

7%

• 3. San Francisco

7%

• 4. Palm Springs

7%

• 5. Provincetown

5% Brand Ranking: U.S. Destinations

Which destinations did the best job in the past year reaching out to LGBT travelers? These are the destinations to study.

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— A place where gay visitors and same-sex couples are known

to be safe from harassment, intimidation, threats or physical violence ("a place where I can hold my partner's hand in public")

— Is a city or community known to be culturally welcoming and

to support diversity and LGBT civil rights

— Positive word of mouth from gay friends, relatives, and

colleagues

— Has gay nightlife, gay clubs and/or gay bars — Is located in a state, province or part of a country known to

be culturally welcoming and to support diversity and LGBT civil rights.

What Is “Gay Friendly”

Group attendee perspective

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— Make an authentic invitation to the LGBT community. — Conduct your business in a manner that embraces people’s

diversity, making everyone feel welcome.

— Your business policies don’t penalize your LGBT customers or

employees. — Example: Gay car renters don’t like it when rental car companies

charge same-sex partners a supplement straight married couples wouldn’t have to pay, preferring to spend their ‘pink dollars’ at a gay-supportive company.

— “Gay welcoming” is another phrase, meaning you

acknowledge gay consumers and welcome their business. — This is another excellent phrase used to describe the same

process of acknowledging and welcoming gay customers.

What Is “Gay Friendly”

Group organizer’s perspective

TITLE OF SLIDE Marketing to Gays Pays: Loyal

Gays reward marketers who invite them

74% More likely to visit destinations where tourist office has gay marketing campaign 37% Would ‘reward’ destinations advertising as gay friendly by spending more money when they visit 33% Would stay longer at such destinations Gays like to be invited and to feel warmly welcome. 40% Prefer to purchase products from companies that advertise in gay media (all else being equal). 42% Say ads read online influence purchase decisions for

• ne product over another, versus … (next line)

32% Percent of heterosexual travelers saying this.

TITLE OF SLIDE Marketing to Gays Pays: Influencers

Gays reward marketers who invite them

24%

Keep up with latest styles/trends versus 17% of non-gays

55%

On Facebook versus 46% of heterosexuals

20%

On Twitter versus 12% heterosexuals

TITLE OF SLIDE Marketing to Gays Pays

Beyond the financial motivations

• Welcoming gay and lesbian travelers is a signal to other groups
• f travelers that you appreciate diversity, value creativity, and

promote acceptance.

• Gay tourism marketing sends a positive, morale-boosting

message to gay and lesbian employees.

• “Gays are trendsetters.” Yes, its a stereotype but it is one that

you can play to your advantage

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— Serving in the military

(different around the world)

— Getting married

(different around the world)

— Coming out

(personal decision)

— Being open in religion

(depends on the religion)

— No, we don’t want you

(most destinations/hotels)

— Yes! We welcome you!

(words, pictures, action)

The Power of the Invitation

Consumer perspective: a giant NO! to …

Now, after hearing “NO!” all the time, imagine how an LGBT traveler feels when warmly invited.

TITLE OF SLIDE — Choose wording and imagery gay and lesbian

consumers know is for them.

— Choose media gay and lesbian consumers know is for

them.

— Make a promise of what people can expect all the way

through the experience (from ad to booking to fulfillment to follow up).

— Very important for group business — Information about local LGBT culture, nightlife

The Power of the Invitation

Marketing perspective

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— With a focused, smart, integrated, targeted gay and lesbian

marketing and communications program, you will attract gay and lesbian groups, get them to stay longer, spend more money while there, and possibly pay a higher rate for hotels.

— By marketing to gay and lesbian groups, you will be able to

develop loyalty among this frequent-traveling and free- spending group both as a group and when traveling individually.

— Seize the moment! Gays are traveling. Grab their attention

now and reap the benefits as the economy improves.

Marketing to LGBT Groups Will Benefit You

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— Group, small group, leisure, business segments are going

elsewhere

— No three-year plan to build the segment — Others are stealing your future and repeat customers

Business Threats: Inaction

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— They are flamboyant and obviously gay — They only want to travel where other gays are — They only like cities or urban environments — They only travel with gay people — They don’t travel with children or straight friends/family — They all are rich — They only seek out gay nightlife and parties

Business Threats: Stereotypes

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— Invite LGBT expert speaker

(✔ check!)

— Conduct research — Invest in an integrated marketing plan

— Marketing, communications, social media, FAM trips — Set goals — Target key groups — Marriage/honeymoon market

— Educate your stakeholders — Launch a three-year effort

A Marketing Plan of Action

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— Gay and lesbian travel also includes group, meeting and

convention and corporate groups.

— We looked at Vegas already. The Dallas CVB launched its

efforts targeting gay groups in 2004 and in just two years hosted 20 gay-oriented meetings, generating 8,000 room nights per year.

— There are conventions for gay doctors, lawyers,

journalists, civil rights leaders, financial planners, square dancing associations, scientists and technical professionals and annual meetings for gay employee groups representing fortune 500 companies, including Microsoft and Disney.

— There are many gay and lesbian associations that can be

booked as a group meeting or convention.

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— CHALLENGES — LGBT convention market is still in embryonic stage and

considered very niche compared to traditional sources of business: corporate, association, trade show and SMERF.

— Not much information on how to identify and market to the

LGBT meeting planner.

— Lack of permanent contacts and offices for LGBT meeting

planners -- usually volunteer driven and hard to reach.

— OPPORTUNITIES — Since not many hotels, destinations, attractions and events

are marketing to LGBT meeting planners, you have an advantage if you can identify and find the right people to reach out to.

— Can reach planners through LGBT media. — Many LGBT planners are among mainstream groups

already coming to your hotels, destinations, attractions.

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—

Construct a plan with specific goals to accomplish and a timeframe.

—

Answer questions: How many room nights do I want to book from the LGBT market?

—

Speak to local gay chamber of commerce (or members of the local gay business community) before formulating a plan.

—

Identify your top 25 accounts. Research if your city or competitive hotels have already been a host for a GLBT convention. If so, invite them back.

—

Identify the conferences you'd like to host based on what your destination and hotel can offer. There are educational conferences, sporting events, health conferences, etc.

—

Research your destination and competitive hotel set.

—

What does the destination and hotel offer that sets you apart from the competition?

—

What are the gay attributes to your destination? Is there a Pride festival?

—

Is there a 'gayborhood" with gay-friendly establishments near the hotel?

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— Bring your community together. Host a community leader

breakfast, lunch, dinner, or happy hour and invite all your local gay and lesbian supporters in the community, anyone from city council, store owners, non-profits, chambers of commerce, pride coordinators, local bar owners, churches, whoever supports your LGBT community.

—

Don't go it alone.

— Develop strategic alliances with major corporations in your

• city. Many have a VP of diversity and community relations

and most companies have gay employee groups who meet semi-regularly.

—

Get to know these people.

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EXAMPLES

— Sports market: Softball, soccer, swimming, dancing (line, ballroom),

physiques (body building), flag football, volleyball, ski/snowboard and other winter enthusiasts

—

Gay Games, World Games

— LGBT associations, organizations with huge annual events: HRC,

GLAAD NGLCC, Out & Equal, OutServe, IGLTA

— LGBT groups in mainstream groups (Fortune 500) — Weddings, Civil Unions — Newly “out of closet” –Military groups: OutServe (OutServe.org) — Association of actively-serving LGBT military personnel — 4,500 members; 40+ chapters worldwide — Las Vegas recently hosted OutServe’s first Leadership Summit — Attracted 1,000s of participants, many room nights and countless

media hits

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A FEW MORE EXAMPLES

—

National Association of Lesbian and Gay Addiction Professionals (www.nalgap.org)

—

Association of Gay and Lesbian Psychologists (www. aglp.org)

—

Boeing Employees Association of Gay, Lesbians and Friends (www.noglstp.org)

—

Design Industries Foundation Fighting Aids (www.diffa.org)

—

Dignity USA (Catholic group; www.dignityusa.org)

—

Dupont Gay Employees Group (www.dupontbglad.com)

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— Awareness — Show gay travelers how fabulous motor coach travel can be — Invite key media, influencers — Ensure WiFi available — Encourage social media posting — Great fit with market — Luxury — Epicurean: wine, alcohol, fine dining — Fun — Can partner with DJ to spin, fitness guru to share workout tips, TK — Safe point-to-point transport — Sponsors/partners — Can get wine, spirits, food partner/sponsor — Work with partners in key markets (NYC, Boston for

Provincetown, Vermont); Los Angeles for Palm Springs

TITLE OF SLIDE “Posh bus / bar? Yes please!”

TITLE OF SLIDE Gays and motor coaches

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It’s not the exact same but this gay wine train has proven incredibly successful, with 400 participants expected in 2013.

Gays and motor coaches

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1.

Know your audience

2.

Tailor your message and communications channels for your audience

3.

Build a relationship with the community

4.

Reach out to the LGBT market via a variety of channels and touch points

5.

Consider hiring a professional

Gaining a Share of the LGBT Segment

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— Tailor your message to your gay and lesbian audience — Use appropriate language and images in all

communications and advertising materials

— Determine the best communication channels for this

particular demographic (social media, online, community media, etc.)

— Follow our LGBT communications Rules of Thumb

(contact me at ed@manaboutworld.com)

Tailor Your Message

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• 1. Build relationships with key influencers and

contacts in the LGBT community

• 2. Support organizations and causes that are

important to the gay and lesbian community, such as civil rights and HIV/AIDS

• 3. Leverage events and face-to-face interactions
• 4. Advertise in LGBT media and engage LGBT

reporters and editors

• 5. Stick to your word!

Build a Relationship with the Community

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• 1. Niche segments act like other segments ... Until

they don’t.

• 2. Consider hiring professional who knows or is from

the segment for insider knowledge and to show you are engaging with the community already.

• 3. Purchase or generate data; caution about

research, statistics.

• 4. Invest in three-year plan.

Hire a professional

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— Take a multi-dimensional,

integrated approach to engaging this market

— PR and media relations

are great, but don’t forget other valuable and cost-effective tactics: — Events — Partnerships and

Sponsorships

— Online and Social Media — Marketing and

Advertising in LGBT media

— Sales Channel Support

Reach Out in a Variety of Ways

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• 1. Targeted Media Relations
• 2. Sponsorships and

Partnerships

• 3. Events
• 4. Advertising and

Marketing

• 5. Online and Social Media
• 6. Internal Brand Alignment

Proven Tactics for Reaching LGBT Market

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— Gays and lesbians are heavy

consumers of media and information. — TripOut/LogoOnline (digital/TV) — Here Media (premium brands) — GayCities (social media) — Others: Instinct, Passport, many more.

— The LGBT market tends to be PR savvy

and responsive to positive portrayals of companies and brands that they find in LGBT publications.

— Public relations is also important for

general awareness-building. — Also consider targeting LGBT journalists

at mainstream media outlets

— Leverage NLGJA and other similar

• rganizations

— Press trips/FAMS

Targeted Media Relations

TITLE OF SLIDE — The LGBT market is very community

• riented

— Become a supporter of an LGBT

• rganization or sponsor their events

— Sponsorships are a cost effective way

to gain excellent visibility with a targeted audience

— Sponsorships and partnerships enable

companies to build their brand, raise their profile, and generate sales within the LGBT community

— Leverage partnerships with

• rganizations for ongoing marketing
• pportunities through their

communications channels

Sponsorships and Partnerships

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— Advertising in niche publications

is often much more cost effective than advertising in general market media

— Engage your LGBT customers in

the media outlets that specifically target them

— Customize your ad and

message accordingly

— Talk directly to your LGBT

consumers Advertising and Marketing

TITLE OF SLIDE — The LGBT community are early adopters of

technology and high users of the Internet, and very active in social networking channels

— Excellent channel for developing an LGBT “fan”

base and marketing the company virally.

— Develop LGBT pages/profiles on Facebook, Twitter,

LinkedIn Travel Groups

— Consider developing an LGBT microsite so that you

have a landing page for LGBT customers and a way to track their numbers and interact with them directly.

— May be useful tool for disseminating information when

groups are actually in house or planning a trip to a destination, event or attraction.

Digital and Social Media

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Publish, control your own content and deliver it to your potential visitors directly.

—

Philadelphia — http://visitphilly.com/gay — http://www.facebook.com/VisitGayPhilly (7,000 fans)

—

Massachusetts — http://lgbtmassvacation.com — http://www.facebook.com/LGBT.Massvacation (13,000 fans) — @LGBT_Mass on Twitter (1,000+ followers) — Official smartphone app: — LGBT business meetings

—

New York — http://www.nycgo.com/gay — http://www.facebook.com/nycgo (20,000 fans) — No separate LGBT Twitter site

Digital and Social Media

TITLE OF SLIDE — When a company commits to engaging the LGBT

market, it can’t just put on a gay-friendly marketing image… it has to deliver on that promise internally.

— Develop policies that promote diversity and educate

employees on the best way to interact with LGBT customers — Code of Conduct — Training Guides — Scenario Planning

— Ensure that these policies get communicated and

implemented internally

— HRC’s Corporate Equality Index (big companies) Internal Brand Alignment

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— Launched effort in 2003 — Sustained effort through

present

— Combined advertising, PR,

sponsorships

— Leveraged traditional media

(print, online, video, TV) and social media (blogs, social networks)

— “Get your history straight and

your nightlife gay.”

Marketing the Uniqueness of a Destination

TITLE OF SLIDE Low-cost, high-impact marketing Key to successfully launching an LGBT effort: Stakeholder buy-in and support Gay Tourism Caucus helped lend legitimacy and steered business (group, leisure) to Philly

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— Historic markers

placed in public areas for LGBT visitors (and

• pen-minded straight

visitors alike)

Marketing the Uniqueness of a Destination

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— Philadelphia worked with R

Family Vacations (founded by Rosie O’Donnell) to attract LGBT families. Marketing the Uniqueness of a Destination

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$316 $300 $290 $295 $300 $305 $310 $315 $320 Gay and Lesbian Hotel Visitor 2008 Philadelphia Hotel Visitor per trip hotel spending

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1.

More gay and lesbian groups are forming and proudly meeting at conventions (opportunities for pre- and post-bus trips).

2.

Gay sports continues to grow in importance (bus-friendly).

3.

Wedding and honeymoon markets growing substantially.

4.

Gays and lesbians are becoming more “mainstreamed,” and in some respects more challenging to target as a single, monolithic bloc

—

MilleLogoOnline dropping ‘gay’ to become NewNowNext.com

5.

Political and civil rights issues – from marriage equality to workplace non- discrimination – continue to have an impact on gay people’s lives and their purchase decisions

6.

Optimism in the LGBT community continues to run high, from general consumer confidence to the perceived position of gays and lesbians in American society, and more gays and lesbians are ‘coming out’ at a younger age. (Younger demo less reluctant to travel via motor coach.)

7.

More gay men and lesbians are having babies!

8.

More gay men celebrating milestones in groups like 50th birthdays (fun on a bus!)

9.

International LGBT markets starting to grow: Brazil (potential groups who are less reluctant to get on a motor coach).

LGBT Market Trends and Insights

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—

Nothing (not necessarily a good thing!)

—

Image of destination, hotel, event, attraction could suffer

—

Business could suffer from lost visitors, terrorism, economy

—

The internet boasts a “your not welcome campaign 24/7, worldwide to potential customers”

—

Weakness to defend in a lawsuit, boycott or negative event

— QUESTIONS?

Conclusion

What happens if you don’t market to this segment

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

Presenter Contact Information:

Ed Salvato Ed@manaboutworld.com 917-720-3716 Twitter: @edsalvato