This is new… or I’m blind
July 29, 2009Whenever I have to travel somewhere within Australia or overseas I check hotel prices on wotif.com before checking direct with the hotel websites or calling the hotels (it’s amazing how many will match Woitf’s prices when you call them!). Sometimes Wotif is cheaper; sometimes going direct is cheaper — for the same room.
Anyhow, Wotif also has a good summary of the features of various room types and the hotel in general. I’ve been using Wotif for several years so I’m pretty familiar with the website’s layout and how to use it. So I was surprised when I noticed a new category in the list of hotel features – either I’m blind or they’ve only recently introduced ‘Gay friendly’ as a feature of a hotel.
I’m not sure what it means — perhaps the hotel clerks don’t raise an eyebrow when two people of the same gender check in together; maybe you get put on a separate floor like people with pets in a ‘pet friendly’ establishment; or you get a special area (rooms/floors) like smokers; or maybe you get special doors and showers just like if you are in a wheelchair; perhaps it means that like smokers and people in wheelchairs, you have to declare your sexual orientation when booking a room!!
So, what would happen if you are a gay smoker, in a wheelchair, and travelling with a pet? The mind boggles…
Actually, the more I think about this, the less I like it. Initially, I thought that such a categorisation might be good for people who were gay — they knew they could go to such a hotel and not be given ‘the look’ by the hotel staff. And perhaps that’s ALL it is.
But the more I think about it, the more I think it’s not right. People are people. When you check into a hotel, it should be none of the hotel’s business if you are a heterosexual couple, brother and sister, two sisters, two brothers, husband and wife, mother and daughter, father and son, uncle and nephew, two friends or business partners… you get the picture. So is stating that they are ‘gay friendly’ another form of discrimination by these hotels? I know that when I do an internet or phone booking, or even turn up at the reservation desk, no-one asks my sexual orientation and no-one even cares if there’s someone sharing the room with me. The most I have to do is state how many adults and children in the room. I wonder if the day will come when we have to put our sexual orientation into a ‘special needs’ section of a hotel reservation web form! Yes, I know that’s perhaps taking this a little too far, but there are already places for you to state your smoking preferences, special needs for wheelchair access etc. on these forms.
Your thoughts about this category/feature for hotels?
Hey, maybe that hotel we booked into in Sydney for the STC meeting a few years ago was gay friendly. ;)
(Thanks again Crowne Plaza for ignoring the reservation request for two beds)
I’d probably need to check with gay friends to see what they think of this, and what “gay friendly” means to them in a hotel. I know I’ve been really using the “family friendly” ratings on tripadvisor to help me book accommodation for our family trips – some website might says cots are available, etc, but guests reviews and ratings of a hotel as lovely, quiet, romantic place might lead me to *not* book a room there with my boisterous little one (to the relief of other guests!).
You are right, Rhonda, it isn’t right. It isn’t any of the hotel’s business when you are checking in what your sexual orientation is. And having a category such as ‘Gay Friendly’ shouldn’t be listed.
But speaking as someone who has, on more than one occasion, had to trundle back down to reception and explain the we *did* actually want a double room, and not a twin, I definitely see the appeal of this ‘feature’. Nobody wants to be judged, and if this helps avoid it, then it is a good thing. Plus, I would certainly rather spend my money at a hotel that is gay friendly, than is not.
Having said that, I wouldn’t put any faith in a ‘Gay Friendly’ rating on a site like Wotif. Many hotels would claim to be gay friendly to get the Pink Dollar. I would more readily rely on friends’ referrals or a gay travel site. Because I have also stayed at ‘Gay Friendly’ places, which really haven’t been.
It shouldn’t be an issue, but sometimes it is, and this is testament to that.
I’ll have to talk to my gay friends, but I think that this in part may talk to the kinds of activities can be held in the hotel without hassle to the guests. In short, label may have to do with event planning.
In the U.S., some hotels in some areas of the country are not welcoming to events put on by gay/lesbian organizations (from grassroots to something larger like GLAAD), social clubs, singles groups and so forth. In those areas, the gay community would look for a judgment-free zone in which to hold their events.
A quick search on Ask.com lead me to:
http://www.gaytravel.com/aboutus/gayhotels.cfm
The label may also speak to the entertainment needs of individual guests by describing a a hotel’s proximity to clubs, restaurants, etc. on the local gay scene. The same Ask.com search lead to an example at http://www.iknow-northwest.co.uk/information/gay_friendly.htm.
Gay friendly = the perfect environment for childfree people of all inclinations who are looking for something other than the usual noise and squalor of “family friendly” accommodations.
Imagine the indignant screeches from people if a hotel advertised itself as “adult friendly” or “childfree friendly”. There’d be lawsuits aplenty too, I bet.
On the other hand, “gay friendly” has great deterrent value for the “it takes a village” types, for entirely the wrong reasons of course, but I ain’t complaining.
LOL Erik! I love your explanation! I hadn’t thought that something like ‘gay friendly’ could be a euphemism for ‘we don’t really encourage people with children’. As someone who has chosen to not have children, I can see that we could use the ‘gay friendly’ designation to screen out the hotels that are ‘family friendly’ but that don’t say so. Just like I screen out accommodation that is ‘pet friendly’ as I really don’t want to hear barking all night long or step on someone’s precious angel’s doggie-do, nor deal with dog/cat dander/hair in a supposedly clean room (we don’t have pets either).
And you’re right about the legal suits for places that state they are ‘adults only’. A bed and breakfast place in my state is under threat because they’ve advertised themselves as an ‘adult retreat’, yet some young couple with little kids has decided to take them to the discrimination court. The couple has openly stated they’d never stay there (or be able to afford to stay there) anyway, but they wanted to take out a lawsuit on principle ‘cos they feel discriminated against because they have children.
So … if gay-friendly is the opposite of family-friendly, what do gay families do??
I guess they go to the regular family-friendly accommodation?
It’s an interesting thought, but I wouldn’t use a hotel’s “gay friendliness” to exclude it from my considerations for family travel. As I said before, I’d use ratings or qualities such as “romantic” to exclude a hotel for family travel (or them not having cots/trundle beds available). There are some hotels you should go to with a family, and others you should go to when you’ve left your children at home. ;)
Parents of the world need to get a whole lot less precious about their offspring (and I’m a parent, so I feel entitled to say this!) and their entitlements to go anywhere, regardless of how suitable that is. Hmm, better stop my rant now before I start talking about back in my day …
If people start bringing their kids to our favorite gay-friendly resorts, I guess we’ll have to stay at the gay-friendly, clothing-optional places.
True fact: our favorite hotel’s online booking inadvertently allowed us to reserve a weekend when the whole place was already booked by an association of gay firefighters and law enforcement.
They did manage to find a room for us (there must have been a no-show because they were otherwise full up), and asked only that we conduct ourselves discreetly. Mum’s the word, and we had a great time.