Restructuring a Travel Agency for the Gay and Lesbian Population

As more and more people turn towards online booking agencies that allow for self-booking or go through tour providers directly, the traditional operations of a travel agency are going to have to adapt in order to remain a viable business venture. Whether this adaptation means restructuring in the services one provides or restructuring as to the clients one serves, without some form of significant restructuring targeted towards the changing market of travel, a travel agency will quickly go out of business.

One of the biggest market changes in travel is the client, or who is doing the traveling. In the past, a travel agency has been able to survive by targeting the middle class, two-income family. However, because of changes in the economy and business world, including time available for travel and available disposable income, this traditional market is rapidly shrinking. Likewise, the business travel market is also shrinking as more and more traveling corporations are turning internally for travel needs, including the rapid growth of private planes for quick travel needs.

Thus, in terms of the leisure travel market, the travel agency needs to find a new traveling population. One that has been traditionally ignored, yet tends to travel, and spend, more than any other demographic is the gay and lesbian population. One suggestion presented by numerous travel agency-aimed trade publications is that this is this population is the most lucrative market for the modern-day travel agency to market towards.

For example, one study presented was intended to gain a better insight into the hotel choice and use by the gay and lesbian population, an important niche population of the travel industry as a whole. According to the results, the main factor of importance in choosing a hotel is that these people feel accepted and welcome when their sexual orientation is known. In other words, gay men and lesbian women expect to be treated in the same manner as heterosexuals are treated when using a hotel and its services. The common negatives cited relate to the behavior of the hotel staff, various hotel attributes, and the general environment of the hotel.

This article is of importance to those who are involved in the travel industry because the survey's findings may assist in shaping service provisions for and service delivery to the lesbian and gay population. The gay and lesbian population is one of the largest traveling groups in society and thus attracting their business is essential. However, because of these negative factors, in all too many cases this population has simply set up their own network of hotels. The hotel industry must compete in order to break into this viable market.

Likewise, another article states, that marketing to the gay and lesbian community must be a priority for any viable travel agency. The reason for this is that "positioning their brands within the gay and lesbian market can lead to big business." Big business refers to the fact that the gay and lesbian population accounted for over ten percent of all United States travelers in 2004 and spent over fifty-four million dollars on travel. Further, this population tends to travel more than other traveling populations because of "generally higher discretionary income(s) and more flexibility (in their) schedules." In summary, this article summarizes the topic best in saying: "(marketing to the gay and lesbian population) goes beyond making sense from a cultural standpoint. It makes sense from a business standpoint as well."

This article is of essence to the travel professional because it clearly lays out the economic and business facts pertaining to the need to market to the gay and lesbian population. Further, the article provides useful advice on how to market one's hotel to this population, such as by locating a hotel in an urban area and making it a trendy and stylish hotel with personality.

Finally, in a third article, the focus is on how a travel agency can market specifically to the gay population. As opposed to the trend even just ten years ago when no marketing was done towards gays, "today the market for gay and lesbian consumers is highly coveted and hitting the mainstream in a huge way." According to the article there are over sixteen million gay consumer with a collective $641 Billion in buying power. With this money, the population is now attracting the business of hotels.

This article is important to those who are practitioners in the hotel and travel industries because it highlights an important marketing and business trend. Without understanding what many of one's competitors are doing, one will miss out on reaching this market, which translates to being bad for business.

Bibliography

Iwata, Edward. "More Marketing Aimed at Gay Consumers." USA Today. 2 November 2006.

Parets, Robyn Taylor. "Marketing to Gay Community Can Pay Dividends to Hotels." Hotel & Motel Management. 7 May 2005.

Poria, Yaniv. "Assessing Gay Men and Lesbian Women's Hotel Experiences: An Exploratory Study of Sexual Orientation in the Travel Industry." Journal of Travel Research, Vol 44, 83567, No. 3, 327-334 (2006).

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