Expedia’s gay friendly store “too little, too lateâ€
Expedia has opened its gay travel store. Travellers booking hotels through Expedia.com can search for “LGBT-welcoming†hotels.
Fifteen gay-friendly cities and “gayborhoods†are featured on the store along with mini gay guides.
Expedia has partnered with the International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association to find and identify “LGBT-welcoming†hotels.
Now, along with air conditioning and courtesy breakfast, you can search for hotels that welcome gays.
The business management site, BNet, says that after years of being in business, catering to a LGBT crowd this late in the game may not help Expedia.
“Travelocity and Orbitz have both been higher-profile with their micro sites aimed at the gay-and-lesbian market,†says BNet.
Gays and lesbians spend approximately $63 billion on travel, according to Community Marketing Inc.’s annual study.
“What’s worse for Expedia is that so many in the industry have marketed to gays and lesbians, including airlines, online travel agencies, hotels and even cities, it’s become easier to notice travel sites that aren’t catering to their community,†BNet adds.
The site also notes that TripAdvisor so far has been called out for its limited visibility and resources for gay travel.
“Expedia’s service comes off as too little, too late. If it hopes to capitalise on serving an underserved market and promoting awareness of its gay travel product, Expedia should promote it on its home page, where absolutely no mention is made of gay or lesbian travel.
“Companies who want gay and lesbian customers will have to be as comfortable with gay and lesbian visibility in order to get their cash,†says BNet.
Ian Jarrett
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