Create travel tech solutions you can be proud of this Pride Month

Pride Month fills my personal and social life with pride in my identity as a married gay man. But as a travel tech professional, if there's one thing I'm not proud of, it's the woeful lack of technology that caters to the needs of LGBTQ+ travelers around the world.

During Pride Month, and to a lesser extent throughout the year, many travel companies are gearing their marketing towards LGTBQ+ personas.

But that's not the same as creating an experience that's actually with an LGTBQ+ audience in mind, from inspiration to booking to experiencing the product to post-trip.

It's like advertising a place that welcomes people with disabilities, but not allowing wheelchair access.

But at many major online travel portals, including online travel agencies, hotels, airlines, and other direct-to-consumer providers, this is what LGTBQ+ users are actually experiencing: we “tolerate” you, but we’re not actually doing anything to meet your needs.

Of course, we can't blame travel tech companies for the fact that homophobic and intolerant people exist, or that such hateful views are on the rise. In the UK, for example, hate crimes against transgender people have reached an all-time high in England and Wales, according to The Guardian. This includes the travel experience, where stepping out of your current environment and venturing into the unknown can be even more worrying for LGBTQ+ travellers than their heterosexual counterparts.

In 2022, Booking.com conducted a study on this and proposed some improvements. A year later, we published more detailed findings and unfortunately found that the average “safety index” for LGBTQ+ travelers was 3.5 out of 5, well below the heterosexual average of 4.1.

And it's not up to travel tech companies to solve this complex challenge. Homosexuality is illegal in many countries around the world, especially in popular holiday destinations. That means it can also be problematic for travel companies themselves in some countries. For example, in Russia it's illegal to solicit same-sex attraction from anyone under the age of 18, meaning they can't publicly celebrate gay pride or encourage inclusive behaviour among customers or staff for fear of prosecution. Similarly, tech tools like filters and LGTBQ+ user feedback scoring could face backlash in some markets and could result in fines or criminal proceedings.

This also raises the issue of data protection. Many governments around the world require access to communications and data, some of which may directly or inadvertently reveal that someone is gay. And there's always the possibility that they may alienate “anti-woke” people (just look at the backlash against Bud Light last year) and lose money as a result. Companies without customers can't change attitudes; they have to make money. We get that.

So what do you think the travel tech industry can do to cater to the needs of LGTBQ+ travelers? First, by having LGTBQ+ chief executive officers at major travel tech companies to test and strengthen user experience, product development, customer care, etc. Currently, LGBTQ+ chief functions, if they even exist, are more like HR departments.

Many in our community would welcome further commitments to data protection and clear policies on thinking through the types of data that could be of great concern (leading to criminal convictions or violence) if it fell into the hands of the wrong government or organisation.

Then, at the actual search and booking stage of a trip, data on homophobic incidents can be made available at the search stage. This data is already available from non-governmental organisations and community groups, we just need to implement it.

Meanwhile, LGTBQ+ feedback and reviews need to be made available on mainstream platforms, especially when it comes to accommodation. Currently, you have to go to LGTBQ+ dedicated websites to get reliable feedback (if there is any). The reality is that LGBTQ+ travelers are currently forced to create their own platforms like Gayhomestay or Misterbnb. Similarly, we need more guides integrated into the online travel experience. The content is there, and the gay community is already creating their own travel guides.

Here's one simple solution to a concern many of you have: stop asking for gender during the reservation confirmation process. Kudos to Booking.com for moving away from this question, and other platforms should follow suit.

To give an example of how confusing things can be, Expedia offers “LGBTQ-friendly” accommodations. This is a great initiative. But it's hard to understand how it works, because there are still quite a few “LGBTQ-friendly” accommodations proposed in Riyadh, including local hotel brands. Meanwhile, Statista ranks Saudi Arabia highest in its 2023 index of the world's most dangerous travel destinations for LGBT tourism. There is evidence of anti-gay laws being implemented in recent years.

Hopefully, no one needs to be persuaded of the moral reasons for making the changes I'm outlining, but you might wonder what the economic benefits would be — after all, we all work for corporations, and money talks.

The economic opportunity isn't just about LGBTQ+ minorities; LGBTQ+ numbers are significant globally (and many studies have shown that LGBTQ+ people have above-average disposable income). But also think about the groups that travel with LGBTQ+ people, or the companies that want to ensure all employees feel equally welcome. Imagine if you could meet the needs of this sizable group, you could earn their loyalty, the ultimate goal of marketing. And brands that do it right will benefit in the long run. Make no mistake, they'll have the first-mover advantage.

Of course, in recent years there have been some really welcome strides in LGTBQ+ visibility around the world, and travel is catching up — just look at Airbnb’s campaign in Australia or Expedia’s advert in 2013. But it would be dangerous to think that this challenge is over. It’s not over yet. It’s time we move from “tolerance” to actually accommodating the real needs of LGTBQ+ travelers.

The tech industry has made great strides in innovation over the past few years, and if we can commit to leveraging some of that innovation to meet the important needs of LGBTQ+ travelers during Pride Month in June, that's something we should celebrate and will have an impact all year round.