That’s how one agent responded during a mystery shopping exercise to see how well agents handled enquiries from lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) people.
Not only was the agent’s well-intentioned advice rather misguided (since gay couples typically do not encounter problems on Maldivian resort islands), but how could that couple look forward to a honeymoon where they’d have to hide their happy news?
At our recent TTG LGBT conference we heard that LGBT people make up as much as 1/16th of your potential customer base, and that agents who haven’t had the time or confidence to educate themselves on this market risk offering LGBT customers inaccurate information, poor service, and a distressing experience.
The good news is, experts agreed that to sell travel effectively to the LGBT market, general destination knowledge is by far the best foundation, after which an “LGBT lens” can be applied - meaning knowledgeable travel agents are well placed to grow their sales in this area.
And applying that LGBT lens might be easier than you think: there’s ilga.org for the latest sexual orientation laws around the world, and OutNowBusinessClass.com for online training about LGBT consumers.
We heard that conveying a message of inclusivity can be as simple as including pictures of LGBT couples or LGBT families in the images you use on your website, brochures and social media. And if you already have experience in booking same-sex honeymoons, you might find, as Kuoni did, that a dedicated page on your website highlighting your expertise performs incredibly well in online search.
We were thrilled to have almost 100 delegates with us at our second conference, many of them agents, and they tell us they returned to their businesses with a new sense of confidence in selling to the LGBT market.
If you, like them, are the sort of agent that prides themselves on service and knowledge, you’ll want to ensure the service and knowledge you offer LGBT travellers is as exceptional as you do any other. Coverage of our TTG LGBT conference in this week’s magazine is an excellent place to start.
