In honor of Pride month in June, Trade Secrets co-hosts Jamie Biesiada and Emma Weissmann are tackling some listener questions on LGBTQ+ travel with the help of Kelli Carpenter, co-founder of R Family Vacations and a travel advisor with Tzell Travel Group, and Rick Stiffler, senior vice president of global leisure sales at Preferred Hotels and Resorts. In this episode, they talk about how to market to the LGBTQ+ community the right way, how to vet a property to make sure it’s right for their LGBTQ+ travelers, trans-friendly destinations and more.

In this episode:

1:51 - Meet this week’s guests, Kelli Carpenter and Rick Stiffler
6:27 - How Kelli and Rick met
7:51 - Our first listener question: How can you best market to the LGBTQ+ community? Hint: don’t logo-slap!
17:16 - What should travel advisors look out for at a resort or property to make sure it’s an enjoyable and inclusive experience?
20:12 - What does Kelli recommend advisors ask hotels about inclusivity?
23:28 - What are the top Pride events and destinations for the summer? What are some particularly LGBTQ+ friendly destinations in general?
29:54 - Destinations that are open will undoubtedly be busy this summer. What is availability like right now?
32:40 - What destinations are particularly welcome to transgender travelers, specifically?
36:30 - There’s a lot of anti-transgender legislation cropping up in the U.S. Has that cropped up with any of Kelli’s clients yet? What’s her advice to other advisors when it comes to really thorny issues like that?
38:26 - An important reminder: Pride isn’t just for June


Further resources:
R Family Vacations
Preferred Hotels and Resorts
Preferred Pride
The forgotten T
The state of LGBTQ+ family travel today
Transgender travelers face unique challenges
What makes Puerto Vallarta and Guadalajara two of Mexico’s most LGBTQ-friendly destinations?
Welcome change
Underrepresented LGBTQ community an untapped market
Ft. Lauderdale features transgender models in new ads

Need advice?
Email us: tradesecrets@travelweekly.com

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