Why is the PROUD program limited to geographies that are already relatively LGBTQ-friendly?
Booking.com website reads: "Travel Proud is our way of making travel more inclusive for the LGBTQ+ community. Complete our Proud Hospitality training session to help you and your staff understand and connect with LGBTQ+ travellers. When you commit to building on what you learn to make your property more welcoming, you’ll become Proud Certified on our platform." O.k., fine, ready to go! But....: participation is only open for venues in 24 specific cities in NL, Germany and UK, such as Amsterdam, Berlin and Manchester. While destinations in let's say Turkey and Greece could be equally (not to say: much more) in need for this. Why so shy, Booking? The pilot was succesful, so now let your global partners decide if they feel it is the right time and place for this, where ever and whenever they want!
Hi
I was not aware of this. I dont think its ever been mentioned on here before.
Thank you for your feedback and enthusiasm for this program.
Our measured approach to rollout is not about being shy, it is about being careful and taking the time to do it right. Travel Proud is unique in that we offer the option to take Proud Hospitality training and then be Proud Certified. Providing Proud Hospitality training means we have to ensure that we are culturally sensitive and able to accommodate the countries involved as LGBTQ+ issues and acceptance vary widely, including the fact that homosexuality is still illegal in more than 70 countries. We also provide lexicons that we translate into the applicable languages to help partners know what terms or phrases are friendly or unwelcome. All these require thorough research and in-depth work.