Features
Wilkommen for Lesbians and Gays
Gift Guide: Wash That Hate Right Out of Your Hair
 Moose Meadow Lodge's Willie Docto |
Wilkommen
for Lesbians and Gays Vermont Gay Tourism Association Markets to Us |
by Euan Bear
Waterbury
- If you read national gay and lesbian magazines - in print or online
- you've seen them, maybe even got a few ads in your email inbox or pop-ups
or -unders at certain websites: pitches urging you to come to the gay-friendly
environs of Philadelphia, or Miami, or Key West. What you may not know
is that municipal budgets - public money - pay for a lot of those ads.
Vermont has nothing like it.
At least, not from the state's tourism budget.
Enter the Vermont Gay Tourism Association
(VGTA), a group of business owners, some gay, some straight, all of whom
want to welcome lesbians and gay men as customers for their inns, restaurants,
catering establishments, even a graphic design shop. The president of
the 30-member group is Jeff Connor, co-proprietor with his wife of the
Grünberg Haus, a B&B in Waterbury.
"Vermont was named one of the top ten
destinations by Out & About, coming in third after Paris and Hawaii,"
Connor says. "We need to take advantage of all that we have to offer
a market that the state is not marketing to." Vermont was the only
rural destination to make the list, scoring higher than Provincetown and
Montreal.
The group was incorporated in April, 2003,
well ahead of the November, 2003, Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
ruling requiring the state to recognize same-gender marriages. Thirteen
inns and B&Bs are showcased on its website's lodging page, located
from Montgomery Center in eastern Franklin County to Shaftsbury, midway
between Manchester and Bennington.
"Vermont is a great destination for
gays and lesbians," Connor declared, "and not just for civil
unions, but anytime. That's why our slogan says 'Romantic adventure for
all.' It's just a terrific place to get away."
Connor and his wife are relative newcomers
to the state - and to the hospitality business. When the Ohio couple bought
the Grünberg Haus four years ago, Jeff had a career in marketing
consulting, making him a natural choice to head up what is essentially
a marketing association.
"I wanted Jeff to be president of the
association," said VGTA Treasurer Willie Docto, co-proprietor of
Moose Meadow Lodge in Waterbury with his partner Greg Trulson. "I
wanted the most visible person in the association to be a straight man
who is gay friendly, so the association comes across as gay-friendly,
not gay-owned."
Asked how potential guests would know that
Grünberg Haus or Moose Meadow Lodge are 'gay friendly,' Connor said,
"Well, just the fact that they found us on gay-related travel sites,
or saw our brochure, or caught us at our booth at the Gay Travel Expo
in New York City." According to the group's website, U.S. gay and
lesbian travel could represent a $54 billion market.
Docto said gay and lesbian guests are not
necessarily looking for copies of Outweek in the lobby, but at
how the hosts will treat them. "They want hosts who are not appalled
by two men looking for a room with one bed."
The members' appeal is that they welcome
everyone with a comfortable, relaxed atmosphere, Connor added. There is
no standard for "gay-friendliness" among the members of the
group. Some might display gay or lesbian magazines, others don't. "We
don't go out of our way to provide gay-related information or entertainment.
We have no TVs [at Grünberg Haus] so there are no videos. It's really
that we [VGTA members] know each other. It's never been a problem."
The eligibility requirements page on the
VGTA website (www.vermontgaytourism.com)
is blank. The benefits page lists a number of items, mostly marketing-related,
but also a discount at members' businesses for other members and preference
in referrals.
Connor said that gay and lesbian couples have held civil unions at the
B&B, which other straight guests have asked to attend. "They
were fascinated by the whole idea of a civil union. Some of the couples
[being united] have been together decades." But, he admitted, "We
always have a few people who don't like gays, Jews, blacks, foreigners.
Sometimes I think they don't like themselves."
"Many gay tourism companies market
resorts and cruises for singles, and now there are some for families,
but not for couples." Docto said. "Massachusetts closed its
doors to out of staters [for legal marriage]. Vermont is unique. Our doors
are open."
Docto continued, "We formed the VGTA
to compete with other areas that are aggressively marketing to the gay
community. When you go to the Montreal website, there's a button for 'Montreal,
Gay to Z.' Florida cities like Miami/Ft. Lauderdale and Key West are marketing
to lgbts. Philadelphia has $900,000 to market to us [over three years]
- and those are [local or state] government funds. We businesspeople have
to somehow compete."
The association's main goal is to recruit
more members from throughout Vermont. "We've got 30 members, we'd
like to have 100." Publicity costs money, he noted, and the more
members who contribute, the more publicity they can generate. Membership
costs $150 per year.
