Creating desirable hotel experience for LGBT

Abstract

LGBT is short for lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transsexuals. The increase in population of LGBTs around the world during recent years have attracted many business ventures as well as the hotel industry. Surveys and researches revealed high spending potential in the tourist industry. The hotel industry however, is an important part of the tourist industry. While universally used, the meaning of the word, "LGBT friendly" is subjective depending on each person's experience. Scarcity of information has led to many businesses claiming to be LGBT friendly without genuinely trying to understand the target customers, so-called pink washing. This lack of research has led to the motivation for this study on desirable hotel experience. An exploratory approach is applied through qualitative method. Open ended interview questions were used to interview 18 participants. Through coding and theming of interview data, it was found that LGBTs are more likely to describe their experience using their hedonic senses. Thus, main findings are the preferred hedonic experiences during vacations as well as opinions and likings on design of hotel under the mood and tone themes. Relaxing and comfortable were among one of the most common themes. Themes such as natural lighting and scent from local herbs and flowers are preferred within hotel common area. As for service, friendly staff who are professional but casual is the preferred vibe. Interviews showed that LGBT friendly facilities such as unisex toilet may not be for everyone, but with the issue of safety concern, many are willing to try. These findings are useful in the creation of the desired hotel experience for LGBT tourists. Further, triangulation using secondary analysis and the quantitative method should be applied before findings can be generalised. This thesis offers theoretical framework for LGBT friendly hotels as well as provide guidelines for the industry on mood and tone of hotel for hoteliers, so that they can improve desirability of their hotel experience for LGBTs. As a consequence, destinations that have LGBT friendly hotels may improve its popularity to this particular group.