Others may scratch their heads as to why hospitality sees the need to tailor service towards heterosexual pairings at all-after all, most travelers are looking for the same things: exploration, relaxation, scenic beauty and historic sites, according to recent studies. Some couples, he adds, are even turned away entirely. “The bar is often simply too low.” Mayle cites his-and-her slippers in bathrooms and awkward conversations about beds at check-in as examples. “All too often, travelers pay hundreds a night, only to have a poor experience,” explains Simon Mayle, the event director of Proud Experiences, a convention for LGBTQ+ travel businesses. There’s even a name for it-“pink money.” But the experiences offered in return don’t always measure up. The rewards can be lucrative: research by corporate advisory and asset management company LGBT Capital estimates that the sector has a global spending power of $3.9 trillion.
